Distributors Set Sights On Midmarket

Tech Data and Ingram Micro recently launched divisions dedicated to higher-end server and storage technologies that target midmarket customers and help resellers with increasing solutions sales that have longer cycles than the average SMB product sale. Meanwhile, Avnet and Arrow's Enterprise Computing Solutions group are both making midmarket pushes.

Tech Data's Advanced Infrastructure Solutions division launched at the beginning of this year, bringing together server and storage solutions with an emphasis on blade computing and server virtualization.

"We clearly feel that this is a space that we do a very good job in today, and one that we see has huge growth potential as we go forward," said Pete Peterson, senior vice president and general manager of the AIS division at the Clearwater, Fla.-based distributor. "What we're seeing is a convergence in not only the technology but even in the marketplace."

Avnet, for example, is scaling down its enterprise-class solutions for the midmarket in VoIP, network security, storage, mobility and virtualization. "We're building out the portfolio of best-of-breed suppliers that have products that can fit into those practices and go into those markets, and we're going to make an extension of what we've done in terms of our value model," said Jack Morris, vice president of business innovation at Avnet Technology Solutions, Tempe, Ariz.

Ingram Micro's Infrastructure Technology Solutions division also was unveiled last month as a vehicle for taking networking and infrastructure technologies to the midmarket.

The Santa Ana, Calif.-based distributor aims to bring midmarket bundles to resellers but knows that it will take investments from both Ingram and its customers. "The sales cycle for the VAR is very different from the regular product sell. It's not going to be going out and making a visit and coming back with an order. It can take up to six months," said Keith Bradley, president of Ingram Micro North America.

"Obviously, the VAR is going to be much more dependent on a distributor who is willing to make investments along that timeline," he said. "I think we see [the midmarket] as a decent growth market for the next couple of years, if we're willing to invest in what it takes to really support it."

Arrow plans to debut a midmarket program in the coming weeks, and for Arrow Enterprise Computing Solutions President Kevin Gilroy, it's a viable opportunity for the vendor to take its wares downmarket and into new verticals.

"We've been listening and learning for a lot of years now but we've gotten very focused in the last six months on putting together a very thoughtful midmarket program," he said. "When you're talking about midmarket enterprise-lite solutions, you're talking about the spinal cord of those companies you really need to make sure that you have the right level of investment there."

While distributors court VARs looking to get into the midmarket, it's the resellers that benefit, said Dan Sottile, senior vice president of business development for North America at Long View Systems, Denver.

"More and more today, the resellers are involved in higher-end and more complex solutions and all of those resellers have to be able to deliver to the customers. The more the distribution channel can actually assist resellers in delivering those solutions, everyone wins," Sottile said.