This past Friday, I had a chance to sit down with Amanda Lee, Public Relations Manager at Tech Data, and Sheri Hedlund VP of HP at Tech Data. They were pretty excited about a new service offering from HP that the distributor will be able to provide to the MSP community. Tech Data partners will now be able to sell a piece of technology knowing that the distributor has a SKU for on-site set up and installation. Yep—you heard that right--certified experts will provide the work on your behalf.
Tech Data's expanded relationship with HP launches a strategic shift in the business model from traditional fulfillment of products to a new focus on concept to completion solutions across the entire HP Converged Infrastructure stack, helping resellers embrace and capitalize on the latest technology trends. The initial launch includes HP authorized installation and startup services focused on HP 3PAR StoreServ 7000 Storage and are expected to expand over time to include product lifecycle services and other product service offerings. Tech Data's service offerings will be targeted at the mid-tier reseller space, raising profit opportunities for its channel partners.
As it relates to the HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage Solution, Hedlund said that HP is touting it as “the only primary storage architecture you’ll ever need.” HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage uses a single architecture to deliver primary storage platforms for mid-range, Tier-1 enterprise, and optimized all-flash arrays.
Branded as Service One, the service portion is installation and start-up services. Order the SKU from Tech Data, and someone other than yourself goes out and does the work. You price the service portion for your customer based on what you think is appropriate.
