ScanSource Rolls Out Cloud Services Program For Partners

ScanSource at its partner conference being held this week in Greenville, S.C., unveiled a package aimed at offering channel partners the opportunity to add cloud solutions to their portfolios.

The ScanSource Cloud Services offering through ScanSource Services Group includes cloud applications such as Microsoft Office, Lync and Exchange applications, hosted PBX phone systems, data centers to provide backup disaster recovery, virtual servers and more.

ScanSource also offers product support, training opportunities and marketing services as part of the Cloud Services package.

"It’s all about the value-add. Where can we complement the business for these resellers?" Mike Burns, president of ScanSource Services Group, said in an interview with CRN. "We announced our complementary cloud solutions and I think what it is is a change of paradigm for a lot of these resellers. Some of them have embraced it and are already engaged, but a lot of them aren’t sure what to do yet because it is a change for them. It’s a change of process. That’s why we’ve come out with solutions that complement their products. We’ll market it with them and provide the support. We’ll do the heavy lifting and help them close the deal."

Burns shared an example of how cloud complements a partner's portfolio by depicting a scenario where a server that has been sold to a customer goes down. If the partner doesn’t have a cloud solution in its portfolio, Burns said it could likely be stuck or even go out of business. By adding these cloud solutions, however, Burns said solution providers would have more tools to work with and offer to the customer.

"I think it’s extremely important [to adopt cloud solutions]," Burns said. "You’ll hear examples of folks who said, 'I tried that and it doesn’t work,' but they’re the ones whose business are probably going to float away. Their competition is going to eat them up because they only have one solution vs. a customer who wants multiple solutions."

Matt Slutz, director of business and product development at MSM Solutions, a ScanSource partner based in Memphis, Tenn., views this offering as an incentive for solution providers who have yet to adopt the cloud to be more willing to make the leap.

"I think it’s a fantastic platform and it’s a no-brainer for cloud services moving forward," said Slutz. "I think it will resonate well with the channel community."

Other partners see this as a stepping stone of more to come in the cloud arena.

"ScanSource’s announcement of offering Cloud Services to its reseller community is an exciting step in the right direction," said Todd Baggett, CEO of RedLine Solutions, a ScanSource partner based in Santa Clara, Calif. "The current offering is centered around managed services such as VoIP phone service and off-site backups. I would expect to see these services grow."

PUBLISHED MARCH 19, 2015