Tech Data Authorized To Sell Sun Four-Way Servers

Tech Data is moving up the Sun Microsystems food chain.

The Clearwater, Fla.-based distributor has been authorized to sell four-way SPARC servers from Sun, along with CDW, Insight Enterprises and PC Connection, said Gary Grimes, vice president of partner management and sales at Sun, during Tech Data's TechSelect conference this week in San Diego.

"When we authorized our volume partners last year, we weren't sure where the line was [to separate volume players from enterprise distributors GE Access and MOCA]. We feel the sweet spot is up to four-way. Dell exited the eight-way because it didn't make sense for them, so we said, 'Let's look at four-way.'"

CDW, Insight and PC Connection have purchased four-way servers on an exception basis and had no conflict with Sun's enterprise solution providers, Grimes said.

"We took a hard look at our community and where we wanted to go with four-way. There are areas where [MOCA and GE Access] don't play. Traditionally, their partners offer more of an infrastructure-oriented solution. We believe four-way should be an application-led solution, which is where Tech Data is."About 54 percent of Sun's U.S. revenue goes through distribution, up from about 42 percent three years ago. The number is expected to increase as Tech Data's solution providers ramp up Sun practices, Grimes said.

Tech Data has signed just fewer than 150 solution providers to sell Sun servers since Sun authorized the distributor last year. About 110 solution providers are in the registered volume reseller category and another 35 are in the authorized volume reseller category, which provides the same iForce partner benefits that Sun's traditional enterprise solution providers receive.

"We're looking to add another 50 [solution providers] total by the end of the second calendar quarter. We're excited about the recruiting and our prospects, but now it's all about execution," Grimes said. "We're building out support infrastructure so you know where to go in the field, in our sales organization, to go to market effectively."

Joe Serra, now vice president of high-end networking and storage product management at Tech Data, participated in the discussions last year when Tech Data was authorized to sell Sun servers, and said that Tech Data's solution providers are excited about the possibility of selling up to four-way Sun servers.

"They want that upward mobility. Absolutely, it makes sense for Tech Data to have four-way. Our customers aren't asking for eight-way. They want four-way because it's a great value proposition," Serra said.0