Tech Data today launched a Cisco 1Source portal as part of an initiative to simplify participating in what is widely recognized as one of the most complex channel programs in the IT industry.
The goal is to make it simpler to participate in Cisco channel programs using a portal that partners can directly embed within their own business processes, says Nicko Roussos, director of Cisco Solutions for the U.S. at Tech Data.
Alternatively, partners can invoke application programming interfaces (APIs) that Tech Data has developed. Both the portal and the APIs exposed by the distributor are tightly integrated with APIs that Cisco has created to make it simpler for channel partners to automate business processes, says Roussos.
The Cisco 1Source portal is an example of how the principles of the so-called API Economy are being applied to drive digital business transformation with the channel, says Roussos. Channel partners should expect Tech Data to expand the application of those principles to multiple vendors as part of an ongoing effort to expand “the operations entanglement” between the distributor and the channel partners it serves.
Tech Data elected to begin that process with Cisco because of the commitment Cisco made to exposing a well-defined set of APIs, adds Roussos.
“Cisco has done a really good job of listening,” says Roussos.
Tech Data also plans to invest in everything from chatbots to automate processes using conversational interfaces, to advanced analytics applications incorporating various forms of artificial intelligence (AI) designed to both eliminate redundant tasks while increasing the amount of actionable intelligence surfaced to operations teams within solution provider organizations, says Roussos. The goal is to make it possible for channel partners to free up resources to provide additional sales and technical services capabilities by reducing the level of investment required to manage operations, notes Roussos.
It’s becoming increasingly apparent that the level of automation about to be applied to channel management is going to soon increase exponentially. The implications of that digital transformation are likely to be profound as almost every aspect of a channel transaction becomes automated. In fact, IT vendors and channel partners that don’t digitally transform their businesses are about to be seriously disadvantaged to a point where their ability to compete may soon come into question.
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