Data Storage Provider NetApp Rolls Out SolutionsPath Services Integration
NetApp says the Avnet sales and delivery tool for data center solutions will help resellers provide “greater engagement in solving and supporting the data center needs.”
Distributor Avnet Technology Solutions will use its SolutionsPath Services teams to support NetApp, a storage and data management supplier. Specifically, SolutionsPath will be used to support sales and delivery within the general business market segment.
Avnet SolutionsPath Services provide a portfolio of professional and managed services that Avnet’s U.S. and Canadian VARs can leverage to expand data center offerings to SMBs.
SolutionsPath Services directly supports the sale and delivery of data center solutions developed within Avnet’s SolutionsPath technology practices–NetworkPath, SecurePath, StoragePath, and VirtualPath–and vertical market practices GovPath and HealthPath.
According to an Avnet press release submitted to EH Publishing, NetApp began transitioning the management and execution of its professional services March 1. “This change permits Avnet and its U.S. reseller partners certified by NetApp to more effectively deliver installation, implementation, and consulting services,” the press release states.
Transition completion is planned for May 1.
The transition does not apply to partners or accounts that transact business directly with NetApp or to the U.S. Public Sector. “NetApp Authorized Professional Services Providers that are also resellers continue to be able to scope, sell, and deliver Professional Services on their own behalf,” states Avnet in the release, “or they may choose to obtain those NetApp Authorized services through Avnet, using NetApp certified technical resources.
Avnet Technology Solutions vice president and general manager of technology infrastructure solutions Gavin Miller says the change enables Avnet to support its reseller partners in selling and delivering services to NetApp’s general business market. “By coordinating the service delivery component,” he says, “our reseller partners will have a greater opportunity for increased revenue and profit.”
To support this transition for reseller partners, Avnet says its sales and SolutionsPath Services teams have tested all aspects of the new quote, order, and service delivery processes related to providing professional services as authorized by NetApp.
In addition, Avnet reports that NetApp has also provided access to a pool of NetApp certified resources capable of delivering consulting services for their solutions, without directly involving the NetApp professional services organization.
NetApp vice president of professional services Pat Weber says resellers using such resources will benefit from “the same level of expertise, capabilities, and guidance … as they would directly from NetApp”
“Transitioning professional services to our distributors creates additional opportunities for our most trusted partners,” Weber says, “providing them greater engagement in solving and supporting the data center needs for our resellers and their customers.”
