Tech Data Makes New Recurring Revenue Push For Cisco Partners

Tech Data is making a new push around recurring services revenue for Cisco Systems partners.

The distributor Tuesday introduced the SMARTattach Opportunity Portal, a new online offering exclusive to Tech Data-authorized resellers that's designed to help them managed Cisco services contracts and revenue streams. As a part of an overall larger strategy to emphasize Cisco services and to simplify processes, the Opportunity Portal will allow Cisco-focused solution providers to amplify recurring revenue and service contract renewal opportunities, according to Tech Data.

"We enhanced around SMARTattach and made this new Opportunity Portal [because] we have to get partners away from adding headcount into administrative tasks; they need to be selling," said Angie Beltz, vice president of product marketing, Cisco Solutions Group at Tech Data. "We want to continually help refine and retune from an operations perspective, as well as what they are selling and markets they are selling into."

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Originally an online tool, SMARTattach was developed by the Clearwater, Fla.-based distributor in 2009 to help solution providers add Cisco SMARTnet services to Cisco hardware purchases. Today, the Opportunity Portal will ease challenges for Cisco resellers when dealing with hardware, renewal functionalities, and to reinforce services, said Beltz.

"There hasn't been a great operational management system to take action on those renewals, and it's been challenging for years," said Beltz. "What we've added is that they can manage in an executable side for reporting and improving what their team doesn't attach, which is [called] second chance attach. Now they can also look at what hardware was sold where services were not sold with it, and they can call to action to go back and sell the services to that customer."

For Tech Data, the goal is to reinforce the importance of services for partners, said Beltz. "Services always feel like the second thought, and what we're finding is that it can be easier for partners -- and have services first, hardware second," said Beltz. With the Opportunity Portal, partners now will be able to auto renew and have quotes automatically sent to them, said Beltz. "The Opportunity Portal is a way for them to not only manage from a future perspective," she said. "They can start having salespeople work with those end users on getting those renewals completed."

NEXT: Taking Partners To The Next Level

For Brandon Farrell, director of strategic partners at SHI, the SMARTattach Opportunity Portal will continue to provide the tools obligatory for channel partners to maximize their capabilities and offerings for customers. "SMARTattach ensures our customers are provided the correct options and timelines for their Cisco Service Contracts," said Farrell. "The portal enables us to simplify our processes for greater flexibility and efficiency when helping our customers understand the right service levels to support their business."

Beltz said that while reccurring revenue is a key opportunity for partners, it must be implemented in a way so there is continued growth. "Recurring revenue is fantastic because partners can manage budgets better," said Beltz. "However, they need to set it up right; they can't just have recurring revenue and not expect them to go after new customers or new markets or products. Otherwise they will end with just a flat-lined topline."

Farrell agreed, saying that recurring revenue streams give SHI a solid foundation from which to grow the business. "Annuity business provides the necessary investment needed to expand our offerings while enabling us to provide proactive technical guidance for our customers," said Farrell.

The SMARTattach Opportunity Portal is powered by MaintenanceNet, a Carlsbad, Calif.-based company that offers contract management solutions. Previously, Tech Data has partnered with MaintenanceNet in 17 other countries to bring contract management services to Cisco partners abroad. Through MaintenanceNet, U.S. resellers now have a platform that allows for visibility when dealing with Cisco service renewal opportunities, said Beltz.

"We've been lucky enough to partner with MaintenanceNet who, from a data perspective, takes all the data, simplifies it from Cisco so we can consume it, pass it back and forth from our partners, our portal and Cisco in an accurate way," said Beltz. "We will all be on the same portal worldwide for our partners as we have this U.S. launch, our Canada launch in two weeks, and the same will happen for Latin America as well."

For the rest of 2014, Beltz said Tech Data's biggest goals are to continue the momentum around partner services, push recurring revenue adoption, and expand partner practices beyond Cisco SmartNet. "With the expansions we've done around services momentum," she said, "we are really looking to take partners to the next level, and look for all of those opportunities to add collaborative professional services and add smart services to their portfolio."

PUBLISHED APRIL 1, 2014