Tech Data Launches Cisco Dashboard For Channel Partners

Tech Data launched a dashboard for its channel partners Tuesday that instantly tracks Cisco operational workflows, saving time and resources that the company said can be focused back on the customer.

’What was done previously through email and phone is now being delivered through a portal experience,’ Nicko Roussos, Tech Data’s director of Cisco Solutions for the U.S., told CRN.

In order to create the dashboard, Roussos said Tech Data spent years listening to customers and hearing their pain points and came up with Cisco 1Source as a solution.

Roussos said Cisco 1Source platform is managed through a single screen, which helps partners navigate market transitions without having to make incremental operational or transactional headcount investments. At the same time, he said it helps them repurpose existing roles to focus on the customer.

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He said partners can customize business processes within the program to make the best use of their resources.

Early users of the dashboard have experienced a four-fold gain in their increased productivity as well as a 10 percent improvement in their win ratio, according to Tech Data.

Tech Data partners called it a ’game changer’ for their business. The interface allows Telcion Communications Group to manage enormous amounts of data efficiently, according to Michelle Padilla, CFO of the Turlock, Calif.-based Tech Data partner.

’It gives us the ability to access an insurmountable amount of information that used to require emails or phone calls to our sales team, several times a day,’ Padilla said. ’The ability to look up estimated ship dates, tracking numbers and Cisco sales order numbers on the portal allows us to work more efficiently and gives us the ability to quickly provide these details to our own team when needed. This tool has added value to us as a partner and has proven to be a genuine game-changer.’

Roussos said due to the speed at which Cisco is expanding, channel partners need solutions to help them keep up with the growth.

’Everyone is trying to move faster and we’re trying to give them tools to move more efficiently,’ he said.

Andrew Sage, Vice President of Americas Distribution at Cisco, said in a statement that digitizing the business process is critical to the channel. He praised Tech Data for using Cisco’s APIs to benefit solution providers.

’Our goal is continuous improvement of the two-tier partner experience, and speed is of the essence,’ Sage said. ’Tech Data has aggressively utilized our APIs to create a powerful experience for their partners.’