Synnex Varnex 2011: Microsoft, Motorola Keynote Highlights
Day two of Synnex Varnex 2011 kicked off with an array of vendors discussing their market strategies within Synnex. But the highlights were Motorola and Microsoft, which should come at no surprise, since the cloud and mobile device management are at the forefront of many distribution strategies. Read on for a quick list of The VAR Guy’s highlights …
Varnex Day 2 keynotes revealed some interesting information:
- Microsoft:According to Angus Norton, the general manger of the Microsoft Office Division, Microsoft has “been in this [cloud] business for a while,” and understands the SMB as well as the enterprise. Microsoft has been focused on four key goals for the cloud: productivity, database platforms, business applications and infrastructure, and to ensure happy end users, Microsoft has strived to develop “the best experience regardless of device,” to all corners of channel technology, from enterprise content management to unified communications, he said. Windows Phone 7 has been a prominent part of Microsoft’s focus, but so has the evolving workforce. According to Microsoft, 82 percent of midsized companies have remote workers, and 35 percent of small and midsize business will be buying cloud services in 2012. Naturally, Norton transitioned into talking about Office 365 and its potential for Synnex partners, especially when wrapped with services. “With business consulting, customization, migration, adviser and managed services,” Office 365 and CLOUDSolv “drive a breadth of solutions,” and that was “just the beginning,” Norton said.
- Motorola: Senior Director of Global Channels for Motorola Mobility Andon Dow took the stage to talk about Motorola Mobility and the solutions it offers the channel. Dow was bullish on the mobility market, offering predictions that put the mobile U.S. workforce at 78 percent by 2013. Our resident blogger was treated to more facts and figures that showed mobility would grow to astronomical proportions — a point Dow underlined with a healthy jab at Apple for losing market share to Android. Dow called Synnex “unique,” and said Motorola was happy to work with Synnex because it’s “bringing a new, open and very flexible … end-to-end solution.” Mobility and cloud are converging to create new opportunities for integration and migration services, doubly so in the enterprise since inevitably there will be more mobile devices than PCs. And no surprise here, Dow believes Synnex and Motorola Mobility have some serious synergies. Motorola is promising end-to-end mobility solutions which parlay nicely into Synnex’s ability to take VARs deeper into new markets. Motorola’s “flexible” level for partner entry meshes perfectly with Synnex’s extended support, credit and logistics, and Motorola’s extensive device portfolio dovetails nicely with Synnex’s incremental service opportunities, which could potentially increase deal size for a VAR. Simply put, Dow said mobility is serious business for Motorola Mobility. He closed with the idea that it’s no longer just about mobile devices entering the workplace — mobile devices have become our “primary collaboration device” and thus, literally are the future of the workforce.
The VAR Guy thinks it’s fair to say VARs working with big distribution companies may want to take a deeper look at the cloud and mobility if they haven’t already. Now is the proverbial time to strike while the iron is hot.
