The biggest distie stories of 2018

It's been another big year for distributors with vendors coming and going, acquisitions left and right and major platform launches from some of the big names in the industry.

Take a look back at some of the biggest stories that came out of distie-land in 2018.

Court shoots down wind-up attempt on Hills

February

The year started with an unwarranted winding-up order against Hills by video management software vendor Milestone Systems over a $56,000.

The action was swiftly dismissed by the Queensland Supreme Court, leading Hills to end its relationship with Milestone.

The distie contended that the proceeds were an abuse of process by Milestone, saying that the dispute had been ongoing for some time and that it stemmed from the integrity of Milestone's former partner program.

Read the full story here

Tech Data plots e-commerce launch

February

Tech Data Australia revealed its new e-commerce system rebuilt under new management.

The distributor installed a local instance of its global Shop.TechData platform in the first half of this year.

The distributor also deployed Tech Data's cloud enablement system, StreamOne Cloud Marketplace. It was integrated into the company's StreamOne Enterprise Solutions, which was previously the Avnet Cloud Toolset.

Read the full story here

Citrix drops distribution agreement with Tech Data

April

Citrix Australia announced it would part ways with Tech Data in April, with Dicker Data taking over as the sole distributor for reseller sales the following month.

Dicker Data joined Rhipe as the software vendor’s second Citrix Solution Provider (CSP) distributor.

“The decision to part ways with Tech Data was purely for business reasons and the split was amicable,” Citrix director of channels for ANZ Brian McColm told CRN.

Read the full story here

Dicker Data adds Commvault's full range to distribution portfolio

May

Commvault appointed Dicker Data as its newest distributor for Australia, carrying the data backup and recovery vendor's full range of products, effective 31 May.

The relevance of this appointment would become apparent two months later when CRN reported that three of its other distributors.

Read the full story here

Ingram Micro reveals cloud commerce platform with Microsoft called CloudBlue

May

Ingram Micro revealed CloudBlue, a new, independent software division targeting service providers looking to build, sell, and monetise cloud services.

The platform runs on the Microsoft Azure cloud, and the two companies jointly sell its services.

CloudBlue is a hyperscale cloud commerce platform targeting telcos, MSPs, and even other distributors who are building their own cloud services.

Read the full story here

Cisco selects Bluechip Infotech to distribute SMB range

May

Cisco signed an agreement with Bluechip Infotech to distribute its Start IT solutions for midmarket customers.

Cisco Start offers a suite of SMB-ready IT solutions including servers, desk phones and telepresence units.

Bluechip Infotech solution manager Willy Harsono told CRN that its arrangement with Cisco was as a low touch partner at a rung below the vendor’s agreements with Dicker Data, Ingram Micro and Westcon-Comstor. Similar to those distributors, Bluechip supplies Cisco Start products to resellers and MSPs.

Read the full story here

Synnex brings managed service finance to Australian resellers

June

Synnex Australia took the wraps off a new managed service finance package that aims to help smaller resellers bundle hardware, software licensing, cloud and professional services onto a single bill.

Synnex Managed Services Finance went live in June off the back of a partnership between the distributor and vendor equipment finance provider SE Rentals.

Resellers can apply for finance for deals from $1000 and upward, which Synnex claimed was the lowest in the market and would make it easier for SMB resellers to diversify into managed services. 

Read the full story here

Ingram Micro takes on AWS by making CloudBlue SaaS market self-service for ISVs

June

Ingram Micro updated its cloud platform CloudBlue to allow independent software vendors to offer their wares as software-as-a-service without having to first formally engage with the distributor.

Ingram’s executive vice president for global cloud Nimesh Dave said that the distributor still has rules that determine the kind of ISVs that are permitted into CloudBlue, but its aim was to have developers consider the company a better alternative to application markets hosted in other clouds’ marketplaces.

That includes even Amazon Web Services, which Dave said is a graveyard for ISVs because its marketplace is so large, but also so lightly-curated, that ISVs will struggle to find customers for their products.

Read the full story here

Ingram Micro lets resellers sell any hardware on monthly bill

June

Ingram Micro launched a new offering allowing Australian resellers to bundle hardware, software and services and sell them to customers on a single monthly bill.

Ingram Technology as a Service, or ITaaS, is underpinned by agreements between the distributor and third-party finance providers so that customers can pay for hardware, software and services as a recurring annuity and the reseller gets paid upfront for the hardware component.

The new offering is particularly geared toward the smaller end of the customer market.

NBN Co appoints first four distributors for ICT channel program

July

NBN Co revealed the first four distributors that will educate and support partners in the network operator's new ICT channel program.

The new distributors are Ingram Micro, Dicker Data Westcon-Comstor and Aria Technologies.
The program, which went live in April, is intended to help provide ICT consultants with the resources required to connect businesses to the NBN, including training, marketing and support services.

The program allows resellers to respond to customer enquiries about the network and refer them to an RSP.

Read the original story here

Telarus changes trading name to Tradewinds for Aussie launch

August

Cloud communications and contact centre master agent Telarus used its official Australian launch event in August to change its local trading name to Tradewinds, a move that should help it avoid confusion with Victorian telco Telarus.

Read the full story here

Synnex's technology-as-a-service platform goes live

September

Synnex launched its technology-as-a-service offering, which it said makes it easier for partners to launch their own anything-as-a-service offering.

The service, launched in partnership with Microsoft, Lenovo and HP, allows resellers to offer services from hardware, software, licensing, managed services and cloud subscriptions under one monthly bill.

Read the full story here

Cellnet expands into gaming with acquisition

September

Mobile accessories distributor Cellnet expanded into gaming software and accessories with its acquisition of specialist distributor Turn Left Distribution (TLD).

The $6 million deal brought in a portfolio of brands including Capcom, Koei Tecmo, Konami, Steel Series, Thrustmaster and Plantronics while adding supplier partnerships with JB Hi-Fi, EB Games, Target, Big W and Harvey Norman.

“This is an incredibly exciting time for Cellnet as we move into a new category which is a high growth area for our existing trading partners,” Cellnet chief executive Alan Sparks said.

Read the full story here