Synnex Unveils Free RenewSolv Software Licensing, Warranty Services

Synnex Wednesday formally unveiled its free Synnex RenewSolv software licensing, warranty renewal and services subscription dashboard for solution providers.

The RenewSolv dashboard allows Synnex's 15,000 solution providers to track software licensing and warranty renewals from dozens of vendors. Initially, the service supports Microsoft Software Assurance (SA) license renewals and Hewlett Packard Care Packs. HP's more comprehensive Day One contracts, which incorporate multiple products in one warranty including storage, printers, and other products, will be supported by the end of August.

Offering the RenewSolv software licensing and warranty renewal platform service as a free, complimentary service for Synnex partners could be a huge competitive weapon as the Greenville, S.C. distributor aims to grab cloud computing services market share from rivals Ingram Micro and Tech Data. That's because the the RenewSolv software licensing and warranty renewal platform is being hailed as a disruptive, game changing technology service for solution providers.

For Microsoft Software Assurance alone, the RenewSolv platform includes 15,000 SKUs that encompass both Microsoft Open and Open Value offerings.

Synnex is working on a product update that will be available in several months that will add 10-15 more vendors to the RenewSolv software licensing and warranty renewal platform. That update will also allow solution providers to manage their own services offerings including managed services and specialized cloud services. That could be a big game changer for solution providers shifting their business model from capital expenditure project based information technology solutions to operating expense, pay as you go services offerings.

Solution providers also have the ability to upload data for software licensing and warranty renewals for products not purchased through Synnex like IBM or Cisco.

Mike Brogan, President and Chief Executive Officer with Erbs Technology Solutions in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, said he expects over time the Synnex RenewSolv platform will increase his software licensing and warranty renewals by as much as 200 percent. Not only that, he said the tool eliminates what is effectively the need for a full time employee to manage software licensing and warranty renewals.

"Walk into any reseller and look at how they attempt to -- and of course, the operative word is attempt to -- manage this process," said Brogan, who beta tested the Synnex RenewSolv platform. "It is a nightmare. You have to manage multiple vendors, partial information, multiple customers, multiple streams of communication. This tool is going to allow us to manage all of that under one single pane of glass, and effectively manage the [software licensing and warranty renewal] sales and renewal process with our customer in a more professional and efficient way."

"This is going to mean increased revenue from renewals, enhanced customer perception of our ability to manage the renewals process and obviously some efficiencies in operations and reduction in overhead," he said.

As far as the ability to add his own services to RenewSolv, Brogan called that the "cherry on top of the sundae." He said his company does custom contracts with healthcare customers that now will be able to be managed under RenewSolv. "This makes us more confident that we have a good handle on this (software licensing and warranty renewal) so we know we are managing the process for our customers."

NEXT: The Benefits Of The Software Licensing, Warranty Renewals Platform

Synnex first demonstrated the RenewSolv software licensing and warranty renewal dashboard to rave reviews at its VARNex conference in Boston in April.

Among the benefits of the RenewSolv software licensing and warranty renewal platform, Synnex said, are comprehensive analytics highlighting penetration, warranty conversion and renewal rates, automated identification of uncovered equipment, warranty expiration.

The RenewSolv software licensing and warranty renewal platform also highlights renewal and tech refresh opportunities with auto-quote creation up to 90 days in advance and email reminders to resellers alerting them of upcoming opportunities.

What's more, RenewSolv provides the the ability for resellers to leverage co-branded storefronts for customers, and complete integration with the Synnex order management for streamlined ordering and tracking of order status.

Synnex partners can also work with Synnex to manage all or part of the renewals process on their behalf, including making telephone calls to customers, managing the tool, reporting, and processing credit card orders.

Synnex Vice President of Cloud Computing Programs Rob Moyer said the new RenewSolv software licensing and warranty renewals platform is the first in a series of products from Synnex aimed at helping its solution provider partners more effectively manage the end to end information technology lifecycle process. "This is just the starting point," he said.

Synnex is putting together a Synnex RenewSolv software licensing and warranty renewal platform partner council to get feedback on how to improve the service, said Moyer. He said future releases of the product will include billing and collections features and a customer self service software licensing and warranty renwal service portal.

Brogan, a 34 year information technology veteran, said RenewSolv is the kind of breakthrough offering that comes along once in a great while. "This is bigger than WordPerfect," he said of the legendary word processing product.