Tech Data has launched a new program to help open source ISVs and solution providers better market their solutions to business customers.
The new Open Tech program was introduced to Tech Data's TechSelect community of about 250 solution providers Friday.
"It is really designed to expand our offering in terms of vendor line-card services and support into the open source market. We all know Red Hat today, and Novell's SUSE Linux product. Beyond that, we've not carried any ISV application lines that will complete a full solution," said Stacy Nethercoat, vice president of software product marketing at Tech Data, at the distributor's TechSelect conference in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on Friday. "Both are very strong in the data center and open source clearly is gaining awareness and demand for applications."
While many VARs -- and end users -- are familiar with open source, Tech Data believes not enough is known about open source solutions outside the data center, Nethercoat said.
About 1,400 solution providers are actively buying open source applications from Tech Data, and the distributor aims to help those VARs expand their offerings.
"We've got many of the proprietary software vendors who are offering open-source SKUs within their line card, like a Symantec or Oracle or Microsoft with Novell," Nethercoat said. "Now is a good time to look at open source. We do see a healthy business in that segment, through a healthy set of VARs. Part of it is the economy, and all the discussion around IT departments having to do more with less. Open source conversations are being held more often. [Open source products] offer end users the ability to fulfill his or her need and have money left over."
Tech Data is in contract talks to carry 12 to 15 open source ISVs in areas such as content management, business intelligence, data backup and recovery and collaboration, Nethercoat said.
"They're niche [developers] to me and you because we're used to talking Microsoft and Symantec. In their segment, they're not so nichey. Some have proprietary software offerings as well," she said. "The ISVs we're talking with are well-established and well known to Novell and Red Hat and aligned with one other. They have VARs but they don't go through distribution. It's a fairly new phenomenon for them, but they have a channel of resellers. They're recognizing, as all vendors do, that to scale and grow, they want to expand their base. To do that in a cost-effective way is to engage with distribution."
