It’s not a surprise, really, to see Synnex joining its competitors by offering its own managed services portfolio – which seems to be a growing trend among distributors these days.
But it makes sense. If Ingram Micro and Tech Data are already offering managed services (and have been doing so for more than a year), then it puts pressure on other distributors to follow suit. It also makes sense because it offers a recurring revenue stream for VARs – and that helps to sustain longer-term relationships, the kind that require commitment and loyalty. If you’re a distributor, it’s a great way to keep VARs from straying.
With Synnex entering the market, it means VARs have even more choice when it comes to choosing a provider – and that’s always a good thing. Synnex is bringing its On Demand Services to the table, which includes field services, managed services, edge services and professional services.
Its managed services portfolio includes three vendors: DS3 Datavaulting for remote data backup and disaster recovery, Perimeter eSecurity for security services and itControl Suite for network management.
But that’s not it. Field services allow VARs to offer desktop, peripheral, server and network installations, including maintenance and recycling services, while edge services offer up VoIP, remote PBX, print management and remote digital signage, where customers only pay for what they use on a monthly basis. Professional services include proof-of-concept field tests and capability planning and assessment for virtualization.
As they say, good things are worth waiting for. Synnex didn’t jump in headfirst when everyone else started offering an on-demand strategy. But it’s come up with a comprehensive set of services that should open up some new business opportunities for VARs.
This comes at a time, however, when MSPs are battling some negative images. Recent news headlines inform us that Terrence Chalk, former CEO of Compulinx Managed Services in New York, is back in jail, facing eight counts of identity theft and fraud.
The MSP developed its own proprietary software platform to host customer networks and launched a partner program that allowed resellers to team up on projects.
But former business associates are now saying that claims about the MSP’s high-profile customer roster and that it hosted data for hundreds of customers in four data centres with 300 servers were total fabrications.
There are plenty of reputable MSPs out there, but this bad apple could shake customer confidence in the managed services model – particularly if they’re dealing with sensitive data. But, then again, this could work in the favour of distributors like Synnex, Ingram and Tech Data. Going with a well-known distributor is going to be that much more compelling right now.
