Meet the 2015 CRN MVPs

Meet the CRN MVPs: Data#3

Add vendors to that list, says chief executive Laurence Baynham. Technology vendors hold a special place for Data#3 and accreditations are the ties that bind these relationships. Data#3 has the broadest range of gold partnerships of any of the 2015 CRN MVPs but don’t call it vendor-agnostic. The company celebrates the vital role its vendor partners play in the business.

“Over many years we have grown our business with the vendors. We see a direct correlation where if we invest smartly with the vendor we will get a return and the vendor will as well," says Baynham.

Read the full Data#3 CRN MVP profile here

Vendor partnerships

• Cisco Gold Certified Partner
• Citrix Solution Advisor Platinum
• EMC Gold
• HP Platinum/Gold
• IBM Premier Business Partner
• Intel Security Gold
• Lenovo Diamond
• Microsoft Gold
• Symantec Platinum
• VMware Premier

Notes on methodology

Only eligible vendors listed above. Only Gold-equivalent partner levels are included. CRN MVP companies may have accreditations with other, ineligible vendor programs or lower-level accreditations with eligible vendors (for example, we do not list silver accreditations).

We expect the list of eligible vendors to change in coming years, which may open up the CRN MVP program to new entrants.

For further information on the CRN MVP program see this article.

Meet the CRN MVPs: Datacom Australia

Just because it has a bevy of vendor relationships, Datacom is still highly strategic in its choice of partners, says Peter Stein, general manager of licensing, Datacom Australia and Asia. “Datacom has APAC, national, state and, in most cases, client-based strategic vendors.” The company partners with vendors to solve specific customer problems, he says.

“Some of these challenges are client specific, others can be vertically based, such as public sector, education or health, and others again may be geographically important. It depends on the solution Datacom is delivering. The more Datacom can scale solutions, the more important the partnership becomes with the vendors that form part of the solution.”

Read the full CRN MVP profile here

Vendor partnerships

• Cisco Gold Certified Partner
• Citrix Solution Advisor Platinum
• Dell PartnerDirect Premier
• HP Platinum/Gold
• IBM Premier Business Partner
• Lenovo Diamond
• Microsoft Gold
• Symantec Gold
• VMware Premier

Notes on methodology

Only eligible vendors listed above. Only Gold-equivalent partner levels are included. CRN MVP companies may have accreditations with other, ineligible vendor programs or lower-level accreditations with eligible vendors (for example, we do not list silver accreditations).

We expect the list of eligible vendors to change in coming years, which may open up the CRN MVP program to new entrants.

For further information on the CRN MVP program see this article.

Meet the CRN MVPs: Ethan Group

“Most of those vendors, if not all, form part of our cloud strategy. We are so serious in making sure we not only have great people managing our cloud environment, but have people who are completely certified. We don’t take it lightly, to the point where if our resources aren’t certified, they cannot play in that domain in our business. We won’t take any risk,” says Geagea.

Read the full CRN MVP profile here

Vendor partnerships

• Cisco Gold Certified Partner
• Dell PartnerDirect Premier
• EMC Gold
• HP Platinum/Gold
• Microsoft Gold
• Symantec Gold

Notes on methodology

Only eligible vendors listed above. Only Gold-equivalent partner levels are included. CRN MVP companies may have accreditations with other, ineligible vendor programs or lower-level accreditations with eligible vendors (for example, we do not list silver accreditations).

We expect the list of eligible vendors to change in coming years, which may open up the CRN MVP program to new entrants.

For further information on the CRN MVP program see this article.

Meet the CRN MVPs: Dimension Data Australia

Dimension Data Australia director of business Pete Murray (pictured) tells CRN that when the company takes on a vendor, it always partners to “the highest level”.

“As an integrator and service provider, staying current with the market-leading vendors is important for your ability to be a reciprocal partner, and for people and culture – it gives our teams working on these solutions their own personal currency.”

Read the full CRN MVP profile here

Vendor partnerships

• Cisco Gold Certified Partner
• EMC Gold
• HP Platinum/Gold
• Intel Security Global
• Microsoft Gold
• VMware Premier

Notes on methodology

Only eligible vendors listed above. Only Gold-equivalent partner levels are included. CRN MVP companies may have accreditations with other, ineligible vendor programs or lower-level accreditations with eligible vendors (for example, we do not list silver accreditations).

We expect the list of eligible vendors to change in coming years, which may open up the CRN MVP program to new entrants.

For further information on the CRN MVP program see this article.

Meet the CRN MVPs: Fujitsu Australia

“Honesty from the vendor and consistency from the vendor are hugely important,” said Fujitsu ANZ vice president for platforms Alistair Latham. “I have personally tried, through [Fujitsu channel manager] Daniel Campbell and others, to instill this in the way we engage with our channel.”

Read the full CRN MVP profile here

Vendor partnerships

• Cisco Gold Certified Partner
• EMC Gold
• HP Platinum/Gold
• IBM Premier Business Partner
• Microsoft Gold
• VMware Premier

Notes on methodology

Only eligible vendors listed above. Only Gold-equivalent partner levels are included. CRN MVP companies may have accreditations with other, ineligible vendor programs or lower-level accreditations with eligible vendors (for example, we do not list silver accreditations).

We expect the list of eligible vendors to change in coming years, which may open up the CRN MVP program to new entrants.

For further information on the CRN MVP program see this article.

Meet the CRN MVPs: Thomas Duryea Consulting

The solutions provider, founded in 2000, was also a pioneer for VMware in this country. “There was a period there when VMware was a strong player and we were really the first to market in bringing VMware around Australia. We really built a reputation off our abilities there.” Read the full CRN MVP profile here

Vendor partnerships

• Citrix Solution Advisor Platinum
• Dell PartnerDirect Premier
• EMC Gold
• Microsoft Gold
• VMware Premier

Notes on methodology

Only eligible vendors listed above. Only Gold-equivalent partner levels are included. CRN MVP companies may have accreditations with other, ineligible vendor programs or lower-level accreditations with eligible vendors (for example, we do not list silver accreditations).

We expect the list of eligible vendors to change in coming years, which may open up the CRN MVP program to new entrants.

For further information on the CRN MVP program see this article.

Meet the CRN MVPs: Insight Australia

“Yes, it is expensive. But it is absolutely treated as an investment. And obviously we expect a return on that investment."

Read the full CRN MVP profile here

Vendor partnerships

• Citrix Solution Advisor Gold
• Intel Security Gold
• Microsoft Gold
• Symantec Platinum
• VMware Premier

Notes on methodology

Only eligible vendors listed above. Only Gold-equivalent partner levels are included. CRN MVP companies may have accreditations with other, ineligible vendor programs or lower-level accreditations with eligible vendors (for example, we do not list silver accreditations).

We expect the list of eligible vendors to change in coming years, which may open up the CRN MVP program to new entrants.

For further information on the CRN MVP program see this article.

Meet the CRN MVPs: The Missing Link Network Integration

Founded in 1997, the Missing Link is based in the suburb of Artarmon with two directors, Gambotto and Daniel Forsythe.

Gambotto estimates the company spends about $150,000 to $250,000 each year to maintain its vendor accreditations, much of it in opportunity costs. “From a technical team perspective, it’s exam time opportunity cost. And for sales teams, it’s exams, on-site training programs and workshops.”

Read the full CRN MVP profile here

Vendor partnerships

• IBM Premier Business Partner
• Intel Security Gold
• Lenovo Gold
• Microsoft Gold

Notes on methodology

Only eligible vendors listed above. Only Gold-equivalent partner levels are included. CRN MVP companies may have accreditations with other, ineligible vendor programs or lower-level accreditations with eligible vendors (for example, we do not list silver accreditations).

We expect the list of eligible vendors to change in coming years, which may open up the CRN MVP program to new entrants.

For further information on the CRN MVP program see this article.

Meet the CRN MVPs: Inabox

Anittel chief executive officer Vincent Pesquet (pictured) tells CRN that its vendor relationships are geared by client demand.

“First and foremost, it’s driven by our customers... They want vendors that can mitigate their risk; of course, the capability of the products play a part; and the brand name. Even at the very senior levels of our customer organisations, they’re very savvy around technology.”

Read the full CRN MVP profile here

Vendor partnerships

• Dell PartnerDirect Premier
• HP Platinum/Gold
• Lenovo Gold
• Microsoft Gold

Notes on methodology

Only eligible vendors listed above. Only Gold-equivalent partner levels are included. CRN MVP companies may have accreditations with other, ineligible vendor programs or lower-level accreditations with eligible vendors (for example, we do not list silver accreditations).

We expect the list of eligible vendors to change in coming years, which may open up the CRN MVP program to new entrants.

For further information on the CRN MVP program see this article.

Meet the CRN MVPs: ASI Solutions

“We’ve been a large Microsoft partner, back from the OEM days and now with things like Azure,” general manager Nathan Lowe (pictured) tells CRN. “We’ve been a Brocade partner for a long time, and that’s going back to the days of Foundry, before they became acquired by Brocade.”

ASI Solutions is also a gold partner for Aruba, now under HP, and is diamond-level in the Lenovo program.

Read the full CRN MVP profile here

Vendor partnerships

• HP: Aruba Gold
• Intel Security Gold
• Lenovo Diamond
• Microsoft Gold

Notes on methodology

Only eligible vendors listed above. Only Gold-equivalent partner levels are included. CRN MVP companies may have accreditations with other, ineligible vendor programs or lower-level accreditations with eligible vendors (for example, we do not list silver accreditations).

We expect the list of eligible vendors to change in coming years, which may open up the CRN MVP program to new entrants.

For further information on the CRN MVP program see this article.

Meet the CRN MVPs: NEC Australia

The company has been in the headlines the past year for a large contract with Transport for NSW, ousting Dimension Data for South Australian government work, and a $150 million subcontracting deal under Lockheed Martin’s project with Department of Defence.

Top-tier partnerships with Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Citrix and Cisco saw NEC Australia get over the line as a foundation CRN MVP.

Pictured: NEC Australia MD Tetsuro Akagi

Read the full CRN MVP profile here

Vendor partnerships

• Cisco Gold Certified Partner
• Citrix Solution Advisor Gold
• HP Platinum/Gold
• IBM Premier Business Partner

Notes on methodology

Only eligible vendors listed above. Only Gold-equivalent partner levels are included. CRN MVP companies may have accreditations with other, ineligible vendor programs or lower-level accreditations with eligible vendors (for example, we do not list silver accreditations).

We expect the list of eligible vendors to change in coming years, which may open up the CRN MVP program to new entrants.

For further information on the CRN MVP program see this article.

Meet the CRN MVPs: Optus

The journey into the IT channel has been helped along with acquisitions such as Alphawest and Ensyst – companies that brought across their expertise and MVP vendor accreditations.

In April, Optus took home four awards from the Cisco Partner Summit in Montreal, including ANZ partner of the year. The same month, Optus beat Telstra to become one of the first two companies to join Microsoft’s global Cloud OS network.

Pictured: David Caspari, Optus Business

Read the full CRN MVP profile here

Vendor partnerships

• Cisco Gold Certified Partner
• Citrix Solution Advisor Gold
• HP Platinum/Gold
• Microsoft Gold
• VMware Premier

Notes on methodology

Only eligible vendors listed above. Only Gold-equivalent partner levels are included. CRN MVP companies may have accreditations with other, ineligible vendor programs or lower-level accreditations with eligible vendors (for example, we do not list silver accreditations).

We expect the list of eligible vendors to change in coming years, which may open up the CRN MVP program to new entrants.

For further information on the CRN MVP program see this article.

Meet the CRN MVPs: NTT Communications

National sales director and infrastructure GM, Julie Barbieri, says accreditations are important because from the customer’s point of view, the channel is “an extension of a vendor”. “Accreditations and certifications require a level of investment and focus from an IT provider,” she says. “Clients get the surety that the supplier is providing a quality service and risk is minimised.”

Read the full CRN MVP profile here

Vendor partnerships

• Citrix Solution Advisor Gold
• HP Platinum/Gold
• Microsoft Gold
• VMware Premier

Notes on methodology

Only eligible vendors listed above. Only Gold-equivalent partner levels are included. CRN MVP companies may have accreditations with other, ineligible vendor programs or lower-level accreditations with eligible vendors (for example, we do not list silver accreditations).

We expect the list of eligible vendors to change in coming years, which may open up the CRN MVP program to new entrants.

For further information on the CRN MVP program see this article.

Meet the CRN MVPs: Telstra

Over the past few years, it has been ratcheting up its IT business through acquisitions of all sorts of IT outfits, from digital media companies to giant telco and data centre giant PacNet to garden variety resellers such as NSC Group, Bridge Point and O2 Networks.

Read the full CRN MVP profile here

Vendor partnerships

• Vendor
• Cisco Gold Certified Partner
• HP Platinum/Gold
• Intel Security Platinum
• Microsoft Gold
• VMware Premier

Notes on methodology

Only eligible vendors listed above. Only Gold-equivalent partner levels are included. CRN MVP companies may have accreditations with other, ineligible vendor programs or lower-level accreditations with eligible vendors (for example, we do not list silver accreditations).

We expect the list of eligible vendors to change in coming years, which may open up the CRN MVP program to new entrants.

For further information on the CRN MVP program see this article.