Synnex To Distribute HDS With Focus On Blade Servers

The Fremont, Calif.-based distributor Tuesday said that it is now selling the entire HDS range of products with the exception of the high-end 9900 models. However, the 9900s are available through Synnex on a one-off basis, said Harry Edwards, senior vice president of enterprise business for Synnex's Technology Solutions Division.

Synnex currently sells midrange and enterprise storage from Hewlett-Packard and IBM, Edwards said. However, he said, HP and IBM storage sales tend to naturally gravitate toward those vendors' respective server sales. "The great appeal of HDS to the end user is it's seen as being independent of any manufacturer," he said.

Tom Valiante, vice president of Americas reseller channel for HDS, said that the deal with Synnex, unlike most distribution deals, is aimed at a very specific target market: blade servers.

"We're targeting about 70 partners in the blade space," Valiante said. "They're tying together a solution that will work for this space."

Edwards said that Synnex is the largest distributor in the blade server space.

Valiante admitted that signing a distributor like Synnex mainly for a specific target market is unusual. "It's normally, OK, let's go sign the world, and two years later you sign everybody up," he said. "We want to target this specific market, and come to market quicker."

Synnex needed to add an independent storage vendor to its product line because of the growth of the market, especially in the midrange and enterprise, Edwards said. "Storage is going to continue to be of primary interest in the enterprise space," he said. "Data is like garbage: you make it everyday, and you gotta put it someplace."

HDS will help Synnex target what Edwards called the "26th reseller." By this, he referred to the idea that many if not most vendors focus most of their attention on the top 25 solution providers.

"We like to note that the 26th reseller has revenue of $30 million to $50 million, is competent in terms of technical launches, and has a custom-facing organization and a good core of products," he said. "And we have the solution portfolio and the financing to reach them."

HDS currently has several distributor relationships. Arrow and Avnet have been working with the company for about five years, and are the backbone of its distribution program, Valiante said. The company also has relationships with Ingram Micro and Bell Microproducts.

Valiante said he has worked with John Padget, president of Synnex, ever since HDS first signed up Access Distribution, where Padget served as president before leaving in 2004. Access last year was acquired by Avnet.