Collaboration, cloud, mobility, Security and IoT marked the second edition of MMe 2016 the Tech Data

These were the key topics on which this channel meeting that the wholesaler held in Madrid revolved and which brought together more than 700 assistants. Areas, that together with the integration of the recently acquired Avnet, They are the focus of the company's strategy that is committed to diversification and investment, centering, above all, in the SMB market and value business.

For the second year, the wholesaler Tech Data has once again celebrated its meeting with the channel in Madrid, MMe 2016 (Metic Madrid specialist), an event that is committed to specialization and replicates the one held in Barcelona. This edition has had 750 registered companies, and 15% more in the first call.

“The objective of this conference is to offer a different concept from that of Barcelona based on a round table model where solutions and practical cases prevail., y, in parallel, We have an exhibition area where products and services that are closely related to the round tables are displayed.. It is also worth noting that this is a specialized event, directed to the channel, where networking plays a leading role”, explains Oriol Cornudella, managing director of the Ibérica branch.

The networking area is one of the most strategic since the wholesaler sees this event as a “business opportunity for small and medium-sized resellers.”, to promote your business. What we are looking for is to create a collaborative environment”, comments Santiago Méndez, director of Azlan Iberia.

Cloud, collaboration, IoT, Security and the integration of the recently acquired firm Avnet have been the key topics of this day. Regarding the impact that the latter has had on the company, Cornudella comments that it has involved a strategic investment of 2,6 trillions of dollars “and will allow us to grow even more, continue with our diversification strategy and become the leading global IT distributor once the operation is completed, which is expected in March or April 2017.

This purchase will allow us to expand our geographic coverage to markets where we are not present, such as Asia-Pacific., which will have a weight of 3%, and strengthen our business America, entering Latin America, which will represent 44%”.

Cloud is one of the sectors that has grown the most in the last year, according to Sonia Martín, head de Cloud Solutions, “The increase has been 360% during the last year in Spain”. Besides, Tech Data has a wide catalog of solutions that remains open to new incorporations. “We are looking for alliances with cloud manufacturers and with companies that have cloud tools.”. “We have solutions for the complete management of the life cycle of cloud services”.

last year, Tech Data God to meet StreamOne, a tool that makes it easier for the channel to generate cloud services and, now, StreamOne Private Label announced, with which resellers can design and build their own e-commerce.

Besides, They have taken advantage of this event in Madrid to publicize their new TD Cloud Pro channel program, that presents new advantages for manufacturers and partners, including lead generation actions, training programs, marketplace, etc. This is a single program for all of Europe that is available in two versions: Cloud Pro y Cloud Pro Advantage. Soon, The company also plans to renew its website..

IoT has also been another of the protagonists of this event. This division, recently created, has set the goal of becoming the wholesaler par excellence in this technology, providing the customer with a complete offer.

“We want to promote, design and, if required, help install these complete IoT solutions. For this we are creating the internal model of the division, reaching international agreements with different manufacturers such as Nexiona, IBM, Cisco, Microsoft, Dell o Libelium. The challenge we set for ourselves is to design more IoT solutions exclusive to Tech Data.”, Alejandro Benito clarifies, head de IoT Solutions.

This strategy of agreements and collaborations with manufacturers includes the one reached with Nexiona, which has resulted in the launch of a bundle aimed at the SMB market.. This is integrated by the Nexiona Mimetiq Lite tool and the Dell DG5000 Gateway, a pack that is designed for users who are starting out in the world of IoT.

One last area that has been reflected in the MMe event 2016 has been the Security, whose division was announced this summer and which, as commented by its Division Manager, Martin Trullas, is starting its journey and is doing so around McAfee and SonicWall products, although they plan to expand this portfolio with other brands.

AV collaborative environment

When it comes to collaboration business, in the MMe 2016 this has had a great weight. For Joan Aixá, Maverick director, This market has undergone a great transformation, going from selling products to platforms. “The user profile has changed, He no longer just wants to see presentations but wants to participate and collaborate. We no longer talk about a meeting room but rather a collaborative environment. This change has led to a greater demand for AV installations, both large and smaller and Maverick has a wide portfolio to respond to all types of needs”.

Inside the exhibition area, The Maverick stand has had a wide exhibition of this type of collaborative solutions, where attendees have been able to see and try them. Among these was Microsoft Surface Hub and Logitech Group Kit, as well as ClickShare's CS100 wireless collaboration system.

In this area, different audiovisual proposals were also exhibited, such as projection solutions, displays and MultiPresenter from NEC or the ActivPanel from Promethean with integrated Android. This expo area was complemented with a Nobo projection screen and Peerless-AV supports.

Development of the presentations

After the welcome, by Santiago Méndez, director of Azlan Iberia, The day started with a presentation by David López, business development manager de Maverick, which dealt with the latest developments in the field of collaboration. Once this was finished, the different round tables began..

In the first of them, dedicated to the cloud, The challenges faced by partners who are transforming their business to undertake projects in the cloud were analyzed.. The second, dedicated to mobility, had the participation of the main manufacturers, that showed how they are adapting to the new needs of users.

At the third table, dedicated to security, Aspects such as new hybrid cloud environments or adaptation to the new European NIS legislation were discussed.. Finally, a round table on the Internet of Things took place (IoT), to show how to become a solution provider of this type, and how manufacturers and wholesalers help.

Value above volume

Regarding business strategy, The axes that drive this wholesaler are diversification, investment and the SMB market. In addition, Santiago Méndez stated that where they are investing is in value “which is increasingly important in our strategy.”, since it supposes the 50% of the business in Spain if mobility is included, although we do not neglect the volume”.

Sales directed to SMB are what has grown the most in the company, and 20% in the last ten months, and by the segment on which they are betting the most.

Regarding the retail market, The first quarter was not positive but it is being positive in this second part of the year. Regarding Corporate, It is still a market that remains stable “although we are seeing how it is growing slowly”.