RAM | Reseller Advocate Magazine: Issue 47

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by William Van Winkle

Gartner's IT ChannelVision is an incredible event dedicated to bringing together sellers and vendors from throughout our industry. It is an event about not only building insight but also turning potential into reality. The Annual RAM Awards, presented at this years IT ChannelVision, are about exploring the reality of this year's market and the potential it holds going forward.

For the last several weeks, Reseller Advocate readers have flocked to our Web site and cast their ballots in our seven award categories. From the results, we can see that some priorities in the channel have remained the same while changing trends have brought some new faces to the fore. Ours is a fast-paced, exciting time in which smart partnerships and creativity pay handsomely and the old rules of beige boxes yield diminishing returns. We're proud to help give voice to the reseller community and recognize those who offer exceptional value and innovative opportunities to the channel.

RAM Award: Best Distributor

Some distributors have the best pricing. Others have the best service or selection or inside sales. We’re talking about the whole enchilada. Which national or multi-regional distributor offers the best of all worlds?

Winner: D&H Distributing

The factors that propelled D&H to win our Best Distributor Award last year are obviously still in full force. The company has long been a favorite with white box builders, but D&H has placed fresh emphasis in recent years on building programs with software and peripheral vendors. The company is also dedicated to getting in front of the key trends in computing and building around these product lines educational drives able to let resellers catch the wave, not miss the boat.

“In 2004, D&H was spending a lot of time talking about digital convergence,” says D&H vice president of marketing Dan Schwab, offering one example. “That’s still true this year, but we really doubled down. We’ve been working very closely with Intel on their digital entertainment systems, working also with Intel and Micrososft on more server-level solutions, working with people like ASUS and AOpen on some of their new technologies and differentiator products, like their whitebooks. We’ve been working with software manufacturers to develop OEM programs—people like Computer Associates, Symantec, and Dantz—to create programs specifically for the system integrator channel.”

Every company says it listens to its customers. But D&H has proven to be one of the most attentive distributors in the industry and really did listen when it heard that system builders were tired of being closed out from the consumer electronics market. Today, D&H sells all of the hottest gaming consoles and handhelds, not to mention everything from plasmas to portable audio players.

“In calendar 2006,” says Schwab, “we see a tremendous amount more energy in the server business. It’s clear that small to medium businesses are moving more from desktop- level solutions to the server level, and we plan on being ahead of the curve by offering some of the products that are part of that solution. For instance, our addition of Cisco Systems lets them sell a more advanced networking solution when they’re selling server technology.”

Runners-Up: MA Labs, Synnex, ASI

The RAM Awards normally spotlight two runners-up in each category, but this year the voting was so tight for Best Distributor that we ended up having to pick three.

First up is MA Labs, which has specialized in memory modules for 20 years. The company’s SuperTalent line of system memory spans from DDR 266 to ECC DDR2 533 to MicroDIMM notebook memory, sports a lifetime warranty, and price competes very well against the bigger channel brands. From here, MA Labs branched into other primary PC components, then peripherals, and now into higher growth areas, such as whitebooks, multimedia devices, and digital cameras. The distributor maintains warehouses on both coasts, excels at same-day shipping regardless of order size, and remains one of the country’s top Microsoft OEM software sources.

Synnex may have started out primarily as a components distributor in 1980, but the company’s focus has broadened considerably in a quarter-century. Today, Synnex’s Build-to-Order Notebook Program is one of the finest in the industry, but the company also runs similar groundbreaking programs in telephony, video surveillance, and digital home solutions. If you’re looking to outsource your system builds, Synnex excels in contract assembly, and VARs will find plenty to choose from here, from APC to Xerox.

ASI once again shoots to the top of our Best Distributor ranks on the strength of its exceptional regional presence and local delivery in 13 major markets. The company continues to specialize in high availability and low pricing on must-have PC components but more recently has worked to lead the whitebook market on the strength of its two-day, free-ship service policy. ASI’s Nspire line of components and pre-built systems also continues to gain a loyal following among resellers looking for top brand quality without top brand price tags.

RAM Award: Best Reseller Program

A good reseller program is characterized by dedicated, effective tech support, a Web site stocked with everything from downloadable product updates to customizable marketing collateral, and marketing funds to help promote the vendor and reseller together. But what about incentive contests, education programs, and other less obvious benefits? Which channel program is the best?

Winner: Seagate Partner Program

It’s almost as if Seagate underwent some sort of reality show makeover. The plodding, painfully bland Seagate of the ‘90s is long gone, and in its place stands a company bent on innovation, value, best-in-class performance, and dominance within the channel. And we’re not just talking about the hard drive maker’s products; the same holds true for Seagate’s reseller program.

Last February, Seagate unveiled its revamped Seagate Partner Program (SPP), and it turned out to be more than most anyone expected. Sure, there was the obligatory portal, and Seagate was a bit late to the game in bringing on dedicated toll-free pre- and post-sales support by both phone and email. But more important changes include discounted eval products, which on the surface is nothing particularly unique. What matters is the product in question and the timing of its evaluation.

“In the last four or five years, there has been a shift where early adoption of new technology in storage is really coming from the channel,” says Seagate’s Jen Bradfield, director, Americas channel marketing. “System builders are trying to get an edge and find a differentiator product from the tier-ones. They want the earliest possible product we have to offer. So we’ve been making those available through this new SPP program—early evaluation units at a fairly deep discount. And those are available several weeks before volume availability in the channel. That’s one advantage we give to SPP members.”

Also unique is partners having access to Seagate’s Design Service Center in Minnesota. Formerly the testing and development playground for only a handful of tier-one OEMs, the DSC is now open to even small resellers for R&D and refining of their configurations. Seagate offers use of the facilities to any program partner for 50% to 75% off of the standard price—significantly better than you’d find with any competing facility with professional equipment and technicians able to evaluate acoustics, airflow, thermals, vibration, and so on.

Another new facet in Seagate’s program offerings is online education, and not just of the product info page variety, although there’s certainly a lot of that. Seagate knows that good resellers need to understand context and how products fit within trends and solutions. From that evolved the company’s popular webinar series.

Naturally, the old regulars—rebates, promotion info, referrals, and all the rest—are still a part of the SPP. Seagate elected not to ditch the previous program elements that were working, only to build on top of them. Apparently, the plan is working. According to Seagate, program membership is up, and members not only buy more product but return quarter after quarter far more regularly than non-members. Knowing this, Seagate is not content to rest on its laurels but plans on making the SPP even better in 2006.

“We’re looking at offering more rewards for loyalty,” says Bradfield. “We already have a rebate program based on how much you buy of which product, and you get a rebate of X dollars per product. But that doesn’t really help people who want to get their hands on, for example, marketing or training materials which can help them build their business. Of course, we’ll continue to have rebates going forward, but we want to let partners choose from other items with a points program, too. We’re working on developing the actual details and offerings right now.”

Runners-Up: Intel, Microsoft

Intel actually offers four primary channel membership programs, each of them excellent for its own purposes, so it seems inevitable that the combined forces of these four would at least land the chip giant among our award finalists. The Intel Product Dealer (IPD) Program is Intel’s base level program open to all resellers, providing benefits such as collateral, support, sales info, and Web-based training. Most recently, Intel introduced a points-based rewards system for IPDs called Flex that offers goods and services including demo products, consulting, travel, telesales services, client gifts, and more. The Intel Technology Provider Program is targeted at delivering sales, marketing, and training help to VARs. The Premier Provider and Intel Inside programs target higher volume resellers and start yielding more and more varied benefits. Intel derives 30% to 40% of its revenue from the channel, so rest assured that the company will keep the program incentives coming.

Microsoft may be a runner-up for this year’s award, but the Partner Program has probably earned more ink in RAM than any other program in the business. Easy to join and seemingly as deep as the Mariana Trench for those who want to explore everything it has to offer, the Partner Program is structured around education and developing expertise in various “competencies,” or subject areas, within the Microsoft world. As you demonstrate proficiency in competencies and a willingness to devote your company to selling Microsoft solutions, Microsoft will return the favor by helping you market and sell more goods and services. The program is a bit unconventional but a very smart, far-sighted one that seems to resonate well with those who give it a shot.

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