Telco Drive with New Synnex-Comcast Agreement

A key distribution agreement has been made between Comcast Business and Synnex in order to bring telecom carrier services to the IT channel.

Synnex is now the first IT distributor to act as a major agent through the Comcast Business Solutions Provider Program, and will now provide its VAR customers with a variety of Ethernet, Internet, voice and cloud services from Comcast via its MobilitySolv practice for mobility, communication and networking services.

The vice president of indirect channels for Comcast Business Class Services, Craig Schlagbaum, said: "This is a watershed moment for us because it gives us the ability to reach more people in the IT channel. We're seeing a sea change out there with IT and telco convergence, where customers are demanding VARs be part of the network connectivity services picture because it's part of the total IT solution."

According to Schlagbaum, Comcast selected Synnex as the first distribution partner because, compared to other potential partners, it was more nimble and able to drive forward the ambitious master agency program.

The new partnership means that customers of Synnex can partner with Comcast Business via telecom agent, referral and white-label service models.

The vice president of Synnex's global mobility solutions business, Adnon Dow, said that the majority of Synnex VARs will probably interact with Comcast as agents or referral partners. Managed service providers will be able to co-deliver Comcast connectivity services through the white-label service model.

According to Dow, solution bundles will be made available with distribution, and these can merge connectivity services from Comcast with product offerings from Synnex; this includes networking gear and servers to mobile devices and security software. However, it is also likely that the margins for Comcast's services will be much higher for solution providers - between 20 to 30 percent - compared to only 2 - 3 percent for network router and switching gear.

Dow added: "This is the first time the IT channel has been able to access this rich [telecom services] opportunity with up-front margin."

ServIT is a Synnex customer based in Kennesaw, Georgia, and the executive vice president at the company, Allen Brooks, said that there has been a lot of growth for his managed services business. Furthermore, growth will be extended via the ability to partner with Comcast. Customers are already being encouraged to contact Comcast, and according to Brooks, an official partnership can be developed now with Synnex ServIT.

Brooks commented: "I can't see anything but an upside to this. It's exciting not just for the revenue opportunity but also because we now have a relationship with them."

The mobility business from Synnex is expected to experience 30 percent growth in the next year, due to the telecom services push. Synnex is also hopeful that it will be able to encourage more VAR customers in the direction of telecom services in order to help them adjust the shift to off-premises IT services.

Dow said: "The more stuff that goes up in the cloud, the less hardware there is to sell. We're preempting that with a services-led strategy to allow our VARs to leverage an annuity-based model with better margins." (CY) Link