Technology distributor Avnet, Inc. is now offering IBM Connections Cloud, including IBM Verse, which provides businesses with 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 in the U.S. and Canada.
“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,” says 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 available through a pay-as-you-go (consumption) model in the Avnet Cloud Marketplace. Other IBM solutions offered by the distributor’s one-stop shop include Softlayer and IBM Bluemix.
“IBM Connections provides employees the opportunity to participate in dialogues within a thriving, people-centric community,” says 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.”
The distributor also offers IBM business partners educational and training resources to further expand their cloud expertise, such as courses related to IBM Connections Cloud through the 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.