March April Tech Times by Tech Data

March/April 2013

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March/April 2013

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Get Ready For It! With the arrival of spring I feel a need to clean out my desk drawers, reorganize and start fresh. Clearing my desk gives me a sense of renewal and boosts my work productivity. If you’re like me, you have your own springtime ritual to welcome the arrival of warmer weather and longer days. Here are some of my tips to help you get ready for spring: • If you live in Ontario or Quebec mark your calendar to attend BBT in April and May • Sign up on techdata.ca for an upcoming training date • Check techdata.ca for new promotions • Review your website. Is it ready for mobile presentation? • Book a tour of Tech Data’s ATSC and test our new storage solutions A great way to celebrate the season is attending one of Tech Data’s reseller networking events including Winner’s Circle and the kick-off of our cross country Business Builder Tour. Visit techdata.ca for a complete listing of upcoming events in your area and to register online. In this issue we focus on thin clients and explore the impact of virtualization and the cloud. We learn about enterprise and SMB storage solutions you can demo firsthand in our ATSC. And we look at BYOD and social media and their influence on your endcustomers. We also take an in-depth look at what our Technology Services team has to offer and help you fully leverage your profit potential. For those of you who are members of TechSelect or just like to stay abreast of Tech Data’s initiatives, we share some updates on this year’s program. In addition to all of this we also share our recent Top Distributor award wins (and pics) from HP Partner in Excellence Awards and the channel’s Reseller Choice Awards. I hope that you will find this issue of Tech Times reflective of our commitment to providing you with value-added information, products, services and support to assist you in your business. Happy Spring!

Ann Cain, Manager, Communications

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ann.cain@techdata.ca

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Comments, suggestions? Tell us what you think! Have your questions or comments published in the next Tech Times! ann.cain@techdata.ca

Executive Address

Go Thin Selling thin client solutions

14 21

HP unifies PartnerOne at GPC

Meet Brian Ingratta, Cisco Sales Specialist

Maximize your storage solution sales

What’s in your tool box?

What’s coming down the pipeline

Meet Access Group Inc.

Attend BBT 2013 Come Together! AIS Spotlight AIS: Focus on Storage Technology Services TechSelect Round Up TechSelect Member Profile In the News

Tech Data scoops ‘Top Distributor’ Awards Achieving high level certification Microsoft SPLA available

George Pappas shares ShoreTel’s focus for 2013

Voice of the Vendor

Editor Ann Cain Art Direction and Design Julie MacAulay Contributing Writers and Editors Irene Buchan, Mary Bonnici, Ann Cain, Robert Dutt, Alexandra Mihan Project Manager Ralitsa Naydenova

Tech Times is published and distributed six times per year to channel resellers across Canada. ©2013 Tech Data Canada Corporation. Prices, promotions, offers & terms and conditions of sale subject to change without notice. Errors and omissions excepted. All manufacturers’ names are registered trademarks of their respective corporations.

This publication comes to you free from Tech Data Canada Corporation. We received your mailing address from your Tech Data customer account information. To make changes or to unsubscribe, please contact your Tech Da sales team at 800.668.5588 or notify us at emailcanada@techdata.ca. www.techtimesmagazine.ca

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March/April 2013

ExecutiveAddress

“You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.” -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

After a long and cold winter, I’m warmed by the thought of spring inching closer. Longer days and warmer temperatures confirm that together we’ve survived another hectic NMSO buying season along with the obligatory snow days and bone-chilling temperatures. And while I’m happy that winter has come to a close, I’m even more excited about all the great things happening at Tech Data. This month kicks off our 2013 edition of the award-winning Business Builder Tour. Commencing in Ottawa on April 11, we then head to Quebec City and Montreal on May 7 and 9 respectively, followed by a stop in Toronto on May 15. We’re also hosting customers at our Winner’s Circle event in Hamilton on April 18, and at our annual Halifax Lobsterfest on June 13. We’re heading to the rock in late May to host our TechSelect members in beautiful St. John’s, and then hosting another set of incredible customers in Barcelona, Spain, as part of our traditional Reseller Adventure with IBM. We’ll be back just in time to host 1500 or so of our closest friends at our annual Customer Appreciation Party in downtown Toronto on July 4.

I encourage you to read more about our enterprise storage practice on page 29. And as always, be sure to make good use of our ATSC in helping to position and sell a variety of solutions to your end-customers. Lastly, I’d like to once again take this opportunity to thank you for your votes in the annual CRN Reseller Choice Awards. I was incredibly humbled to accept the award for Best Distributor of the Year for the sixth consecutive year, and I appreciate everyone who took the time to vote for Tech Data. As always, we sincerely appreciate your business and your support. All the best, D. R. Reid President, Tech Data Canada

While I’m racking up the frequent flyer miles on all those trips, there are plenty of people back here who will continue to work incredibly hard to earn your business each and every day. I’m so proud of the efforts aimed at not just maintaining our core business, but also the insight and energy put into expanding our enterprise storage business. We’re excited about having the only HP 7200 Storage demo unit in Canada available to you through our Advanced Technology Solutions Centre (ATSC), and are generating a lot of activity around IBM’s V3700 as well. Our Brocade, Quantum and EMC businesses are also heating up, and

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March/April 2013

Thin client solutions are becoming more prevalent as companies opt to migrate their data from the desktop to secure data centres. This overall trend is being fueled in part by virtualization, Softwareas-a-Service (SaaS) and a rise in mobile apps creating some interesting possibilities for thin client devices. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Even if you tested or piloted thin clients as recently as two years ago, you need to give thin clients another look,â&#x20AC;? says Jonas Brown, director, Americas distribution & reseller channels for Dell WYSE. HPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s category business manager for retail solutions & thin clients Dmitry Sokolov agrees, noting barriers of sub-par video and restricted multimedia experiences at the client level have been eliminated thanks to protocol enhancements in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDIs).

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“In the last 8-12 months, updates to common independent software vendor (ISV) protocols including PC over IP from VMware, HDX from Citrix and Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) and RemoteFX from Microsoft have drastically enhanced graphics capabilities of thin and zero client computing, elevating performance to a level suitable for a typical office and productivity worker,” says Sokolov. In most cases, VDI has advanced to the point where users can’t see any discernible difference between a VDI session and a fully contained local PC user experience. Better serverside video (GPU) resources, multimedia redirection and local hardware acceleration, as well as network optimization tools such as HP Velocity or Dell Wyse’s end-to-end VDI solution offer CIOs viable platforms for enterprise-wide desktop replacement. By thinning their end points through SaaS architectures and cloud-based storage, organizations have taken the first step in removing their dependence on homogeneous client infrastructure. Adopting a fully virtualized environment enables organizational flexibility to deploy and support users on mobile, BYOD or any future client platform. Going from potentially tens of thousands of individual desktops that require protection and management to just a single data centre makes it much easier for organizations to adhere to their own security requirements, as well as any government or industry-mandated compliance regulations. Brown reminds resellers that thin client solutions are easier to deploy and manage, and will allow your organization’s IT administrators to become more proactive and influential instead of reactive. “Combining extended product depth with a strong cloud client computing product presence offers top-flight solutions that address more of our customers’ challenges than ever before,” says Brown referring to Dell Wyse’s thin client’s collaborative processing architecture that provides a “local assist” to both RDP and ICA traffic, multimedia including FLASH, bidirectional audio for teleconferencing, and more. Today’s thin clients are definitely smaller, more efficient and able to provide enhanced performance and high-end mobility. Thin clients can provide your customers with a complete endto-end solution from the data centre to the end-user device. HP offers thin client, mobile thin client and zero client products for optimizing performance including the t410, t310, t510, t610 and mt40 for virtual infrastructures, as well as Device Manager offering a management solution for both Linux and Windows platforms. Using thin clients as a primary endpoint device for cloud access enables organizations to not just accept BYOD, but to embrace it as a competitive advantage at a lower cost, offering easier deployment and increased security.

Selling Thin Client Solutions

virtualization will offer VARs a better path to success than promotion of perceived upfront cost savings.

Resellers can succeed in selling VDI and thin clients by taking a consultative approach to offering VDI solutions that best fit their particular needs. Not all users within every organization can benefit from VDI, but certainly every organization can benefit from VDI somewhere.

By thinning their endpoints through SaaS architectures and cloudbased storage, organizations have taken the first step in removing their dependence on homogeneous client infrastructure.

Tech Data’s manager of product marketing, Oliver Voss, encourages VARs to sit down with their customers to take a closer look at the types of workers they have as defined by their role, their application mix and performance requirements, and then look at the peripheral devices they need to access to get their jobs done. “Only after taking a close look at the cross-section of users, roles, and app/peripheral needs can you determine the best way to virtualize desktops, and the appropriate VDI and endpoint solutions,” explains Voss. “While thin client solutions are a smart choice for customers seeking a cost effective and flexible solution for their virtual desktop computing needs they shouldn’t your lead sales pitch,” warns Voss. Focusing on increased security, enhanced manageability, improved uptime as well as energy efficiency of client

Many IT buyers look at the up-front cost of the PC itself but not the cost of the support and maintenance of a thick client infrastructure. A recent study HP conducted with IDC (“Understanding the Business Value of Centralized Virtual Desktops”) found the average IT labour

cost per user was $1298. Since users enabled via client virtualization typically require 67% less support than traditional PC users, support costs for a typical user in a virtualized environment can be estimated at $425 per user, or savings of over $850 annually. Over the lifecycle of a thin client deployment the savings are even greater as thin client TCO annual savings have been measured as high as: •

80% less maintenance per year

•

25% capital cost savings

•

23% less to operate

•

25% productivity increase

•

power consumption savings: 5 - 20 watts vs.120 watts

Highly regulated industries, such as retail, healthcare and financial verticals as well as others where sensitive customer and other data must be secured have proven to be most successful for client virtualization solutions. Other market opportunities VARs can tap into to promote thin client solutions as a solution for their endcustomers include process and discrete manufacturing, hospitality, energy/ exploration and transportation. To learn more about thin client solutions contact your Tech Data Sales Representative at 1-800-668-5588.

small to medium business Raritan’s High Quality KVM Solutions for Small Medium Business Dominion LX KVM-over-IP switches give one or two remote users BIOS-level access and control to 8 or 16 servers. With flexible cascading users can manage up to 256 computers from a single console. Add Raritan’s LCD Console Drawers - flexible, 1U devices that manage servers in data centers, server rooms and other space-critical environments, directly from the racks in which they are installed. SKUs: 4698AG (1 local user, 1 remote user; 8 KVM ports) 4699AG (1 local user, 1 remote user; 16 KVM ports) 4700AG (1 local user, 2 remote users; 16 KVM ports) 41544H (17” LCD KVM Drawer) 12666N (19” LCD KVM Drawer)

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March/April 2013

Business Builder Tour was recognized earlier this year by ECN as Canada’s ‘Best Industry Event’ in 2012 by the reseller community.

“Thank you to our customers who voted in the Reseller Choice Awards. I hope you can join us again this year for another exciting tour,” says Frank Haid, vice president, sales at Tech Data Canada. Based on attendee feedback, event organizer and program manager at Tech Data, Aida Maia has made a few changes to this year’s event. “BBT is a great opportunity for resellers to gain insight into industry trends and see new technologies. This year’s BBT event includes some seminars, one-on-one vendor meetings and an after-hours event all designed to provide endless opportunities to engage, collaborate and share.” Reseller attendees may participate in scheduled one-on-one meetings with Tech Data and vendor executives to review business plans and opportunities

March/April 2013

for growth. Attendees will have an opportunity to see first-hand the product offerings from over 30 manufacturers. This event leverages Tech Data’s unmatched technical expertise, broad product knowledge and specialized solutions sales support capabilities, enabling resellers to learn about emerging technologies and quickly add them to their solutions offering. The tour kicks off in Ottawa on April 11, and then travels to Quebec City May 7, Montreal May 9 and stops in Toronto on May 15. Then the tour picks up again in the fall with stops in Calgary in September and Vancouver in October. Each stop on the Business Builder Tour concludes with an evening event and cocktail reception party, providing attendees with the opportunity to network with peers and colleagues, and win fabulous prizes. To learn more about Tech Data Canada’s Business Builder Tour and its scheduled stops across Canada, visit tdbusinessbuilder.ca or contact your Tech Data sales representative. We look forward to seeing you!

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March/April 2013

HotSpots Leverage BYOD with Avayaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Wireless LAN 8100 Catering to Bring-Your-Own-Device, the WLAN 8100 Series provides a highly scalable, real-time optimized and secure wireless networking solution incorporating the latest 802.11n wireless standard. The Avaya WLAN access solution simplifies the surveying, configuring, monitoring, deployment and reporting of enterprise wired and wireless infrastructures, so businesses can embrace the BYOD revolution and benefit from a lower total cost of ownership. Call our Avaya Business Unit at 1-866-770-5444 or avaya@techdata.ca to learn more.

Brocade â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Helping You Achieve Your Business Objectives A Campus LAN solution from Brocade dramatically simplifies and automates access layer networks. Deliver unmatched scalability, upgradeability and no-compromise solutions at a tremendous value (up to 50% lower TCO!). If a cost effective, easy to manage and upgrade network is what you are looking for, look no further than Brocade. For more information please visit www.techdata.ca/brocade or contact your Tech Data sales team at 1-800-668-5588.

November/December 2012

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January/February 2013

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By Robert Dutt

Hewlett-Packard used its Global Partner Conference in Las Vegas to usher in some of the most sweeping changes to its PartnerOne partner program ever announced. The company said its efforts are designed around profitability, consistency, and simplicity, and one exec, borrowing from its enterprise group’s overarching strategy, described it as “a converged infrastructure for our partners.” The program becomes truly international in nature, unified across its Printing and Personal Systems business and its Enterprise Group, includes more new HP acquisitions than before, and will get a new engine behind it, among other changes. Perhaps the single biggest change to the programs in terms of profitability is the decision to drop revenue gates and caps for rebates. Effective May 1, the company’s partners will earn rebates for eligible sales from “dollar one,” said Dan Tindall, vice president of worldwide channel sales for PPS, and will have no cap to their earnings.

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“Our objective is for HP to be the most profitable partner you do business with,” CEO Meg Whitman told partners. “The more you sell, the more you earn” Part of the plan involves simplifying the number of specializations available to partners. Doug Oathout, vice president of channel partners and alliance marketing for HP’s enterprise group, said for his division, that will mean going from 44 certifications down to 22, with similar changes over on the PPS side as well. And those revised numbers of certifications will be regrouped into new specializations for partners, which will then be available in Professional and Advanced levels, with higher earnings available at the Advanced tier. Partners will need two relevant certifications for Professional status, and five for Advanced. Oathout said that much of the simplification of certifications will be done by dropping less-popular tracks, and combining similar tracks with overlap into single tracks. HP has also committed to expanding business planning activities with its channel partners. Under the plan, the company will do formal business plans with its top 2,000 partners in each major region: the Americas, EMEA, and APJ. Everyone in Unison The company has committed to $1.5 billion in investment in channel initiatives in its fiscal 2013, up from $1.4 billion in FY12. Those investments do not include rebates and promos, just partner program investments and “IT investments to make us easier to do business with,” said Lynn Anderson, senior vice president of communications. Those IT investments largely surround Unison, a new platform the company is rolling out for its partner portal, based on Salesforce.com. Unison will roll out over the next 18 months, will be unified across PPS and Enterprise, and will serve as a single sign-on for HP partners. And most importantly, it will bring the company’s partner tools up to date, said Oathout. While Unison, and PartnerOne itself, will become truly international in nature, Oathout stressed that there will be room to recognize regional differences within the

March/April 2013

program. For example, Canadian partners will not be required to reach the same runrate in business as their American counterparts to reach top tiers of the program, and partners in each country will be evaluated based on the market available to them. That should mean more partners in non-U.S. markets will reach top earning rates.

HP CEO Meg Whitman told partners that company reps who stole deals from partners will be fired. There will also be opportunities for countries around the world to evaluate which portions of PartnerOne and Unison to bring to bear in their countries, and even which portions to expand upon. For example, Canadian channel chiefs Gary Drysdale (PPS) and Andrew Eppich (Enterprise) indicated they were looking at ways to add more value to the “Concierge Chat” support feature that will be featured in Unison. And some changes in the new program will seem quite familiar to HP partners in Canada. Around the world, the company has historically done its MDF allotments in three-month increments, making it hard for channel partners to book longer-term campaigns or activities in support of the vendor’s activities. With this program revision, HP is making its MDF efforts a sixmonth window. However, this six-month MDF engagement has long been the rule of the land in Canada. Still, the company’s Canadian channel chiefs said they are committed to getting as much of the new functionality and terms in PartnerOne brought to Canada as quickly as possible.

“Anything that we can do to launch in the second half of this year, we’ll do it,” Eppich said. Oathout said the timeframe for much of the Unison functionality going live is November 1, with many more specifics of new programs and offerings becoming available to partner in May. New acquisitions brought onboard As another aspect of this massive revision, the company has included plans to include one of its acquisitions (Vertica) into PartnerOne, and a roadmap for another (Autonomy) to come on board. Vertica immediately becomes part of the PartnerOne framework, and Colin Mahoney, senior vice president and general manager of HP Vertica, said it’s an opportunity for HP partners to get involved “in the tectonic shift that’s happening with information management.” In early days, he said, the group’s goal will be to educate partners not just on the company’s business analytics products, but nature and future of the marketplace. “Over the last two years [since being acquired by HP], we’ve learned a lot from partners,” Mahoney said. “Now, we’re returning the favour. Let us teach you data science and analytics.” And while the terms of the company’s purchase of Autonomy remain controversial, it remains committed to the technology, and to making it more widely available. In support of that, Autonomy rolled out its own partner program in the image of PartnerOne, and announced plans to transition into the PartnerOne framework over the course of 2013. In the past, partners who’ve wanted to engage with Autonomy have had to do so at a product line level, meaning that many were left to navigate multiple Autonomy mini-programs. That all ends with the new program, said Steve Reny, senior vice president of market development for HP Autonomy. “As you invest in our technologies, we invest back in you to make it more profitable for you to do so, he said. Opening up the HP Cloud to partner

Under new programs introduced GPC, HP is opening its public cloud services up to its channel partners – first to VARs who want to refer customers to HP cloud services, and eventually to partners who want to resell the cloud offerings.

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First out of the chutes is a referral program, whereby partners will get 10 per cent of first-year revenues for customers they refer to HP for Public Cloud services, and five per cent of all subsequent years’ sales. That will be followed later this year by a resale program that will allow partners to retain control of customer billing and eventually user provisioning as well. Dan Baigent, senior director of business development for HP Cloud, said that by going through partners, the company hopes to increase traction for its public cloud offerings in the SMB market. And likewise, he said, offering HP Cloud services helps partners round out their cloud plans.

marrying HP’s public cloud services with applications and other solution elements to create cohesive packages and bundles for their customers. HP also introduced new services on top of its core infrastructure (storage and compute) cloud offerings, including cloud load balancing, cloud monitoring, and cloud DNS. All will be available under the new partner programs. Along with the newly announced services, HP has object storage and compute publicly available, and is in various beta stages for block storage and Application Platform-as-a-Service.

“All partners need to have a cloud strategy, and if they have a cloud strategy that doesn’t encompass all of their customers’ possible use cases, they’re going to miss that part of the market. You need to be able to go as broad as your customers may demand.” Baigent stressed that the company is not looking to get the entire width and breadth of the company’s channel representing its public cloud offering, but sees it as a top opportunity for “tech-savvy channel partners and integrators” looking to round out their offerings. “We’re not going to throw every single reseller into the program,” he said. “They would fail, and we would fail, were we to do that.” HP is making the services available by opening two new tracks under its Cloud Builder program, which has been traditionally focused on solution providers developing their own or customers’ own cloud offerings through HP’s infrastructure hardware and software. The new programs cover Public Cloud offering for VARs, and for global SIs who are more interested in the consulting services around public cloud infrastructure than the actual referral and resale deals. HP is not the first to offer resale options for cloud computing and storage offerings – but its position as a hardware and software vendor puts it in an interesting position in making such an offering for the channel, both because it has a massive channel already signed up for its enterprise infrastructure products, and because it can offer partners the tools necessary to build private, hybrid, or public cloud solutions for their customers. It’s that flexibility on which HP is hanging its hat against well-established public cloud players like Amazon and Rackspace. “We see this falling into a debate between those who want to build and operate clouds, and those who want to consume, and we’re delivering on both options with a focus on choice, confidence and consistency,” he said.

HP’s enterprise group sales chief Sue Barsamian (left) and PPS sales chief Jos Brenkel (right)

HP held its Global Partner Conference at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas

Currently, the company operates its public cloud services out of data centres in the United States (Las Vegas and Virginia), which could be a problem for certain workloads for certain customers from Canada and other nations. Baigent said the company plans to open data centres in Europe and Asia in the near future, making it a truly worldwide public cloud. The company is not yet to the point of offering white label cloud solutions for partners, but says that there is “an interest” in such an offering from HP. “We’re not there yet, but we’re doing analysis on it,” he said. Along with access to the SMB market, Baigent said that HP was counting on partners to bring their own bundled solutions

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HP CEO Meg Whitman told partners that company reps who stole deals from partners will be fired.

March/April 2013

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AIS EmployeeSpotlight Tech Times sat down with Brian Ingratta, Cisco Field Sales Specialist at Tech Data Canada, to learn how the Cisco team makes it easier for new and existing VARs to sell across the Cisco portfolio.

“Understanding what makes a customer tick is a thrill. I’m inspired knowing I can help them grow their business and at the same time see their success.”

Q: Tell me about your role at Tech Data? My role is multi-faceted. One key component of my job is acting as a business development representative. In this capacity, I work with resellers to better understand their business model and current product mix to determine if Cisco is a fit within their organization. Because Cisco offers many partner programs it’s important for me to educate the reseller on what’s available to them to ensure their partnership with Cisco is a profitable one. I also work with our reseller partners to develop configured solutions through Tech Data’s Integration Centre. Another part of my job is working in an advisory capacity to recommend acquisition of required inventory for project rollouts and delivery times. As well, I educate Tech Data’s internal sales representatives all about the Cisco world from a Tech Data point of view, and I guide them through the ordering and configuration processes. Q: What is your technical background? I sold my first computer back in 1991, and yes, it was an XT. A few years later I started in sales in distribution and have been a member of the Cisco product team for the last 7 years. I hold a CSE and CSEP Cisco designations. I regularly participate in Cisco courses and online training. Q: Tell me about your experience working with resellers. Our reseller partners help us do a better job managing the Cisco portfolio. When we find a reseller that has a particular business requirement and we come up with a solution, you can generally guarantee that there are other partners feeling a similar impact. I find it rewarding to know that if I can solve one customer issue I am contributing to improving the overall business model. This synergy allows the Cisco Business Unit to continue to evolve with the market needs and stay ahead of our competition. Q: Describe a typical day for you. There is no typical day for me, as every day is different. One morning I can be at a customer’s site in Calgary and that night I can be doing a Business Builder Tour table top in Vancouver. I try to balance my time between visiting with resellers in person and working behind the scenes to manage customer order issues and escalations. Q: What motivates you in your job? I love face-to-face customer engagement. I spend as much time as possible getting to know a customer. Understanding what makes a customer tick is a thrill. I’m inspired knowing I can help them grow their business and at the same time see their success. Q: What has been your most memorable moment at Tech Data? I’ve enjoyed seeing Tech Data’s Cisco team grow from just two of us to a group of 15 associates, all working towards the same goal. Watching the evolution of the One Step Ahead program from its humble beginnings as a reseller promotion to an integrated part of growing our partners’ business has been a professional highlight for me. It has also been exciting to see the expansion of Tech Data’s product demonstration capabilities in our Advanced Technologies Solution Centre. Q: Tell us something you think we should know about you. Many people know that I have two Newfoundland dogs but what they don’t know is that my wife and I also breed them. We do it for the love of the breed and to see the happy faces of their new adoptive families.

If you have questions about Cisco products please speak with your Tech Data sales representative or send an email to the Cisco specialist team at cisco@techdata.ca.

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March/April 2013

Data is everywhere, and the need to store massive volumes of data is increasing. You can help your customers stay responsive to their company’s data storage needs and optimize their IT infrastructures by utilizing Tech Data’s Advanced Technology Solutions Centre (ATSC). The key to becoming your customer’s trusted advisor is understanding their needs and challenges, and recommending vendor solutions that fulfill that need. “You can learn your customers’ requirements by asking the right questions including what is your planned capacity for growth, what is your expected lifetime of the solution, what level of performance you need, and what are your current storage challenges. Tech Data’s Technology Specialists and SE’s can assist you with answering pre-sales questions and help you with presenting solutions that will meet their needs. “Your clients need security, accessibility and maximum value to consolidate, simplify and optimize their IT infrastructures. Organizations of all sizes can benefit from exploring leading vendor solutions in our ATSC,” says Richard Toledo, Tech Data’s Manager Technology Services. On the storage front, things are heating up with Brocade, Quantum, EMC, IBM and HP in enterprise and SMB storage solutions. Resellers can demo solutions from HP 7200 Storage (previously known as baby 3PAR), IBM V3700 and Brocade in the ATSC. “We have the only HP 7200 Storage demo unit in Canada in the ATSC,” notes Toledo. Showcasing Storage Solutions Small and medium sized customers Small and medium sized customers are faced with the challenges of rapidly growing amounts of information while needing to stay responsive to a changing business environment, controlling costs, and accomplishing all this with limited staff. Tech Data’s ATSC can help you

demonstrate product solutions in a handson environment. The 7200 Storage, M6720 SAS Drive Enclosure from HP delivers enterprise features including one architecture and a single stack from midrange to high end that is easy to deploy and manage. This storage solution is ideal for enterprise authorized resellers who previously may not have been able to support a 7200 storage solution. HP’s 7200 is a solution for SMB endcustomers who prior to the release of 7200 may not have been able to offer their SMB customers a suitable solution.

“We have the only HP 7200 Storage demo unit in Canada in the ATSC.” Resellers can test and demo HP’s Tier one storage solution remotely or live in the ATSC. “It’s one thing to talk about a product’s ease of data migration or scalability but it speaks volumes when you can actually show your end-customer how a product like HP’s 7200 can protect their data in one step or how to reconfigure in seconds without disruption,” explains Toledo. Resellers targeting commercial customers can offer HP’s StoreEasy (X1000), StoreSure (MSA) and StoreEver (Tape) storage solutions. Another smart storage solution to demo for your SMB end-customers is IBM’s Storwize

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V3700, providing simple, efficient and affordable storage solution. An entry disk system, the V3700 offers great configuration flexibility with a very easy-to-use interface, all packaged and priced to suit your SMB customers. “In the ATSC we can show the IBM V3700 and its components, the GUI Interface and how easy it is to use along with how to configure the box,” notes Toledo. For enterprise clients who require a high level of integration and reliability in their virtual data centre, Brocade’s solutions support a holistic server and storage virtualization strategy. Brocade’s portfolio of server and storage solutions are painless to integrate with Microsoft, VMware, Oracle and Citrix products. These easy-to-use, affordable storage solutions offer advanced capabilities to fit your client’s unique needs. And all three vendors’ products can be tested in the ATSC by booking an appointment online at atscsolutions.ca. “VARs looking to show ROI for their SMB clients should pay close attention. Showcasing these solutions for your end-customers in the ATSC will help you progress opportunities,” reminds Toledo. No matter what your end-customers’ storage solutions are you can rely on Tech Data’s sales team to recommend and provide a custom solution for their unique needs. Your Tech Data sales representative works closely with our Advanced Infrastructure Solutions (AIS) team for flexible provisioning and advanced capabilities.

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Did you know that businesses are at least twice as likely to buy when their solutions provider ties the value of the solution to their business? Are you doing that? Leverage Tech Data’s Technology Services team to help you win that sale. “Partnering with Tech Data gives you access to an industry leading, highly trained pre-sales technical support staff without putting them on your payroll,” says Frank Haid, vice president, sales at Tech Data Canada. Technology Services encompasses an array of enablement support servicesincluding pre-sales engineering and our on-site Advanced Technology Solution Centre (ATSC), project management, and much more designed to help you win new and incremental business. Tech Data’s pre-sales engineering support team is here to answer your technical questions, help you configure complete solutions and effectively present them to show how they support your customer’s business goals. Our team of over 20 experts, each with an average of 10 years of experience, and more than 30 industry certifications collectively, is the missing link you need to show clients you’re their trusted advisor. “Call and speak to our experts or take the next step and conference them in on your customer calls to seamlessly extend your expertise and build instant credibility,” says Haid. If you haven’t visited Tech Data’s ATSC yet speak to your sales representative to set up a tour on-site or remotely. Haid is a firm believer that once an endcustomer experiences a product demo in the ATSC and sees firsthand the technology in action in the fully operational work environment they will be sold. “I regularly utilize Tech Data’s ATSC to help my customers experience technology solutions in a virtual environment. My SMB customer was sold once they saw the server virtualization product demo in the ATSC,” says Cheryl Hicks, president/owner of TSI, adding that her customer was so impressed by their visit and Tech Data’s sales specialist’s knowledge it led to an incremental client virtualization sale. Tech Data systems engineers can assist you with demonstrations, training and tours enabling you to deliver a powerful proof of concept. From deploying solutions to transitioning to new technology, or keeping upto-date on current certifications, Tech Data makes it easy and affordable to support your customers’ needs throughout the IT lifecycle. Plus, you’ll gain powerful business-building support allowing you to be more successful. Stop leaving a trail of missed sales opportunities behind and start showing customers you’re the go-to expert who totally gets it. Put Tech Data’s Technology Services team to work for you. www.techdata.ca

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The TechSelect team is promising to make 2013 a fantastic year! Excitement is building as we prepare to head to the easternmost point of North America. Just like the Vikings who arrived over 1000 years ago, the TechSelect community is embarking on an adventure to St. John’s, Newfoundland for our TechSelect Spring Partner Conference. As in previous years members will have the opportunity to engage with the community, attend informative vendor sessions and learn from their peers through sharing of best practices. However, it’s not all work and no fun; our group will take in the sights admiring the eastern coastline and experience first-hand Newfoundland’s famously friendly hospitality. Is it too early to start the countdown? We’re going to have an awesome time! Before we head out east we’re stopping in Ottawa on April 11th for the first city in Tech Data’s Business Builder Tour (BBT) and TechSelect’s regional chapter meeting. Prior to checking out the

Left to right: Denis Hull, Marcel Dionne, Mark Oliver (Eaton), David Saele (Think Communications) and Bobby Hull

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BBT seminars and vendor showcase, TechSelect helps foster engagement opportunities by bringing our regional members, sponsoring vendors and Tech Data’s executive team together as a way to reacquaint everyone before our conferences. Advisory Council member David Saele from Think Communications Inc. in B.C. couldn’t wait for the tour to hit his city and gathered his western peers at Tech Data’s Richmond office. The group openly discussed ways to leverage their different skillsets and geographical location to work closer as a community. That day the term “coopetition”- where companies compete for market-share but cooperate by working together- was often used. Saele explains, “Individually we are all amazing companies with unique benefits but together we can offer a broad portfolio of solutions that alone we would not be able to bring to the table. This network allows us to compete more effectively against the larger national players and drive value for our clients”. TechSelect sponsoring vendor Eaton kept the conversation going by hosting a networking dinner for the group. The cherry on the sundae that made this day even more memorable was when the Vancity boys bumped into hockey legends Bobby Hull, Denis Potvin, Marcel Dionne and Dale Hawerchuk who were dinning at the same restaurant. How lucky is that! Adding to our list of 2013 “to-dos”, our Fall Partner conference destination has been announced. Get your autograph books and cameras ready for celebrity sightings. We’re headed to Beverly Hills, California and staying at the The Beverly Hilton which recently hosted the Oscar Nominees Luncheon. We have a jam-packed schedule and look forward to seeing you all soon!

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TechSelect Member Profile

In this issue of Tech Times we learn how TechSelect membership is helping Access Group Inc., of Toronto, Ontario grow their business.

Tell us a little about your organization. Access Group Inc. has been providing technology solutions to businesses since 1993. We strive to help businesses succeed in their marketplace by recommending, implementing and supporting the best technology solutions to solve their business problems. Our success is the result of providing superior customer service and dealing with our customers with honesty and integrity. We thrive on customer satisfaction. Celebrating our 20th anniversary, Access remains focused on providing IT solutions to small and medium-sized businesses as Access Computer Solutions and delivering large format printing solutions as Access Imaging. Access Imaging is a leading supplier of equipment, supplies, and experiencebased service in the large-format digital printing market. Access supplies the best in large format printers, scanners, finishing equipment, RIPs and workflow software through partnerships with top manufacturers like HP, GMG, Rimage, Epson, Agfa and Onyx. We are one of the largest suppliers in Canada of Hewlett Packard equipment, supplies and service. Access services customers right across Canada from our head office in Toronto and also from Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver. Access Computer Solutions specializes in providing IT solutions to SMBs. We provide a total solution to our customers from hardware, software, supplies and services. We work with all the major IT suppliers to bring the best solution to our customers. In recent years we have developed specialized expertise in data room power and ventilation, web applications, business software, telephony and DVD /BlueRay publishing systems. Q: What are your thoughts on the industry in general? The IT industry is going through significant changes with a strong movement to handheld computing and cloud services. There are going to be winners and losers in this race. Our challenge is to make sure that we work with the survivors; not an easy task. Similarly, there is a big movement in the printing industry from analogue to digital printing. Short run digital and large format printing are growing at over 20 percent per year. Digital has cost and turnaround advantages on short runs and variable data applications.

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Access Group Inc. enjoys all the benefits of being a member of the channel’s premier partner community. Our biggest challenge is deciding which technology and cloud services to pick. There are too many players which makes it hard to decide. TechSelect meetings and ongoing discussions have been a big help in educating ourselves and getting feedback from other partners. Tech Data has attracted top vendor partners to share their roadmaps with us which has been extremely valuable to us. Q: How are you managing your company’s continuing growth? One big challenge is managing our growth in uncertain times. We have chosen the slow approach to investing and deploying our growth strategy. Our company is going through a growth phase, both geographically and through our product offerings. We have expanded our head office to accommodate a new demo centre and enlarged warehouse. Our logistics and additional third party warehousing is based in Toronto and Vancouver to accommodate our expected growth. Q: How does working with your vendor partners support your success? Our preferred vendor partners engage with us directly and support us in re-engineering our business and our marketing efforts. They work closely with our team providing training and sales support. They work with us like a true partner. We work hand in hand in pursuing opportunities and closing deals. Q: What are your organization’s goals for the next five years?

triple our sales volume and get our company beyond the critical mass threshold. We will do this by continuing to strengthen our activities across Canada and by adding 2-3 specialized product lines in a vertical market. Q: How has the TechSelect program helped you meet your organization’s goals? Our involvement with the Techselect group has benefited us in several ways. Techselect meetings expose us to top managers of IT suppliers who share their technology road maps with us and we look forward to marketing information on our industry. This helps us develop our long term strategies. We have also taken advantage of the relationships with other partners to help us implement our geographical growth. We have contracted Tech Data to provide us 3PL services in Toronto and Vancouver. This allows us to have state of the art logistic services on a very timely basis without a major investment. Q: What is your outlook for 2013? Our outlook for 2013 is positive and we are targeting a 20 percent growth. We expect that the IT industry will have a year of consolidation with continued growth in services. New cloud technologies will become mainstream, and there will be more integration of handheld devices into corporate networks.

Over the next five years our plans are to

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March/April 2013

By Alexandra Mihan

As we start 2013, it’s becoming obvious that BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) is a workplace trend that isn’t going away any time soon. Like any new trend or technology it comes with benefits and limitations which need to be explored before any organization decides to implement it. Before allowing your employees to bring their tablets, notebooks and smartphones into the office consider the pros and cons. 36

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Allowing employees to choose their own hardware can be more headaches then helpful, as evidenced by IBM, whose CIO Jeanette Horan recently updated the company’s BYOD restrictions. After encountering security problems and technical issues IBM took a closer look at how employees were using their devices in the work place. Surveys found that employees participating in BYOD were blissfully unaware of the security hazards while using their favorite apps. The security issues involved with BYOD can be found more commonly in the hands of the user than with internal networks and applications. BYODers need education on safe practices for their devices and they need to understand which apps they regularly use that provide security threats. Here are some steps you should consider when developing a BYOD security plan: •

Do thorough research on the risks associated with implementing a BYOD program

•

Set guidelines and policies for all employees and host training sessions

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Build a strategy to address all key issues and scenarios

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Implement programs starting with a pilot group across different business units

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Intermittently reassess your program and the associated concerns

Despite the security risks, BYOD comes with many benefits to the organization, most importantly the shift of cost from the employer to the employee. A recent study on Cisco employees found the company was saving an average of $600 per person on eager BYOD participants who were willing to incur the cost. Since the employee is providing the hardware themselves the company stands to save a lot of money. As well, the organization saves on inventory and maintenance. For resellers, the BYOD trend also brings with it selling opportunities to provide your corporate customers with tools that provide multiple platform support, device monitoring and app provisioning. With employees comfortably maneuvering work tasks on their personal devices BYODers reduce processing times and increase efficiency. Workers are free to respond to requests outside of work hours and while travelling. And as more companies move to the cloud their data is not sitting on the device so if the employee loses their smartphone or tablet there is no threat to the company’s information. A BYOD policy is something that every organization should consider if they don’t already have one as the benefits generally outweigh the drawbacks. Security concerns are quickly being addressed by many software companies and making sure your employees are educated is the best defense against hackers and viruses.

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HP’s Partner in Excellence Growth Awards Tech Data Canada president Rick Reid and vice president of sales Frank Haid recently attended the HP Global Partner Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. The three-day conference focused on networking opportunities and engaging with HP leaders. While at the event, Rick and Frank had the distinguished honour of accepting the HP Partner in Excellence Growth Award for ‘Canada Top Distributor’ at an awards presentation. Tech Data was recognized for achieving top balanced revenue across the HP portfolio. HP Partner in Excellence Award winners are selected by a panel of HP Channel executives and presented to outstanding HP partners worldwide who have demonstrated exceptional business performance. Thank you to all our reseller partners who work with Tech Data’s HP team to share the benefits of incorporating HP solutions with their end-customers.

Tech Data Canada president Rick Reid and vice president of sales Frank Haid (centre) receive the award from Gary Drysdale, vice president of partners and channels for HP Canada’s PPS group (left), Lloyd Bryant, vice president and general manager for PPS (second from left), Andrew Eppich, vice president of partners and channels for HP Canada’s Enterprise group (right), and Peter Galanis, managing director of HP Canada and VP and general manager of the Enterprise group (second from right).

Microsoft Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA) Supports Hosting Providers Tech Data Canada now offers Microsoft Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA), hosted software and services through our Software Business Unit. SPLA will help resellers procure the right solutions for end-customers - whether in the Cloud, on-premise or through 3rd Party hosting. SPLA is ideal for organizations focused on software services and hosted applications for end-customers, including messaging, collaboration and platform infrastructure. Resellers can demo the product for up to 50 active users. For more information email Tech Data’s Microsoft team at Microsoft@techdata.ca.

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Tech Data Canada Wins Reseller Choice Award for Distributor of the Year!

Thank you to everyone who voted Tech Data Canada as your ‘Distributor of the Year’ in the Reseller Choice Awards for the sixth year in a row! Tech Data Canada won the top spot in six of the Reseller Choice Awards distributor categories including: • Best Availability/Delivery • Best Customer Service • Best Product Support • Best Terms and Conditions • Best Industry Event for our Business Builder Tour • Best Distributor of the Year The annual survey asks Canadian resellers to vote in over 80 categories ranging from their favourite network card to their favourite computer to their favourite distributor. There were over 16,000 votes cast this year. Rick Reid, president of Tech Data Canada, accepted the award at the annual Reseller Awards Gala hosted by E-Channel News and ECN-TV on January 30th, and says winning the Distributor of the Year award was the icing on the cake. “What makes this award particularly satisfying is that our customers are the voters. What a great way to wrap up fiscal 2013 and start our fiscal year 2014.” “Tech Data is delighted to be recognized by our customers for the service we provide to our many partners across the channel,” says Reid. We are extremely proud of the recognition in each category, and to be selected in the top distributor category for six years running highlights Tech Data’s commitment to deliver unparalleled value in the channel and ensure best-inclass accessibility to our Tech Data team.

Achieving Build and Configure to Order Certification for Cisco UCS C-Series

In February 2013, Tech Data Canada received high level certification for build and configure-to-order Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) C-Series rack servers, in addition to the services offered around increased system engineering support, forecasting and stocking capabilities, and customizable enablement programs. This level of authorization allows Tech Data to significantly reduce the prerequisite lead time by 85% (from 21 days to 72 hours or less). Tech Data can now add additional components to pre-configured C-Series bundles or build C-Series servers up from the bare chassis. Tech Data received its BTO and CTO certification after successfully completing a series of Cisco UCS C-Series training, testing and dual audit processes. To learn more about Cisco offerings at Tech Data or to speak with one of Tech Data’s dedicated Cisco Solutions team members, call 1.800.668.5588 or email ciscosales@techdata.ca.

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In this edition of Voice of the Vendor, we sit down with George Pappas, ShoreTel’s Country Manager for Canada.

Q: What are the responsibilities of your role? As Country Manager, I have the revenue, P&L, and CSAT responsibility for ShoreTel’s Canadian operations. Our outstanding team here provides sales, engineering, marketing, and training support to our national business partner network as we go to market together with ShoreTel’s Unified Communications and Mobility solutions. Q: How did you get started in the industry? After graduating from university with a finance degree, I turned down a banking job in favour of embarking on a sales career with an electronic components distributor named Zentronics. I think this may be where my appreciation and support of the distribution channel comes from! I was then lucky enough to build my career in sales and sales management with some great companies that I have a lot of respect for – Digital Equipment Corporation, Bay Networks, and Nortel Networks - before joining ShoreTel two years ago. Q: What advice do you have for those just starting out? I’ve been fortunate enough in my career to wake up every morning and do what I love in a dynamic industry that continues to excite me. So my first word of advice to someone would be to determine your interests and follow them towards a particular industry. Definitely set career goals, but consider accepting an entry level position, or one outside of your immediate comfort zone, in order to gain valuable experience and insight. Think in terms of building a career versus having a job. Remember what is important isn’t necessarily where you are, but in which direction you are going. And finally take chances and don’t be afraid of making mistakes, but make them early in life - and definitely try to keep them as small, inexpensive and painless as possible!

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I’ve always felt a sense of great satisfaction by leaving things better than how I found them. As it relates to business, I have tremendous respect for the risks and pressures our partners feel each day, and I’m driven to have them believe that they have benefited through their partnership with ShoreTel. Same goes for our end user customers – I want them to feel that their businesses have also profited in a real and tangible way through the way ShoreTel uniquely helps solve their business problems. The satisfaction of succeeding at something difficult, or despite the odds, also energizes and challenges me. Q: Tell us about your greatest achievement. My greatest achievement so far in my career would probably be having Canada recognized last year as ShoreTel’s Top Worldwide Region. The establishment of our new Canadian Headquarters this year is two years ahead of plan, which speaks to the success and acceptance the region is experiencing in this marketplace. Personally, my wife and I have been blessed with two great teenage sons who still love spending time and doing things with their parents. Overall though, I think it’s an achievement just to say that I live every day having absolutely no regrets with the decisions I’ve made in my professional, personal, academic and social lives. Q: What do you see as the biggest benefit to partnering with Tech Data?

Country Manager – Canada, ShoreTel

George Pappas

Q: What challenges you?

I’ve known members of the Tech Data team for many years now and I’m thrilled that the team had selected to represent ShoreTel in Canada and help me reach into the partner community which we rely on exclusively to support the Canadian marketplace. I’m absolutely convinced that Tech Data wants to see ShoreTel succeed in Canada, so it’s wonderful working with a team that I have complete trust and faith in. Q: What is ShoreTel’s outlook for 2013? Our industry is at an inflection point and there are several factors driving this. The impact will change the dynamics of the industry and create a new paradigm with new winners emerging. We believe that several trends in Unified Communications have converged to create a unique opportunity for ShoreTel: •

The first is that we are seeing a significant increased focus on the mobile worker. Analysts estimate that 84% of companies have mobile workers, and these organizations are embracing tools and technologies that support the productivity of their mobile workforce. ShoreTel’s Unified Communications solutions are at the centre of this movement.

•

Second, the end-user is growing in influence and making a significant impact on many aspects of IT decision-making. Ease of use has a key role in whether a technology is enthusiastically accepted, or never lives up to its potential. ShoreTel has always led in ease of use, and we are extending our advantage in this area.

•

And third, as we continue to outpace the industry and successfully grow our brand and share in the Canadian marketplace, we will continue to focus on being a company that is easy to do business with. We are extremely proud of our industry-leading Partner and Customer Satisfaction levels, and we look forward to continuing our leadership here.