Lenovo Intros Mobility Kits To Help Partners Tackle Form-Factor Confusion

Lenovo announced it will be rolling out a new tool for channel partners called "Lenovo Mobility Kits," which consists of four mobile device demos, aimed at arming partners with the tools to help end users overcome confusion around mobile form factors.

"This is our investment to get rid of the confusion in the market place, to help the business partner start the sale cycle," said Chris Frey, vice president for Lenovo's North America Commercial Channel and SMP, in an interview with CRN.

The kits will be made available to partners next week through distributors and directly through Lenovo for partners to obtain free of charge.

Frey said the four products included in the demo kit are Lenovo's Tablet 2, Twist, X1 Carbon Touch and Helix; four mobile form factors to present to clients of all verticals and sizes.

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Justin Dittmar, sales administration specialist at Fulcrum Group, said the Keller, Texas-based solution provider became a Lenovo partner only a few months ago. Between Lenovo's rewarding partner program and the quality of its products, Dittmar said, the Fulcrum Group was driven to add Lenovo to its list of vendors.

"Lenovo is really becoming the top of the top class now," Dittmar said. "I'm running into customers all over that are looking for something new or for a product upgrade, and they are turning to Lenovo."

Being able to show rather than tell clients what devices are capable of, Dittmar said, is "easily" the best way to make a sale. Dittmar agreed with what Frey called "device confusion" and that having to sift through the large variety of mobile devices on the market is problematic when it comes to a client trying to decide on a best fit.

"The business partner is the trusted advisor of the end user," Frey said. The ability for solution providers to bring devices into a customer's environment and work with the customer on deciding what option will be best suited for the customer's needs is invaluable, he said. Then, the partner has the opportunity to show what value it can add to the product, wrapping an entire business solution around the selected device, Frey said.

All of the devices included in the Lenovo Mobility Kit will come loaded with Windows 8 and be available for partners to use for a limited amount of time. Lenovo distributors have helped fund the demo effort because "they believe this will work," Frey said. Demo kits will begin shipping next week.

PUBLISHED JULY 19, 2013