Tech Data Adds IBM MaaS360 with Watson to Cloud Portfolio

Tech Data announced today it is adding IBM Maas360 with Watson, a set of software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications for securing and managing endpoints that have been infused with artificial intelligence (AI), to the portfolio of cloud applications it makes available to solution providers.

By signing up to resell IBM MaaS360 with Watson via the Tech Data StreamOne cloud marketplace, solution providers for the first time can now offer this IBM service on a monthly basis versus requiring customers to commit to an annual contract, says Stacy Nethercoat, vice president of cloud solutions for the Americas at Tech Data.

“This is a true consumption-based offer,” says Nethercoat.

Tech Data is essentially assuming the risk of customers not renewing the service from one month to the next versus simply reselling an annual subscription. That approach better reflects how end customers expect to be able to pay for software in the age of the cloud, says Nethercoat. There’s a fine distinction between having to commit to an annual contract and leasing in the minds of many customers, concedes Nethercoat.

IBM, meanwhile, has been infusing a venerable MaaS360 endpoint management capability with AI capabilities enabled by Watson. The Watson platform takes advantage of both machine and deep learning algorithms to identify patterns indicative of issues that can be addressed before they become an actual problem. Support for a voice-enabled natural language query capability allows solution providers and end customers alike to interact with IBM MaaS360 with Watson without having to type queries.

Competition between endpoint management platforms has been fierce for years. Now vendors are racing to infuse those platforms with AI capabilities in ways they hope will either convince end customers to either switch platforms or stop relying on outmoded manual processes.

Solution providers that today focus on providing those services would be well-advised to start thinking more in terms of adding intellectual property on top of cloud services that will increasingly become automated, says Nethercoat.

The rate at which platforms are making use of AI capabilities will automate the management of endpoints is still anybody’s guess. But at this point, it’s already clear this transition is now all but inevitable.