CDW's Berbee Branches Out With ISV Relationships
Berbee, based in Madison, Wis., has relationships with about 10 ISVs on the IBM platform, a partnership strategy that will likely accelerate now that Berbee is under CDW's wing, said Michael Grone, System z and System I product manager for Berbee.
"We have a number of ISVs, but no other ISVs in this space. This will help fill a gap in our portfolio," he said. "The goal of Berbee is to be coast to coast. We will do that organically and through acquisitions. As we start to expand, it becomes critical to find more ISVs to attach to hardware."
Berbee sees ISV partnerships as a differentiator from other IBM business partners, Grone said. "They try to outsell you on the hardware. We really believe the next critical step in growing our business is to offer the whole shebang: hardware, software, whatever is required to fulfill the customer's need."
Developing new ISV partnerships is particularly important in IBM's System i space where new installs are few and far between.
"It's a product line that's been around for 20 years and has a huge, loyal customer base, but it's not a product line that's growing by any stretch. Our thought process is how can we work with ISVs, and VAI was one to go after in the small to medium customer base. As these customers grow, their IBM environment will grow, and we can continue to help them."
VAI, has built a channel of about 100 IBM solution providers, said Dan Bivona, sales director at the $25 million Ronkonkoma, N.Y.-based company.
VAI approached Berbee at IBM's Business Partner conference in St. Louis in May, Bivona said.
"They were open to it. Berbee has very large customer base through CDW. As a result of that, they realize also that the margins are shrinking on hardware and they're looking for more profitable business. The way to do that is link with an ISV," he said.
VAI's ERP solution scales from about 20 seats to an unlimited number, but it's targeted towards SMB customers, Bivona said.
He doesn't expect the CDW/Berbee deal to impact VAI's other partners. "Like anything else in sales, all sales people are worried about somebody stepping on their footprint. The reality is we don't have exclusivity with any of our dealers," Bivona said. "If a company bring us opportunities, those are the ones we do the work with."