Tech Data Opens Distribution Of Cisco Service Provider Portfolio

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Tech Data on Thursday confirmed it will begin distributing Cisco's Service Provider Technology Group portfolio, which includes the collection of products Cisco obtained when it acquired Scientific Atlanta in 2006.

The distributor plans to offer the entire SPVTG line, from set-top boxes to digital media encoders, marking the first time many existing Scientific Atlanta partners are able to access those products through two-tier distribution.

Cisco first announced the Scientific Atlanta acquisition in November 2005, and at $6.9 billion, it remains Cisco's largest-ever acquisition by transaction amount. Given Scientific Atlanta's strong focus on set-top boxes and certain video services, the acquisition was seen as helping Cisco expand its horizons toward consumer and home networking markets.

Thanks to increased emphasis on video, however -- the blurring of lines between consumer and business, as Cisco CEO John Chambers put it last year -- the appeal of those Scientific Atlanta products is broader, said Chuck Bartlett, vice president of Tech Data's Cisco Solutions Group.

Tech Data is targeting the SPVTG portfolio toward a wide mix of channel partners, from video equipment resellers to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and select cable operators.

"There's a big opportunity here for Cisco's existing partner base," Bartlett explained. "Suddenly, folks are getting a lot more creative in how they use this technology as a lot of video migrates from cable to IP-based systems. There are a lot of partners focused in certain verticals, such as health care, where this is becoming important."

According to Tech Data, SPVTG includes the following products:

-- Cisco Access/Edge: RF switches, broadband routers, optical hubs, nodes, reverse transmitters, amplifiers, filters, equalizers and line extenders;

-- Cisco Headend, Content Contribution and Distribution: Addressable network management systems, digital decoders, digital receivers/decoders, headends, analog modulators and demodulators;

-- Cisco At Home: Analog set-tops units, digital set-top units, cable accessories, cable modems, headend digital, headend software and the PowerVu Network Center Management Platform;

-- Cisco Network Monitoring and Management: Cisco Broadband Access Center, Cisco Broadband Configurator, Cisco Network Registrar, transponders, backup and disaster recovery;

-- Cisco Digital Media Suite: Digital media encoders, managers and players.

Next: The Impact Of Video

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