If you’re a provider of managed services, what can TD SYNNEX do for you? We spoke to TD SYNNEX’s specialist team about how they are meeting the evolving needs of MSPs.
Managed services are one of the biggest areas of growth in the channel and TD SYNNEX has been providing support and resources to MSPs for quite some time. These initiatives and events are brought together and co-ordinated under the TD SYNNEX Advance programme model, with content, messaging and support tailored for provider partners.
In terms of headcount, the TD SYNNEX MSP team consists of three external and seven internal account managers and business development executives, many of whom have many years of front-line experience working with MSPs. They in turn, are supported by TD SYNNEX’s business units and specialist vendor teams. John Carnell, channel director – managed service providers and systems integrator partners at TD SYNNEX UK, heads up the team.
Working together
TD SYNNEX already works with a good number of MSPs and is looking to engage with more – whether they are firmly established (TD SYNNEX defines this – in broad terms – as 60%-plus of business being generated by services), or whether they are looking to build-up and develop their capabilities as an MSP.
It is really important to have a clear focus on MSPs, because their needs are quite specific
There are also a lot of ‘hybrid’ partners; companies that do a lot of services business but also maintain significant product sales. These accounts are usually managed by the Enterprise VAR team with additional support from the MSP team where they are looking to develop managed services business. More engagement is being encouraged here as well.
It is really important to have a clear focus on MSPs, because their needs are quite specific, said John Carnell. ‘Our role is to take the complexity away, understand their needs and engage with them in the right way. We need to put them on the right programmes that will enable them to get the maximum benefit from the vendor, and then support and help them in developing, positioning, marketing, and expanding their business.’
It does not matter where an MSP is today or where it wants to be, he noted. If a partner simply wants to maintain and enhance its current cloud consumption business; develop a security services practice; or build a wider managed services portfolio, TD SYNNEX can help them achieve their goals through the Advance programme.
A wider perspective
In addition, said Helen Parsons, TD SYNNEX Advance programme manager, TD SYNNEX can provide a wider perspective and guidance on their longer-term strategic direction. ‘A big part of what we provide is a vendor-agnostic view. What’s happening in the market, the key trends and where we are seeing other partners have success. We can also help them to develop their own services by providing support from our technical service team.’
TD SYNNEX’s capability here is really important for developing MSPs. TD SYNNEX has more than 70 technical people with deep knowledge and a range of skills in different vendors and areas of technology. Indeed, 24 are currently taking accreditation training for all the major public cloud solutions to enhance their ability to advise on hybrid infrastructure. This team can be made available to fill any gaps in an MSP partner’s own capabilities – pre- and post-sales – and provide hands-on skills development and training.
There is also the very real prospect of MSPs forming alliances and working with other partners that have complementary solutions, services, or capabilities of their own. This is happening through the networking that takes place during the many Advance programme events that take place. With the need to demonstrate real differentiation and specialisation in a vertical market or technology becoming more important, this is an area in which TD SYNNEX sees more potential and wants to encourage further activity.
The MSP team is there to guide partners through the process
Close engagement
What TD SYNNEX is really doing for MSPs is bringing together all the different options, programmes, and resources to help them develop and grow. These include training and educational resources that are made available through both the TD SYNNEX Channel Academy (a free-to-use sales-focused platform), and the TD Academy, which provides formal vendor accreditation training; access to ‘as a service’ and consumption models for public and private cloud options; Click to Run™ solutions; support for hybrid infrastructures; and access to its own technical team and their knowledge and skills in these areas and in specific vendor technologies.
Finding your way through all this might seem quite daunting at first – but there is no need for concern; the MSP team is there to guide partners through the process.
A typical engagement with an MSP might start with a workshop or round table aimed at understanding the business and their needs. This would be followed by a series of workshops or events tailored to their needs. From that point onward, the MSP team would cater for the individual MSP partner’s needs and, of course, the partner would also have access to all the benefits of TD SYNNEX’s tailored Advance programme.
We are constantly taking feedback and tailoring our engagement to suit our partners
Ever-changing
Of course, the needs of MSPs are always changing, and the team is conscious that it needs to keep on listening. TD SYNNEX ran a series of events recently specifically to gather MSP feedback. These will be repeated as and when they are needed. ‘It’s important to keep listening to MSPs. We are constantly taking feedback and tailoring our engagement to suit our partners’, said John Carnell.
‘MSPs don’t want to sell products, they want to sell services. We help them on their journey, to protect their business, maximise consumption revenues, and support customers on their own transformation journeys. The key to it all is speaking their language – understanding their business and the services they are crafting, giving them that closer engagement, aligning with their teams, and talking to them not as product resellers, but as services providers.’
Contact the Team
TD SYNNEX has more MSP events coming up soon. If you’d like more information about these and the Advance support programme for MSPs, please complete and submit the form below.
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