Tech Times July/August issue

2 July/August 2012 www.techdata.ca

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As a new member of the Tech Data team I’m excited to be working on my first issue of Tech Times. As I settle in I’m learning about all the events and promotions taking place this summer.

Swept away to Wonderland! Attendees at the annual customer appreciation party in early July enjoyed a magical evening celebrating one of the most beloved stories of all time, ‘Alice in Wonderland’. Tech Data’s reseller partners joined a whimsical world with Alice, the Queen of Hearts, the Mad Hatter and more ‘characters’ for a fantastical evening. A cheque for $13,000 was presented to Sick Kids Foundation. Thanks to everyone for your support.

Many of you also attended the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC 2012). This was a jam-packed session that provided a comprehensive overview of Microsoft’s strategy – from applications to infrastructure and the devices users work on. See page 26 for an in-depth overview of the Microsoft event.

I encourage you to check out the Hot Spots on pages 13-14 for current sales promotions and to visit Tech Data’s website for details on current destination promotions. Two promos that are wrapping up with a reseller trip planned for the fall are: Cisco’s ‘One Step Ahead Knowledge Plus’ promo, which ran from February to July for qualifying Tech Data resellers, wraps up with a trip to San Francisco in September, and in October eligible Tech Data resellers who participated in HP’s 6th annual Houston 2012 Technical Conference promo will be heading to Houston.

Also taking place in September is Tech Data’s Business Builder Tour (BBT) 2012 which will land in Calgary on September 19th with a final stop in Vancouver on

October 4th. If you are based in these cities we hope to see you there. The BBT is a great opportunity for face-to-face opportunities to discuss strategy and develop plans for growth, and of course - have some fun.

I also want to let you know about a great web promotion running this summer. For each order you place between July 23rd and August 31st you will receive a ballot for a weekly draw to win an iPad. The more orders you place online the better your odds of winning. Note: You can use accessTD mobile app with your new iPad. It is so easy to use!

While you are visiting www.techdata.ca you can also learn about new vendors partnering with Tech Data. The Digital Signage team is continuing to develop partnerships to expand our reach in this market. There is great potential for SMBs interested in digital place-based marketing opportunities.

As Q2 wraps up I’m gearing up for a busy

Q3! Enjoy your summer!

Ann CainManager, Communications

[email protected]

facebook.com/techdatacanada

twitter.com/techdata_canada

Summer Sizzles withExcitement

www.techdata.ca July/August 5

6 Executive Address Are the days of summer really lazy?

15 Annual Customer Appreciation Party See what Tech Data’s Wonderland had to offer!

19 Website Ordering Simplify your online ordering

22 Cisco Stampede Highlights from Cisco’s centennial stampede event

24 TechSelect Member Profile DBR Informatique is poised to grow their business

26 Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference WPC 2012 at Tech Data

28 Winner’s Circle Savouring Lobsterfest in Halifax

32 Microsoft Kicks off a New Era A review of highlights from WPC 2012

38 Voice of the Vendor Tech Times speaks with Mike Ansley of Cisco

EditorAnn Cain

Art Direction and DesignJulie MacAulay

Contributing Writers and EditorsIrene Buchan, Ann Cain, Robert Dutt, Andrew Gorski, Mary Bonnici

Project ManagerRalitsa Naydenova

Tech Times is published and distributed six times per year to channel resellers across Canada.

©2012 Tech Data Canada Corporation. Prices, promotions, offers & terms and conditions of sale subject to change without notice. Errors and omissions excepted. All manufacturers’ names are registered trademarks of their respective corporations.

This publication comes to you free from Tech Data Canada Corporation. We received your mailing address from your Tech Data customer account information. To make changes or to unsubscribe, please contact your Tech Data sales team at 800.668.5588 or notify us at [email protected]

Comments, suggestions?Tell us what you think!Have your questions or

comments published in the next Tech Times!

Oh, the lazy days of summer….

The weather we’ve been having these past few weeks has definitely made it difficult to concentrate on all the work at hand. However, no matter how tempting it is to conduct all my ‘meetings’ on the golf course, there are several things here at the office that require my attention.

First and foremost, ensuring that we’re meeting your expectations is top of mind for me. With that being said, this is a great opportunity for me to remind you of all the great functionality available on our website. www.techdata.ca is full of useful information on not just your order history, but it also provides details on products, programs, promotions, special offers and Tech Data initiatives. I encourage you to read the article on our website on page 19 of this Tech Times magazine.

You’ll also be interested in hearing about a great new initiative we’ve recently completed in our Mississauga Integration Centre. Thanks to a joint effort between one of our Inside Sales Managers, John McBurney, and Richard Toledo, our Manager of Integration Services, our Mississauga-based inside sales representatives have recently undergone hands-on training, digging into the guts of HP servers and desktops to become more familiar with the technology they sell every day. To us the benefit is two-fold: our reps become more knowledgeable and therefore better equipped to help our customers, and at the same time, they got an intimate view of the many great services we provide through our

ISO 9001:2008 configuration centres.

Of course, summer is also the time for many of us to kick back and relax with our friends and family. While it seems to have become somewhat of a cliché to talk about just how short our Canadian summer is, there’s no denying that most of us tend to make the very most of the few warm-weather months that we have every year. Whether it’s cottaging, long-distance travel, family day-trips or a stay-cation, I wish you rest, relaxation and good business!

Frank Haid

VP Sales, Tech Data


Exec

utiv

eAdd

ress Are the days of summer

really lazy?“A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken.” ~James Dent


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For price and availability, contact Paul Liakos, [email protected] or 905.286.6800 Ext 22383

Cisco WebEx Meeting CentreCisco WebEx Meeting Centre is the easy, low-cost way to exchange ideas and information with anyone, anywhere—online. Accelerate decision-making and collaborate in real time with remote employees, customers, and suppliers, now with streaming high-quality video. Deliver presentations, demonstrate applications—share anything on your desktop like you would in person.

For more information call your Tech Data Sales Representative today at 800.668.5588.


small to medium businessCisco Aironet 1040 Series Access PointThe Cisco Aironet 1040 Series offers 802.11n performance and reliability at an attractive price for small and medium-sized organizations. The 1040 Series features 2x2 multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology, providing at least six times the throughput of existing 802.11a/g networks.

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Extreme Networks Summit X440 PoE Switches at a Breakthrough Price PointSummit X440 extends the intelligence, insight and control of ExtremeXOS® to the access edge in a compact series of stackable switches that deliver:• Low-cost edge PoE Gigabit Ethernet• The power of ExtremeXOS to deliver automation, security and IPv6• Automated device install• Power over Ethernet : Powers APs, VoIP phones, cameras• Automated Identity Management: Smart access for people and devices• Universal Port Manager: Self-configures for each device


NEW! Cisco ASA 5500-X Series State-of-the-Art Security in a Platform Built for Security Services!These next-generation midrange security appliances use the Cisco SecureX framework to provide a context-aware approach to security and deliver multiple security services, multigigabit performance, flexible interface options, and redundant power supplies—all in a compact 1-RU form factor.The ASA5500-X series meets a variety of performance requirements, from the small branch office to the headquarters of a growing enterprise; they protect your customer’s business regardless of network, size or budget! For more information call your Tech Data Sales Representative today at 800.668.5588.

Quantum SuperLoader 3Earn $$ on Quantum SuperLoader® 3 LTO-4/LTO-5. Program dates: July 1 - September 30, 2012• $25 SPIF when you register an approved opportunity • $250 SPIF when you close the opportunity• Claim SPIF on alliance.quantum.com SuperLoader 3 is an industry leading autoloader delivering superior tape automation at an affordable price. TD SKU# Description

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HotSpotsArbor’s Pravail™ Availability Protection System If your customers’ data center is not available, all the compliance or data integrity in the world is not going help their business or their brand. Safeguard your customers’ critical services and reputation with Arbor’s Pravail™ Availability Protection System (Pravail APS). Download your free whitepaper at www.arbornetworks.com or call your Tech Data Sales Representative at 1.800.668.5588 today!

Help your customers improve their livesErgotron’s WorkFit Personal Desk (PD) enables an effortless sit-and-stand work style. Not only does this help improve their health, but also their productivity - both adding to the company’s bottom line.

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Imation T5R and R4 Data Protection AppliancesImation T5R and R4 Data Protection Appliances are purpose built to provide affordable, enterprise-strength data protection for SMBs. These appliances use hard drives, removable RDX disk cartridges, replication and cloud storage to provide up to four layers of data protection in a single backup infrastructure, providing SMBs with an unprecedented combination of data security, flexibility and simplicity. Visit our Partner Portal at www.imation.com.TD SKU# Description28655 DataGuard T5R Appliance (No HDDs)28654 DataGuard T5R Appliance with 5 x 1TB HDD28652 DataGuard R4 Appliance (No HDDs)28851 DataGuard R4 with 4 x 1TB HDD

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HotSpotsRaritan’s Dominion LX Raritan’s Dominion LX - High-quality, cost-effective KVM-over-IP for your evolving small or midsize business. Dominion LX is the tool you need to cost-effectively manage a constantly changing network environment, provide consistent access to company data and information, expand service capabilities, and focus on strategic initiatives.


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As most Toronto-area Tech Data customers are aware, July is the month known for many things; the Molson Indy, the soaring heat, and of course, the annual Tech Data Customer Appreciation Party. And this year was no different! On Thursday, July 5, Tech Data was pleased to host 1300 of our valued reseller partners at the Guvernment/Kool Haus for a spectacular evening of merriment that included outstanding weather, good food and drinks, catching up with industry friends and the fun energy of Down With Webster. Perhaps most importantly, together we raised $13,000 in donations for the Sick Kids Foundation. Over the last two decades, together we’ve raised over $250,000 for this most worthwhile cause, and that’s something we can all feel good about!


If you haven’t ordered online recently, it’s time you had another look at what techdata.ca can offer you. “We are continuously making improvements to support online sales,” says Glen Cooper, Manager, E Commerce, Projects & Development at Tech Data Canada.

Your online order on techdata.ca is always safe and secure. To help improve your productivity, techdata.ca provides instant access to best pricing, product availability and End User Specific Promotions. “Tech Data partners with CNET to provide customers with the latest pictures, product descriptions and specifications so you can easily access the information you need,” says Cooper. Some popular reseller tools include Promotion Search, MyOrderTracker email notifications, ReturnIT, as well as Order Status and Financial Reporting.

“We want techdata.ca to meet your needs. We know finding the right software license can be a challenge so we created Software License Selector (SLS) powered by StreamOne,” adds Cooper. SLS helps you intuitively find the right license at the right price. Using an online concierge it prompts

you with simple questions to narrow your search in four easy steps. If you already know your part number, you can simply add it to the shopping cart on techdata.ca and the order will still go through a validation process while highlighting necessary fields. You can also include software and hardware on the same order.

Once you’ve ordered the right software licenses you may also need help managing your confirmations. Cooper

recommends the MyLicence Tracker that stores select vendors’ licensing confirmations for one year, so you can resend licensing confirmation emails anytime. You can also store end user addresses along with agreement numbers in the End Users Address Book to avoid duplicate entry of end user details for software purchases.

Cooper also loves AccessTD, a free mobile app you can download from the Apple App Store for your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch to search products, check price and availability, track orders and more from anywhere. If you don’t already have an iPad you could win one with your next online order at techdata.ca! This summer, Tech Data wants to reward you for your online business by giving you one ballot for each online order you place - for a chance to win an iPad. Techdata.ca will give away one iPad a week starting July 23rd until August 31st. You could be a winner!

Got Questions? Call Tech Data’s e-Commerce support Monday to Friday from 8am to 8pm EST at 1.800.334.2445 or send us an email at [email protected].

If you haven’t ordered online

recently, it’s time you had another

look at what techdata.ca can

offer you.


“Stampede is the perfect time to thank customers and partners for their support and business throughout the year. Tech Data did a terrific job hosting a select group of Cisco partners and Cisco employees at Lynx Ridge for the golf tournament, followed by their tremendous sponsorship and logistics support of the annual Cisco Stampede breakfast the following day. A special Stampede thanks to Tech Data for the job they did this year at the events, and more importantly, for the value they bring to Cisco and their partners throughout the year.”Aaron Grant - Director, Partner Operations, Cisco Canada


The Centennial Stampede is built on three pillars: showcasing Alberta to the world; creating an experience of a lifetime; and building a lasting legacy. From Cisco and Tech Data’s perspective there is a fourth pillar which is key to celebrating the Stampede and that is to engage with and show our appreciation to the incredible partners within the Calgary region!

With Mother Nature on our side, local partners gathered with Cisco and Tech Data for a fun-filled day of golf, followed by a great down-home Stampede dinner!

Celebrations continued the next day under the blue sunny sky with our Annual Stampede Breakfast Event where over 550 reseller partners and end-user customers enjoyed the early breakfast feast and traditional Stampede camaraderie.

These two fun filled days of Stampede experience allowed strategic partners to interact with some key Cisco and Tech Data folks involved in their business. The people, food, locations and overall energy provided a unique Stampede experience to all and we are delighted that we have become a constant in these celebrations with our partners!

We’re looking forward to coming back again next year! Don’t forget - the Cisco buck always stops at Tech Data!


Tell us a little about your organization. DBR Informatique was founded in 1990. We have a great team comprised of two administration staff, three sales representatives and six technical staff. Our employees hold a number of key industry certifications which is a significant part of our value proposition to our customers. Examples of the service certifications we hold include HP, Toshiba, Fujitsu, Microsoft, Dell and SonicWall. And I’m also extremely pleased that effective May 2012, we are HP ServiceONE authorized for business products. Our key areas of focus are security, disaster recovery, virtualization, data protection, print and networking. I’ve been president since 2005, and we joined TechSelect a few years ago.

What are your thoughts on the industry in general?I believe that the world of computing is a fantastic area that keeps us alert by always looking for the next big trend. In this ultra-competitive field it is important to innovate but also to develop partnerships with great companies like Microsoft and HP, and it’s exciting to see those same companies implement programs and tools to encourage and facilitate the work of their business partners. There are so many choices available to our customers and fortunately, TechSelect gives us access to the vendors and knowledge that helps us to inform and educate our clients.

What challenges are you facing and how do you overcome them?The biggest challenge is finding people who care as much as we do for our clients. Finding people is easy, but finding good people is something else. I’m very proud of my staff. They are knowledgeable and professional. Eighty per cent of our employees have been with us for over 10 years. As a result, it’s not only a business, but a family and everybody helps the business to grow.

What would you like to see from vendor partners? How effective are their channel programs?We are an HP shop. Having Partner Business Managers from every business unit really helps. They have many programs available for their reseller partners, and we have used their demo program to help refresh our desktops and displays. We also use Blue Carpet for our sales team, which they love.

What are some of the goals for your organization for the next five years?We have to evolve with technology. Our clients have new needs for their businesses so we have to adapt if we want to stay competitive. In addition to that, our goals are centered around driving company growth. We will launch a brand new website to promote the products we sell and our various services. The new website will also include an online store which is something we don’t

currently offer, and our clients will also be able to access their sales representatives through the website if they have any questions. I also have an exciting new project in mind. If it works according to plan, we will grow through acquisition as well.

How has the TechSelect program helped you meet your organization’s goals?It’s very important for us to have access to the manufacturer. Without TechSelect, I would never have met John Cammalleri of HP, who helped us become a ServiceONE delivery partner by putting us in contact with the right people at HP. Additionally, the TechSelect program has helped to cultivate many friendships and opportunities to network with peers from across the country twice each year. We can talk to everyone without fear, and if they can help me in any aspect of my business, they happily do it. It’s a great community!

What is your outlook for 2012?Our technical department works like a well-oiled machine. We want to continue to grow this part of our business and ServiceONE from HP will help. In the sales department, big opportunities are facing us so I’m very positive!

TechSelect Member Profile In this issue of Tech Times, we talk to Nathalie Gingras of DBR Informatique.


In early July, Toronto was host to Microsoft Corporation’s Worldwide Partner Conference. Welcoming more than 15,000 delegates from over 156 countries, the Canadian mega-city saw more than 500 affiliated events take place. One of those events was at Tech Data’s Mississauga office where we partnered with Microsoft to offer almost 70 international Tech Data employees the opportunity to tour the Advanced Technology Solution Centre, Configuration Centre and Distribution Centre. Attendees from such places as Austria, Peru, UK, Mexico and the U.S were greeted by Tech Data Canada’s president Rick Reid. He kicked off the luncheon, handing over the podium to Microsoft’s Global Account Manager, Linda Rendleman who focused her presentation on FY12 performance and FY13 priorities which include maximizing partnerships, investing in strategic areas of growth and Microsoft’s launch of Windows 8, Office 15 and Windows Server 12. Tech Data Mississauga was delighted to show our Canadian hospitality- this was a first time visit to Canada for most in attendance - and we were thrilled to meet them all!


On Thursday June 21st, Tech Data brought its popular Winner’s Circle Event Series to Halifax for our 4th annual Lobsterfest and the evening was a great success! Tech Data, together with a dozen of our best vendor partners, welcomed over 90 local Halifax reseller partners to Murphy’s on the Water for an evening of technology information, networking, and some delicious local seafood. Of course, the evening would not be complete without Murphy’s famous “how to eat a lobster” presentation (for the benefit of the Torontonians in the crowd) as well as many highly-coveted prizes awarded to a happy and well-fed bunch of Tech Data customers! We’re looking forward to next year’s trip already!

Giv’r!

30 January/February 2012 www.techdata.ca30 May/June 2012 www.techdata.ca


Microsoft Kicks Off ‘A New Era’ at WPC 2012 in Toronto

Eight years ago, Microsoft brought its Worldwide Partner Conference, its annual summertime supershow for its broad channel community, to Toronto for the first time. But even those who were around for the 2004 version of WPC Toronto would be forgiven if they didn’t recognize the version of WPC that came to the city this July. In the eight years between returns to Toronto, the number of attendees at WPC has more than tripled, reaching an all-time WPC record of 16,000 for this year’s event.WPC’s return to Canada comes at an historic time for the company’s partners – just two weeks into what Microsoft is branding ‘A New Era’ at WPC 2012 in Toronto, calling it the most important (fiscal) year in its history. For the first time in the company’s history, CEO Steve Ballmer told attendees, Microsoft is releasing new versions of all of its major products – all of them. And it’s doing so with the new Metro user interface, which it says will be the first user interface that scales all the way from the largest desktop monitor to the smallest smartphone screen. Ballmer told partners that the Windows 8 launch would serve as the beginning of “the most epic year in Microsoft history.”

Microsoft honoured award-winning partners from around the world on the main stage at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto

By Robert Dutt


CEO Steve Ballmer said Windows 8 is “the biggest deal for Microsoft in 17 years, and a huge deal for our partners.”

The foundation of this epic year is, of course, the launch of Windows 8. The updated version of the company’s flagship operating system features the Metro interface and built-in support for touch, moves that are clearly intended to make Windows a standard operating system across desktop and laptop PCs and a host of tablets and other touch-centric devices, the kinds of devices that would otherwise run a mobile operating system, like Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android.

After a quick nod to its past – the company feted partners for selling more than 630 million Windows 7 licenses to date, and making Windows 7 the desktop operating system for more than half of the company’s enterprise customers – it set its path for the future, announcing that Windows 8 will release to manufacturers in the end of August, with general availability slated for the end of October. Enterprise customers with existing subscriptions will be able to get their hands on the new OS as early as August, Microsoft said.

Kevin Turner, Microsoft’s COO, told partners that the best route to Windows 8 is through Windows 7, and reiterated that the company will not extend its end-of-life deadline for the still-popular Windows XP platform, saying that

in April 2014, “we’re going to celebrate the 15th birthday of Windows XP, and then we’re going to put it to sleep. May it rest in peace.”Windows 8 is, of course, not the only massive product launch slated for this coming year. Microsoft also announced that Windows Server 2012 would release to manufacturers in August, with general availability in September. The company also said it’s on track to deliver Office 15, which will be the first time Office has been refreshed across desktop, mobile, and online services at the same time. The company did not announce details of the Office 15 launch, but did say to expect more details later this summer.

From its launch two years ago as Business Productivity Online Services (BPOS) through to its re-brand as Office 365 a year ago, the biggest partner complaint around Microsoft’s hosted collaboration and communications stack has been the software giant’s refusal to allow solution providers to bill their customers directly for the online services the same way they would invoice for a software package or license.

So when the company announced on day one of the event in Toronto that a new Office 365 Open SKU would be available for solution providers, the simple announcement of a new business model for a year-old offering drew the biggest applause of the conference. And with good reason – for the first time, partners will be able to bill their customers directly for Office 365 or include the Microsoft online service in their own suite of managed services and present the customer a unified bill for the total package.

“A lot of partners think that having the billing relationship is having the relationship,” said Darren Bibby, vice president for software and alliances research at IDC. “Some partners have figured out an approach with partners to work around it, but this is going to get a whole new bunch of partners interested in selling Office 365, those for whom there weren’t economics in the past.”

Greg Myers, vice president of marketing at Tech Data Canada, said it’s a great example of Microsoft listening to its partners’ pain points. Tech Data has been working with Microsoft around partner recruitment and enablement for Office 365 dating back to the BPOS days, but Myers said that with the open SKU available, the sky’s the limit for the hosted service.

“Office 365 will be our fastest-growing software play in this next [Microsoft] fiscal year,” Myers said.

The opening up of Office 365 also signals a more major change for Microsoft, Myers suggested. In the past, limited partner options made the hosted software feel like a secondary route to market. “I came away from WPC feeling like Office 365 is going to be the primary route to market rather than an alternate,” Myers said.

Microsoft’s Turner echoed those comments, noting that while Microsoft is signing about 1,000 new partners for its cloud services today, he wants to see that number grow 10-fold, 30-fold, or even 50-fold.

We need every single one of you with us, all the time, in the cloud. Office 365 is our collective future,” Turner said. “Winning with Office 365 is the most critical thing we need to do inside the enterprise.”

However, the Open model will not be the only route to market for Office 365. The company will continue to support a variety of models, including its Service Provider Licensing Agreement and the previous model, whereby partners receive a fee in the form of a percentage of margins for the

contined on page 34 >

Opening Up Office 365Windows 8: Launch Date Set

By Robert Dutt


first three years of a customer’s Office 365 deployment in exchange for handing over the billing relationship to Microsoft. In fact, Microsoft sweetened the deal for the 9,000 or so partners already selling Office 365 in that referral model, announcing that partners who sell more than 150 seats of Office 365 will qualify for first-year margins of 23 per cent for their deployments.

Heading into WPC, there was one very important spot vacant on Microsoft Canada’s partner-facing executive team. Sure, the company had quietly introduced Max Long as its new Canadian president, and Neil Tanner remained in place as Small Business, Midmarket Solutions & Partners chief, having quickly earned veteran status on the Microsoft Canada executive board. But the company was short one partner sales director – the de facto channel chief position – following the departure of Corinne Sharp this spring.

The company turned to its partner base for a new channel chief, introducing Greg Larnder, formerly head of sales for central Canada at Compugen, at WPC.

Larnder said that with him as channel chief, and Tanner, the Canadian channel has an unusual experience ahead of it – two vendor-side executives who are facing the channel, but come from the channel themselves. Like Larnder, Tanner was in the channel before joining the software titan.

“I’ve worked with various channel chiefs for 27 years now, and I respect them all,” Larnder said. “But I’ve never worked, other than with Neil, with a channel chief that actually worked in the channel. They really didn’t understand the language of the channel. You have to kind

of live it and breathe it to understand it.”

But Tanner and Larnder contend that now, that language will be spoken fluently by Microsoft Canada’s partner team.

Larnder said that even over the course of his first few days on the new job – he just officially joined the software giant in time for WPC – that channel familiarity has served him well.

“There’s an instant understanding,” he said. “I know exactly what their issues are because I’ve lived it. I think I can bring to Microsoft a deep, deep understanding of what [partners] have to live through every day, and make sure that whatever we’re doing it’s in their best interest.”But that’s not to say that Larnder believes he already has the answers as he heads into the job. Like most new channel chiefs, his early-day priorities involve a lot more listening than talking.

The software giant announced at WPC that for the first time it is expanding the footprint of its growing network of company-branded

retail stores beyond the 50 continental United States, with plans in place to open new locations in Toronto and Puerto Rico by the end of the year. New Microsoft Canada president Max Long confirmed that the upscale Yorkdale Shopping Centre would be home to the first Canadian Microsoft Store.

The new retail store will provide about 7,000 square feet of space for consumers to try out the latest and greatest Windows-powered devices from a variety of the company’s OEM partners. It may also serve as the only entry point into Canada for the company’s much-hyped Surface tablet devices, as Ballmer confirmed that Surface would only be available through the company’s Web site and Microsoft Store locations.

Robert Dutt is Owner and Chief Blogger at Channelbuzz.ca.New Canadian channel chief

Microsoft Store coming to TorontoWorldwide channel

chief Jon Roskill detailed changes in the Microsoft Partner Network for WPC attendees.

Microsoft COO Kevin Turner told WPC attendees that the company was done “grinding it out” and was ready to go on the offensive with the Windows 8 launch wave.

< continued from page 33


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coWhat are the responsibilities in your roleI’m responsible for Partner Organization in Canada and for the Canadian Solutions Team which encompasses our borderless, data center and unified communications architectures as well as our approach to vertical markets.

How do you balance your dual roles? Cisco as a corporation spends 13% of its revenues on Research and Development, approximately $5.8 billion a year. The biggest value we bring to our customers and to our partners both in distribution and VAR, is our technology. Part of the reason I was chosen for this role is Cisco’s desire to more deeply entrench that technology background and that technology leadership into our approach to our partnerships. The idea is to really bring the core essence of what we are as a company to our partners in Canada. Architectures are a vital part of that strategy and my job is to take that strategy to our partners. Customers don’t buy boxes and they don’t run their business on boxes, they run them on architectures. So Cisco has committed a lot of its Research and Development dollars to bringing together all its technologies to ensure their customers have both the ease of implementation and the ongoing success of operations. If you don’t think about architectures while you’re designing and developing your products you really can’t deliver the benefits of ease of implementation and operational excellence, so we try to be thoughtful about bringing disparate technologies together into an architecture.

How did you get started in the industry?I worked for a small VAR in Vancouver back in the mid to late 1980s. That was back in the days when we were putting X86 computers together by hand and populating memory boards with macro processors and memory chips.

As a high profile leader in the industry do you have any insights or advice for those just starting out?Basically, try to move towards what you love to do because you’ll do it better. There are so many opportunities in our industry for people to exercise their passions. It could be engineering, selling, marketing or writing. The important thing is to do what you enjoy.

What challenges you?There are many things that challenge me but I would say out of all of them, learning has been the most rewarding challenge. I’ve led Partner Organization for a year now, and it’s been a tremendous year of learning. There are many elements to take in such as the pace of technology change, all the details around our program, as well as building and nurturing relationships with our distribution partners and our resell partners. There’s a lot of dynamics in our industry and a lot of change, but it’s a very rewarding challenge to constantly be on a learning curve.

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?Overall, I’m very proud of my ability to balance family, work, and health on an ongoing basis. Throughout my whole career it’s been one of my biggest goals because when you get it right, everything’s in rhythm and you can accomplish so much. As far as my greatest achievement at Cisco, I’m very proud of the regional manager promotion I received back in 2000. I had been a sales rep in Canada and was transferred to Cisco Europe where I spent a number of years there leading the advance technology team. It was a great privilege and I am still exceedingly proud of it.

What are Cisco’s priorities for the year?Our single greatest priority as we move into our Fiscal Year 13, which starts on August 1, is our approach to the mid-market and small and medium business. Cisco has typically done very well with larger organizations, both with government and the private sector. What we want to focus on now is putting together a more coherent approach to bringing the value of our technology to our mid-market and SMB customers.

What do you see as the biggest benefit to partnering with Tech Data?Tech Data are experts at what they do. They know the game in terms of logistics and they understand their customers, who are also our customers, and their needs both from a technology and a business perspective. We spend a lot of time with their leadership team and there’s not a day I come away where I haven’t learned something new in an industry I’ve been in for over thirty years. I’m always learning.

In this edition of Voice of the Vendor, we are pleased to bring you Mike Ansley, Vice President, Partner Organization, Cisco.

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What CanCloud Computing

Do For Your Business?If you haven’t heard of the term cloud computing yet (although unlikely) one can think of the cloud as a web-based tool that enables you, as a customer to store, access, share and change files, emails, and applications in new and innovative ways. Even if the term and concept of cloud computing is new to you, it is probable that you are using the technology in one way or another. Businesses are using the cloud in an ever-increasing capacity, and the cloud is able to support a number of different tasks from email, file-sharing, collaboration, application testing, productivity, CRM, and all the way to social networking. With all of that said, it would be beneficial to an organization’s long-term health and success to invest, or at least investigate the possibility of using cloud computing.

One major selling feature of the cloud is the ease of use and the ability to access your infrastructure from anywhere, provided you have an internet connection. Being able to access your data is incredibly important in today’s environment. We are all, in one way or another, slaves to our cell phones and other mobile devices. Being able to access your data at any time and on any device gives you the options of being more flexible with your schedule. Productivity will sky-rocket as you are no longer within the bounds of only-working-from-the-office as you can stay updated, collaborate and have a lot more convenience in the manner in which you work. All that is to say that the cloud applications that any organization will be using come from companies that are on the cutting-edge of technology, and it is assumed that their applications are innovative, intuitive, and quite simply, effective. Cloud services are designed as an alternative to the complicated, typically on-premise infrastructure that organizations are all too used to.

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What Can Cloud Computing Do For Your Business? Flexibility and scalability are also huge factors that play a part in the daily activities of an organization. Businesses of all sizes, regardless of their scope, function or if they are sales-centric have to consider spikes in activity. This could mean website activity or internal activity from employees. IT managers need to ensure that their systems can handle the spike in activity, and scale up if necessary. This is also a great way for developers to test their applications before they launch them in a live environment. Cloud computing also helps seasonal businesses scale down when they are in lulls and scale up when demand requires. This is in contrast to an on-premise infrastructure, wherein it is increasingly difficult and expensive to scale up or down.

There are of course other considerations when investing in the cloud. Cloud computing isn’t for every organization. Compliance and regulation often halt companies from investing in the cloud because they are mandated to maintain their information on-premise; this is best highlighted by industries like health care, government, legal and financial. Security is often a concern as well. The common misnomer with Cloud Services is that your information is potentially more vulnerable to attacks. This could not be further from the truth. In the aforementioned we talk about how the Cloud Service providers are typically innovative and proactive when it comes to their customer base. Studies have shown that companies are more vulnerable when they manage their own infrastructure, so when you put your infrastructure in the hands of proven companies like Microsoft, Amazon, Salesforce, and VMWare you are more likely to have a secure and guaranteed infrastructure compared to a situation where an organization manages their own security. The above companies also provide a Service Level Agreement or guarantee on their service, meaning they are able to compensate for downtime or loss of information.

Every organization is different and will use the cloud in a varying capacity. It is important for company stakeholders and IT managers to be comprehensively aware of the Cloud Services they are investing in. Not only will it help the IT managers by freeing up their time, but it will also help the overall effectiveness of a company. Cloud computing is the present but also the future. It is up to business stakeholders and IT managers to avoid being static, and embrace the new paradigm.

Andrew Gorski

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“The biggest motivator for me is my love of technology.

I’m always excited to

learning about the newest and latest

technologies.”

AIS Employee SpotlightIn this issue we sit down with Roy Mahamad, HP Technical Support Specialist, Technical Services at Tech Data Canada and talk to him about his passion for learning and technology.

How long have you been with Tech Data? September of this year will be five years. How quickly time goes by when you’re having fun!

What is your technical background? I graduated from a three-year program at Centennial College School of Technology and Applied Arts in 2006 with a Diploma in Computer Systems and Networking Technologies. After graduation I worked at EMC as a Level 2 System Engineer supporting AIX and Clarion Systems. The experiences I gained with EMC eventually lead to me working for Tech Data. Last year, I earned my Master Accredited System Engineer (MASE) Certification in Storage which is recognized as HP’s highest designation in each of its respective categories of Storage, Networking and Converged Infrastructure. I also have an MCP in Windows Server 2008 and currently I am working towards my VMware VCP5 certification.

How did you end up in your current role?I started at Tech Data as an Inside Sales Specialist. Tech Data quickly realized the potential in me and gave me an opportunity to further pursue my studies and technical knowledge towards HP MASE certifications and VMware Virtualization Technology. Today I’m a Technical Support Specialist in the Advanced Infrastructure Solutions (AIS) Technology Services group. I work closely with our Sales Teams and Resellers in consulting and designing solutions for Server, Storage and Virtualization. Over the last year I’ve been a key member in implementing and delivering HP and VMware solutions in our Advanced Technology Solutions Centre (ATSC).

What do you like most about Tech Data?The people here are great and it truly is a team working environment. Tech Data gives you the opportunity for personal growth and career development through vendor certification trainings and hands-on experience with our ATSC Demo Centre.

Please describe a typical day at Tech Data.My day is0 typically spent between several different tasks. When I’m not buried in Tech Connect cases or Watson configurations I’m either studying or working in the ATSC.

What motivates you in your job?The biggest motivator for me is my love of technology. I’m always excited to learn about the newest and latest technologies. Here at Tech Data we’re often exposed to new technologies long before they hit the market and the ATSC gives us a unique advantage over our competitors because we actually get our hands on new products and technologies in a fully working heterogeneous environment.

Anything else you think we should know about you?I love gadgets. When I walk into an electronics store I’m like a kid in a candy shop. I’m always looking to get the latest and greatest gadgets. One of my latest toys is the new iPad and I can’t wait for the new iPhone.

If you have consulting or design solution questions on your HP Server, Storage and Virtualization business, please contact Roy Mahamad, HP Technical Support Specialist or our Advanced Infrastructure Solutions Division at Tech Data Canada at 905.286.6800 Ext. 26839 or 1.877.925.9983, or send an email to [email protected].

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Tech Times July/August issue

Documents

Transcript of Tech Times July/August issue