Tech Data President: Partners Should Embrace Big Data, Analytics To Unlock Large Deals, More C-Suite Conversations
Americas President Joe Quaglia said Tech Data now has the product line card and expertise needed to drive big data and analytics deals after buying Avnet Technology Solutions.
Quaglia said big data and analytics will be one of the highest-growth areas for the Clearwater, Fl.-based distributor over the next three to five years. Mid-market and upper-small business customers are the most likely to use analytics given the cost associated with the deals, Quaglia said, although some small business opportunities exist as well.
"Prior to the [Technology Solutions] acquisition, Tech Data didn't really have a business unit around analytics," Quaglia told CRN Wednesday during the TechSelect Spring 2017 Partner Conference. "It's a brand new offer that we can bring to the community."
Technology Solutions has a business unit dedicated to educating, training, certifying, and enabling channel partners with business or practical expertise around data analytics, Quaglia told more than 300 TechSelect attendees at the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa. In addition to a providing a seasoned analytics team, Quaglia said Tech Data partners now have access to a "who's who of analytics solutions."
One Tech Data partner with some background in business intelligence decided to leverage Technology Solutions to train salespeople and get more certifications around big data and analytics, according to Quaglia. That solution provider has been rewarded handsomely, Quaglia said, recently closing a $900,000 deal that wasn't even on the radar six months ago and securing $2 million of additional business in the pipeline.
"This is pretty cool because the deals are real big, and we all like big deals," Quaglia said. "We want to make sure we're providing you with the skills and capabilities you need to grow these businesses and capitalize."
Quaglia said that more than half of CEOs surveyed by Gartner are focused on driving productivity, getting more revenue and transforming their entire businesses by digitizing their core operations.
"There's a whole push in the market now by CEOs to drive this," Quaglia said. "That's having a profound effect in making sense of all this data inside a corporation, and helping leverage analytics to drive revenues."
Technology Solutions has a lineup of top-line analytics technology companies, knows how to make sense of data, and can help solution providers consult end users to a business outcome such as generating new revenue streams or identifying additional customers through big data and analytics, Quaglia said.
Big data and analytics have a very different sales motion than hyper-converged infrastructure, Quaglia said, since the conversations start at a business level rather than a technology level.
"It really starts with 'What is the business problem?' and drives to an ultimate business outcome," Quaglia said. "It's a complete solution sell. Our folks have that DNA to go strategic and help partners with their end users."
Advanced Technology Solutions, a Scott Depot, W.V.-based Tech Data Partner, is looking to expand its capabilities and options to customers around big data and analytics given the environment customers in regulated industries face, according to Purchasing Manager and Sales Engineer Steve Hoffman.
Advanced Technology Solutions works with many medical facilities that are required to have data readily available for 10 years, and Hoffman said they are looking to put that information to good use.
"Data is growing every day," Hoffman said.