smolaw11 - stock.adobe.com
Channel catch-up: News in brief
We take a look at developments this week at Bechtle, Arrow, Artefact, Jigsaw24, SolarWinds and Snom
It’s been another week that has seen distributors widening their portfolios and making acquisitions, and some vendors deciding that the time is right to announce enhancements to their partner programmes.
Bechtle
The distributor has joined the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) as an affiliate member, giving its backing to the organisation that promotes social, environmental and ethical standards in global supply chains.
“We are confident that the Responsible Business Alliance’s holistic approach will enable us to help strengthen the effective implementation of key ESG standards worldwide. We also intend to make use of the exchange of expertise and the tools provided by the RBA to continuously advance our shared objectives across our business ecosystem,” said Bechtle’s chief financial officer, Christian Jehle.
Arrow Electronics
The firm has sealed an expanded UK and Ireland distribution agreement with Bitdefender as it extends its security portfolio. The pair were previously working on delivering monthly licences via ArrowSphere Cloud. The latest move provides Arrow’s partners with access to a wide portfolio, including endpoint protection, extended detection and response (XDR), managed detection and response (MDR) and cyber risk management.
“Extending our agreement marks an important step in our long-standing relationship with Bitdefender,” said Anthony Dobson, regional director for Arrow’s enterprise computing solutions business in the UK and Ireland.
“With access to the full portfolio, including termed licences, our channel partners can address a broader set of customer needs. The strength of this offering complements our existing cyber security ecosystem and opens up new opportunities across the UK and Ireland,” he said.
Artefact
The global consulting firm has acquired process automation and business intelligence player OFI Services.
“This transaction marks a decisive milestone in the execution of our strategy to triple our size by 2030, and provides clear evidence of our ambition to position Artefact as the leading platform for industrialising AI-driven transformation,” said Vincent Luciani, co-founder and executive chairman of Artefact.
“By integrating OFI Services, we strengthen our ability to connect operational reality with large-scale AI deployment and deliver business impact for our clients. We warmly welcome the OFI Services teams and look forward to working with them,” he added.
Jigsaw24
The channel player will begin reselling the Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform to UK and EU customers. The partner will be offering the technology to its media and entertainment, education and enterprise customers.
“Leostream’s core value is combining enterprise-grade security with high-performance remote access for high-bandwidth workflows, and as an official Leostream reseller, we can offer it more broadly in a variety of environments depending on the need,” said Chris Bailey, head of innovation at Jigsaw24.
SolarWinds
The firm has introduced a number of enhancements to its Reseller Partner Programme, improving benefits and training, and introducing a more predictable discount framework.
“This latest iteration of our Partner Programme is further proof of our commitment to improve business outcomes for customers,” said Barb Huelskamp, vice-president of global channel sales and alliances at SolarWinds.
“We continue to listen to partners and make specific changes that are aligned with their concerns. We understand that the more we empower our partners, the better equipped they are to solve the evolving and complex issues customers must navigate,” she added.
Snom
The comms player has enhanced the support it provides to its certified partners by easing access for gold and silver partners to purchasing terms and bonuses. The firm has also cut the ribbon on its Competence Centre to increase the technical training available to partners around desk phones, DECT solutions and endpoints for the hospitality sector.
“With the further development of our partner programme and the expansion of the competence centre, we are laying the foundations for even closer and more efficient cooperation with our partners,” explained Gianmaria Tononi, team lead support and head of the new training concept at Snom.
“Our goal is to make technical complexity manageable and sustainable to increase the quality of projects on the market,” he said.
