https://www.channelfutures.com/wp-content/themes/channelfutures_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Tech Services Brokerages
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • MSP 501 Information Center
    • 2021 MSP 501 Rankings
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • Channel Futures TV
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Advertise
    • 2022 Editorial Calendar
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2021 MSP 501
    • Circle of Excellence
    • DE&I 101
    • Top Gun 51
    • Channel Partners 101 (CP 101)
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • MSP Summit
    • Channel Partners Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • About Us
  • DE&I
Channel Futures
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Tech Services Brokerages
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • MSP 501 Information Center
    • 2021 MSP 501 Rankings
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • Channel Futures TV
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Advertise
    • 2022 Editorial Calendar
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2021 MSP 501
    • Circle of Excellence
    • DE&I 101
    • Top Gun 51
    • Channel Partners 101 (CP 101)
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • MSP Summit
    • Channel Partners Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • About Us
  • DE&I
    • Newsletter
  • REGISTER
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Agents
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • Channel Partners Events
 Channel Futures

Business Models


Best Buy Geek Squad’s Managed Services Partner Program

  • Written by Joe Panettieri 1
  • March 26, 2012
Best Buy (Symbol: BBY) is set to launch a Geek Squad managed services partner program. Ironically, the move does not necessarily involve mindSHIFT, a managed services provider that Best Buy acquired in 2011.

Best Buy (Symbol: BBY) is set to launch a Geek Squad managed services partner program. Ironically, the move does not necessarily involve mindSHIFT, a managed services provider that Best Buy acquired in 2011. Instead, the Best Buy Geek Squad partner program will promote managed services that telecom resellers can promote to their end-customers. Al Afflitto, strategic partnerships manager at Best Buy and Geek Squad, will lead the effort. Here are preliminary details.

The Geek Squad partner program for managed services will target the SMB marketplace. It will offer standard price-per user and advanced price per user options for desktop support, servers, firewalls and other infrastructure services. The advanced option will include unlimited truck rolls, according to Afflitto.

Channel Partners Conference

The Geek Squad partner program is set to launch at this week’s Channel Partners conference (March 26-29, Las Vegas). Initial target partners will involve master agents for carrier services, noted Afflitto. Those partners will leverage a Geek Squad branded program, and the partners will gain joint marketing collateral, and other promotional materials. Geek Squad will pay commissions to its managed services channel partners, much in the way that partners earn commissions from carriers, Afflitto.

But here’s the twist: Geek Squad will ultimately deliver the managed services to the end-customers, managing billing and customer invoicing along the way. Plus, Best Best has 20,000 field agents — W2 employees — and nine call centers to deliver 24×7 support.

In some ways, Geek Squad will certainly compete against traditional MSPs in the SMB market. But there could be a silver lining here: As Best Buy promotes Geek Squad’s IT services to small businesses, it could help SMB customers to realize the value of managed services.

Oh, and one final thought: What if Geek Squad offered SMB customers some cloud services — from Best Buy’s mindSHIFT business? Here are the early details on that scenario.

Tags: Agents Cloud Service Providers MSPs VARs/SIs Business Models

Most Recent


  • Old job new job
    Exclusive: Zoom Channel Leader Laura Padilla Takes New Role with Airtable
    Airtable's valuation reached $11 billion in December.
  • complexity, maze
    Analysts: Cisco 'Bitten by Macro Issues' in Flat Q3 Earnings
    "Order as early as you can, because I think these delays are going to carry on into 2024, maybe even 2025," one analyst told partners.
  • cyborg vector illustration
    The Gately Report: BlackBerry Ups Investment, Support of MSSP Partners
    Blackpoint Cyber detects threat actors deploying attacks with ConnectWise Control.
  • Russia Ukraine war
    Cisco Reports Slumping Services Revenue, Cites War in Ukraine
    Cisco also cited China's spike in COVID-19 as a negative factor last quarter.

4 comments

  1. Avatar Mark Crall March 31, 2012 @ 2:13 am
    Reply

    Sounds awesome! Oh wait, how did that work out for CompUSA and all the service providers that believed a consumer-focused, retail-based company could deliver services? Sorry to be a complete sceptic but I’ve never seen a company that made money on small margins sold in volume actually win the trust and services business of SMB owners or the channel that serves them.

  2. Avatar tom c April 2, 2012 @ 1:35 pm
    Reply

    Love it. If it’s anything like their retail/home service it’ll be tremendously easier to make a good impression.

    Geek Squad had a great reputation before the takeover.

  3. Avatar Joe Panettieri April 2, 2012 @ 6:34 pm
    Reply

    [email protected]: I’m not guaranteeing success for Best Buy but I do think the Best Buy situation is somewhat different than the CompUSA situation.

    Reasoning: CompUSA was a broken, badly run business before it pushed into services. Best Buy is a pretty well run company that purchased a good MSP (mindSHIFT), and Geek Squad has done reasonably well in the services market. Challenges ahead? Absolutely yes and you could be right about yet another retailer struggling in the services market. But I do think Best Buy has a stronger story than CompUSA ever had. True confession: I actually like Best Buy a lot as a retailer. I always despised the shopping experience at CompUSA.

    [email protected]: I have to concede… I didn’t track Geek Squad before Best Buy’s purchase of the company. I don’t think Geek Squad vans are a big threat to MSPs, but I do think Geek Squad is the one retail IT services brand that consumers recognize…

    Best
    -jp

  4. Avatar Best Buy Geek Squad Shifts From Tech Repair to Relationships May 25, 2012 @ 12:05 am
    Reply

    […] Best Buy Geek Squad’s Managed Services Partner Program […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your Channel Futures account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • IPO
    6 Things to Know About the Upcoming SentinelOne IPO
  • New normal
    IoT's Evolution During COVID-19 and Into the 'New Normal'
  • edge computing
    'Challenging Results' for MSPs in Channel Futures' Exclusive Quarterly Survey
  • Do Master Agents Need a New Name?

Upcoming Events

View all

Channel Partners Europe

June 14, 2022 - June 15, 2022

MSP Summit

September 13, 2022 - September 16, 2022

Galleries

View all

What Does TSB Consolidation Mean for Vendors? Channel Reacts to PlanetOne-Avant Deal

May 19, 2022

The Gately Report: BlackBerry Ups Investment, Support of MSSP Partners

May 19, 2022

Ingram Micro Hits ‘Important Milestone’ for Partners with Xvantage

May 19, 2022

Industry Perspectives

View all

How SD-WAN Helps Secure the Expanding Network Perimeter

May 19, 2022

A Sneak Peek at the 2022 BrightCloud Threat Report

May 17, 2022

Build Customers for Life with CX and Lifecycle Selling

May 16, 2022

Webinars

View all

Simplifying SaaS Security for MSPs

April 27, 2022

How to Supercharge The Network to Support Your IT Superhero Moves

May 3, 2022

The 2022 MSP Challenge: Scale Service Delivery Despite the Talent Gap

April 21, 2022

White Papers

View all

The New Bottom Line: How MSPs Can Meet the Healthcare Crisis While Evolving Their Businesses

April 19, 2022

How to build a Security Operations Center (on a budget)

April 4, 2022

The AT&T Cybersecurity Incident Response Toolkit

April 4, 2022

Channel Futures TV

View all

AT&T, Microsoft, Cisco, ThreatLocker on Unlocking Partner Potential

Agents Share ‘Secrets,’ Industry Opportunity

May 11, 2022

Vonage Addresses Potential Partner Opportunity via Acquisition by Ericsson

May 5, 2022

Lumen Technologies ‘Built for Growth and Scale’

May 4, 2022

Twitter

ChannelFutures

.@Zoom channel leader @LauraPadillaSF has taken a new role with @airtable. dlvr.it/SQm6pd https://t.co/R71QtFlwwy

May 20, 2022
ChannelFutures

Was Cisco right to blame "external factors" for its latest numbers? @zkerravala, @AnuragTechaisle, @OmdiaHQ and… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

May 20, 2022
ChannelFutures

The deal between @Avant_CCC and @PlanetOneComm comes at a critical juncture in the channel, as vendors envision dea… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

May 19, 2022
ChannelFutures

.@QNAP_nas warns of #ransomware attack on storage devices. dlvr.it/SQhjs3 https://t.co/2FL32Zh5Be

May 19, 2022
ChannelFutures

We're excited to announce that @Alvinstafford of @thinktrue_ & @MorganGranfield of @digitalrealty will be on the pa… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

May 19, 2022
ChannelFutures

Check out the latest $CSCO earnings. dlvr.it/SQgxBF https://t.co/fsKaMfOJlL

May 19, 2022
ChannelFutures

Heard about #Xvantage at @IngramCloud Summit? We have details. The distributor calls it “an important milestone” fo… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

May 19, 2022
ChannelFutures

We asked a past top 10 MSP 501 & NextGen 101 winner what the 501 title has done for him. Hear @chitekceo, Founder &… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

May 19, 2022

MSSP Insider

Business advice for MSSPs and news from the broader security channel.

Newsletters and Updates

Sign up for The Channel Report, Channel Futures Update, MSP 501 Newsletter and more.

Live Channel Events

Get the latest information on the next industry-leading Channel Partners event.

Galleries

Educational slide shows and images from live events.

Media Kit And Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • Channel Partners Events
  • Telecoms.com
  • MSP 501
  • Black Hat
  • IoT World Today
  • Omdia

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter

FOLLOW Channel Futures ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2022 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X