Avnet Business Partners in the U.S. and Canada will now have access to IBM’s innovative business social network platform to help their customers increase productivity
Avnet,
Inc. (NYSE: AVT),
a leading global technology distributor, announced today that it is the
first solutions distributor offering IBM® Connections™ Cloud,
including IBM Verse, which provides businesses easier-to-access
integrated email, social collaboration software and third-party
applications, all delivered through IBM Cloud technology. IBM
Connections Cloud will be available through the Avnet
Cloud Marketplace to Avnet’s IBM Business Partners, including
value-added resellers (VARs), independent software vendors (ISVs),
managed service providers (MSPs) and system integrators (SIs), in the
U.S. and Canada. IBM Connections Cloud is the first IBM
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) product offered through the Avnet Cloud
Marketplace.
“IBM Connections Cloud will help our IBM Business Partners expand their
cloud portfolios and allow them to leverage all the benefits of the
Avnet Cloud Marketplace,” said Mark Martin, vice president of Avnet’s
IBM solutions business unit in the Americas. “IBM Connections allows
Business Partners' customers to accelerate collaboration and innovation,
and deliver results. In addition, our Business Partners will be able to
help their customers confidently share knowledge beyond traditional
organizational boundaries and provide improved decision-making integral
to long-term success.”
In addition to being available to customers via the traditional
pay-upfront (subscription) transaction model, IBM Connections Cloud is
now available through a unique pay-as-you-go (consumption) model through
the Avnet
Cloud Marketplace. This one-stop shop offers access to comprehensive
solutions from leading cloud service providers, flexible payment models
and Avnet’s sophisticated management and optimization tools. Customers
now have even more options in terms of what can be accomplished as a
consequence of the integration provided by the Marketplace dynamic
(e.g., ordering, provisioning and billing). Other IBM Cloud solutions
available in the Avnet Cloud Marketplace include SoftLayer and IBM
Bluemix.
“As businesses of all sizes embrace the Cognitive Era, it is imperative
that enterprises engage and empower their most valuable resource: their
people. IBM Connections provides employees the opportunity to
participate in dialogues within a thriving, people-centric community,”
said Michele Stern, vice president, Global Business Partner Sales, IBM.
“By delivering IBM Connections, either on-premises or as SaaS on IBM
Cloud, Business Partners can offer their customers the ability to safely
and conveniently collaborate. This will bring them fully into the
conversations that create new routes to market, drive new revenue and
inspire new ‘born in the cloud’ IBM solutions.”
Avnet also offers IBM Business Partners a host of educational and
training resources to further expand their cloud expertise. For example,
Avnet offers a wide range of courses
related to IBM Connections Cloud through the award-winning Avnet
Academy, Avnet’s technical education and training organization, and
an IBM Global Training Provider. Courses range from the essentials of
cloud application development to immersive development experiences.
Additionally, IBM Business Partners can rely on Avnet’s 30+ years of
in-depth expertise in IBM solutions, as well as Avnet
Cloud Solutions. This team helps partners and customers transform IT
with data center automation and cloud solutions that embrace new
consumption models and enable services delivery. Avnet’s cloud team has
developed deep expertise and extensive cloud
capabilities through its role in deploying more than 900,000
workloads in the cloud in the past two years alone across a range of
public, private and hybrid cloud environments. Download
the IDC white paper highlighting how the longstanding partnership
between Avnet and IBM is assisting Business Partners transform and
succeed in the cloud market. Also, check out this informative new
video on the Avnet Cloud Marketplace.
Click
to tweet: .@Avnet announced it is the first solutions distributor
offering #IBMConnections cloud including #IBMVerse.
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About Avnet, Inc.
From components to cloud and design to disposal, Avnet,
Inc. (NYSE: AVT)
accelerates the success of customers who build, sell and use technology
globally by providing them with a comprehensive portfolio of innovative
products, services and solutions. Avnet is a Fortune 500 company with
revenues of $27.9 billion for the fiscal year 2015. For more
information, visit www.avnet.com.
Brodeur Partners, for Avnet, Inc.
Marcia Chapman, +1-480-308-0284
mchapman@brodeur.com