Avnet To Resell SoftLayer Cloud, But No IBM i Slices

April 28, 2014 Dan Burger

IBM‘s SoftLayer cloud infrastructure division got a boost last week when Avnet Technology Solutions signed on as a reseller of cloud services. Avnet has been a major player in IBM’s value added reseller (VAR) channel for systems, software, and services for nearly 30 years.

In the early days, Avnet was completely devoted to the IBM midrange (the AS/400, iSeries, System i and IBM i), but it has diversified to handle the gamut of IBM’s hardware and software and many services, including most recently IBM training and education. Avnet’s partner channel education efforts related to the cloud have been in place for some time. Avnet also resells hardware, software, and services from a variety of other IT companies.

SoftLayer’s data centers and global network should be an asset to Avnet and its business partners and Avnet should provide SoftLayer with access to companies eager to move into the cloud. Avnet has the sales and service teams with technical expertise to assist in the deployment of public, private, or hybrid cloud options.

Although Avnet has a healthy IBM i customer base, those shops are not a priority in developing SoftLayer cloud services–at least not at the moment. There will be Power Systems-based cloud services and some of those services will include Watson-derived services. These plans are on schedule for delivery in June, according to Ed Bottini, global SoftLayer and cloud services sales leader, who confirmed that IBM i is not part of the current roadmap.

Apparently, if there’s potential for IBM i, it will be up to Avnet to match up those shops with cloud provisions other than those from SoftLayer.

“Avnet’s history with IBM software combined with SoftLayer cloud capability brings easier integration, which leads to easier adoption,” Bottini said.

Doug Balog, general manager for the Power Systems division inside of IBM’s Systems and Technology Group, discussed bring Power Systems to the SoftLayer cloud in this IT Jungle report in early March.

The Avnet-SoftLayer distribution agreement will initially cover the United States and Canada. Avnet has more than 350 IBM-dedicated specialists in the region. Its main role will be assisting downstream business partners accelerate the development of their cloud portfolios and their delivery of cloud services, which will emphasize IBM middleware and software-as-a-service (SaaS) options.

Business partners interested in learning more about Avnet cloud opportunities are being directed to the Avnet Cloud Solutions website.

For more information about Avnet’s cloud solutions, visit www.avnetcloudready.com.

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