Arrow ECS Skill Builder Tools Help Create Gung-Ho IBM Resellers
October 11, 2010 Timothy Prickett Morgan
If you are not a reseller of IBM systems and you want to become one, then Arrow Electronics, one of the largest master distributors of servers in the world, has created a new tool called Skill Builder that will get you all trained up and ready to attack the market. The Skill Builder tool, which is completely online, is used by resellers to track the training of individual people and the whole company as they train to gain skills and certifications to peddle different IBM hardware, software, and services. Skill Builder has step-by-step instructions to help you become a reseller, and can be used to get you certifications for specific vertical markets that IBM and Arrow’s Enterprise Computing Solutions group (the part that is a distie for IT products instead of electronic components) are keen on pursuing as they take on other IT players. The Skill Builder coursework has sales and technical courses and also provides resources to help resellers do marketing, business development, and financing as they chase, put together, and close deals. (This all makes it sound a lot easier than it is to sell IT solutions these days, I realize.) “We’re intensely focused on helping resellers deepen their skills and competencies as a key source of competitive advantage and growth,” explained Ayman Antoun, vice president of business partners and midmarket for IBM’s North American sales organization. “The Arrow ECS Skill Builder tool delivers targeted learning for users based on specific platforms, levels and solution areas, providing additional opportunities for resellers to build skills and deliver increased value to clients.” You can find out more about Skill Builder here. The Skill Builder tools join Arrow’s MPower program, which is focused on helping resellers get traction in midrange shops. I told you all about that last summer when Arrow was taking the pulse of midrange shops as the recession was starting to weaken. RELATED STORIES Arrow Rebounds in Second Quarter, Buys Into Unified Comms Arrow ECS Launches Cloud Services, Expands in Germany Midrange Shops Shift Priorities This Year Arrow ECS Adds Professional Services Arrow to Expand Services for ECS, Sells Some Debt Avnet and Arrow: System Sales Might Have Hit Bottom Arrow Revises Its Fiscal Q2 Outlook Downward Distributors Arrow and Avnet Deal with the Meltdown Arrow Lets Mid-Market Resellers Buy Sales Campaigns Arrow Hit by X64 Downturn, Proprietary Servers Do OK Arrow and Avnet Say Their June Quarters Exceeded Expectations Arrow Buys French Midrange Distributor Arrow Buys Agilysys’ IT Distribution Business for $485 Million
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