Tech Data, Mobi Wireless Partner To Bring Managed Mobility To Channel

Mobi Wireless Management is streamlining its mobility solutions and services and partnering with distributor Tech Data to bring managed mobility services to the channel through TDMobility, Tech Data's mobile device business unit.

Announced last week, the Indianapolis-based managed mobility service provider will now be providing mobile device management solutions directly through the channel, said Mitch Black, president of Mobi.

"Historically, we only did direct sales; [it wasn't] a strong channel program," said Black. "With a company like Tech Data that has mobility in all the segments we play, there is the access to all of those VARs [and] different market segments, and at the same time they provide a broad variety of products and services to their VARs that segment to their services, and now we are being added to their product line."

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The Clearwater, Fla.-based distributor is equally excited to add Mobi managed services to its TDMobility line card, said Heather Murray, director of sales and marketing for Tech Data's TDMobility business unit.

"This rounds out our offering and our strategy for mobility, which is to manage from device to data center," said Murray. "In order to do that, it's not just selling the device; it's adding the managed services, which gives them a greater opportunity to add service."

Tech Data VAR partners will be able to expand their portfolio where they sell the device and will continue to add more services, said Murray.

"Through Mobi you can bring on a thousand devices, do asset management from a device perspective, procurement, telecommunications, expense, and customer service," she said. "It allows you to take resources, drive incremental sales and have this value platform behind it to provide the best solution to your customers."

Complete Tablet Solutions, a Tech Data partner for the past 10 years, relies on TDMobility, said Dan Hurd, president of Complete Tablet Solutions.

"At the end of the day, we look at our core skill sets, what we do here, and we rely on people like TDMobility to fill the gaps, give us those services and access to those services and products we need so we can better scale our company in an economical manner," said Hurd. "This partnership has the promise to be a cornerstone in supporting our product offering."

The new Mobi-Tech Data partnership will benefit Austin, Texas-based Complete Tablet Solutions' focus on managed mobility services, Hurd said.

"We recognize that Mobi is well-known in the Gartner magic quadrant and for the functionality of their platform," said Hurd. "The benefit of their services accessed through Tech Data will exert greater control and management capability across the devices and support we provide to our customers."

Leveraging Mobi products and services through the channel will give resellers the solution set they need especially in the SMB market, said Murray.

"When you look at SMBs, they don't have the resources or bandwidth to go to market and present [their] entire solution, so we make it really easy for them," said Murray. "We made a huge commitment to put these services under one umbrella in the same normalizing supply chain for our resellers to invest in and make it successful."

PUBLISHED JAN. 10, 2013