Eaton is doubling down on its mission to support its channel partners as they navigate new opportunities in distributed infrastructure and data center environments. That was the main takeaway from the company at the annual Eaton Partner Conference, the “Solutions by the Sea” event this spring in San Diego.
At first glance, combining partner updates with data center developments may seem like an odd pairing. However, the event’s primary goal was to unify Eaton’s message to the market and its partners, Steven Loeb, vice president of marketing, distributed IT at Eaton, told ChannelPro in an interview. “What we wanted to accomplish was to bring out one common message, one common vision, one common viewpoint of Eaton.”
The conference combined sessions for Eaton’s data center-focused contractors, agents, and large enterprise end users with those for the distributed IT partner community. According to Loeb, this approach helped demonstrate how technology and economic trends in the large-scale data center world are trickling down to distributed environments — especially in the age of generative AI and rapidly expanding power consumption.
Data Center Trends Fuel Distributed Opportunities
Generative AI (GenAI) is creating new demands on data centers as well as distributed edge environments, Loeb explained. “AI is doing the same thing at the edge that it’s doing upstream in the data center environments. It’s just the front end side, if you will, of what’s going on in the data center.”
Steven Loeb takes to the stage at the Eaton Partner Conference.
For Eaton’s MSP partners, this shift means new opportunities to build practices around higher-density servers, enhanced power capacity, and low-latency edge computing solutions. MSPs and partners should understand these trends through self-education and conversations with customers who are still formulating their AI strategies. “Right now is a good time to ask because they don’t really know,” Loeb said.
Advice for MSPs: Lean Into Education and Partnerships
Loeb encouraged partners to leverage the wealth of information available from distributors and vendors like Eaton. “There’s a lot of education out there. Right now is a good time to ask because they don’t really know,” he noted.
Distribution partners, he added, are also stepping up as more consultative resources. They are helping partners build out power, compute, or services practices tailored to new data center and edge applications.
Eaton’s Commitment to Channel Growth
The partner conference also showcased Eaton’s ongoing commitment to channel growth and alignment. Eaton’s team is focused on “operational excellence” and removing barriers to make it easier for partners to do business with the company. “We’re working internally to try to determine how partners can access more of Eaton’s solutions in areas that are adjacent to the spaces our partners play in today,” Loeb revealed.
He added that the company is investing more in marketing development funds (MDF), partner enablement programs, and product development initiatives to help partners take advantage of higher-density power needs and edge computing models. “We have this in our technology road map. How do we do this faster and how do we bring out more things that aren’t just little incremental but big steps?”
Managing Tariffs with Flexibility and Support
Steven Loeb
As businesses deal with overall market uncertainty — such as the impact of tariffs — Loeb said Eaton has worked hard to mitigate these challenges for partners and customers. “There are areas of our portfolio where we’ve been able to absorb that and not pass on increases,” he explained. In other areas, Eaton has only passed along what it received from suppliers. “We’re very committed to working through that,” he said.
A Clear Path for Partners
As partners adjust to the rapid evolution of data center demands and edge computing, Loeb said Eaton is focused on helping them “lean further into the channel” with better resources, programs, and technology. While no specific product announcements are set for the immediate future, partners can expect more significant updates in the lead-up to next year’s conference.
“We’re very committed to them,” Loeb concluded. “It’s an exciting time.”
Top 3 Ways for MSPs to Engage with Eaton Right Now
- Tap into Subject Matter Experts: Eaton’s team is actively engaging with partners to help them understand emerging opportunities in edge computing and AI-powered data center environments. Reach out to discuss how Eaton’s solutions can align with your service offerings.
- Leverage Distributor Relationships: Eaton’s distributors are expanding their consultative roles, helping partners identify new revenue streams and build practices around higher-density power and computing solutions.
- Explore Adjacent Market Opportunities: While your core focus may be on traditional IT, Eaton encourages partners to explore adjacent markets like critical power infrastructure and AI-ready edge environments that complement MSP services.
Images: iStock, Eaton
