Category Archives for "Managed Services News"

TD SYNNEX TECHSELECT — TD Synnex is focused on attracting next-generation vendors to foster more growth and expansion opportunities among partners.

That’s according to Cheryl Neal, TD Synnex’s vice president of new vendor acquisition, and Kristi Kirby, TD Synnex’s vice president of vendor management, edge solutions. Both were longtime Tech Data vets before last fall’s $7.2 billion mega-merger of Synnex and Tech Data to form TD Synnex.

Neal and Kirby are among numerous TD Synnex channel executives at this week’s TechSelect Spring 2022 conference in Phoenix. TD Synnex’s three partner communities logged year-over-year growth in the second quarter. In addition, more than 50 new members have joined the communities so far this year.

Bigger Organization with More Resources

In a Q&A with Channel Futures, Neal and Kirby talk about their experiences since the merger. They also talk about how new TD Synnex vendors are driving explosive growth.

Channel Futures: Both of you had long histories with Tech Data before the merger. How have your roles changed since becoming part of TD Synnex?

TD Synnex’s Cheryl Neal

Cheryl Neal: I’m really fortunate because when we merged, immediately I had a team that was from both legacy organizations. So immediately I had those connections of who to go to and what our capabilities are. And so my role hasn’t necessarily changed as just grown and expanded. I’m responsible for new vendor acquisition and there was new vendor acquisition on the legacy Synnex side. But now it’s a bigger organization. We have more resources and we’re bringing the best practices together.

The other part of it was our global solutions, where we’re working with the multinational companies and now we have the expanded geographic coverage. As an example, at legacy Tech Data, we did not have Japan. And now with Synnex, we have Japan. So we have big capabilities now. But I’m really fortunate having co-workers that came from both organizations. I knew who to go to, my team was working really well together and I feel like we jelled immediately.

TD Synnex’s Kristi Kirby

Kristi Kirby: I’ve had various responsibilities within our vendor management or product management segments over time. So as part of that, obviously there were some overlap lines and there were some lines that didn’t overlap within the division. So we did some shifting around of some line responsibilities among both the team at Synnex and Tech Data to really optimize the coverage model. And then from there, also being a legacy Tech Data employee with endpoint solutions, I’ve been able to focus on integration within the systems.

We’re going through an enterprise resource planning (ERP) integration. So just focusing on building a team, combining the cultures, combining the teams and of course at the heart of that is no disruption to our business, only enhancing it. And we have all these new capabilities. There are great capabilities, but there’s not that much overlap, which has been awesome for us because we’re going to be able to bring things different to our partners. There’s been also a lot of learning quickly for us to figure out what those capabilities are and how we can best put them in the market in the speediest way.

See our slideshow above for more from Neal and Kirby, and more from day two of TechSelect 2022.

Avant is buying PlanetOne in a landmark deal for the technology advisory space.

Chicago-based Avant’s merger with PlanetOne brings PlanetOne’s team as well as its business intelligence platform – Sentient – into the fold. PlanetOne founder and CEO Ted Schuman will become customer experience officer (CXO) at Avant, and chief operations officer and president Chris Werpy will serve as chief innovation officer (CIO).

Avant’s Ian Kieninger

“The acquisition of PlanetOne is an instant multiplier for the people, partners and providers working with and for Avant and PlanetOne,” Avant CEO Ian Kieninger said.

The transaction, whose financial details were not disclosed, offers synergies between the Sentient and Avant Pathfinder applications, the companies said.

“The synergies gained from merging the sales excellence and technical talent of Avant with the back-office, operational efficiencies and partner enablement energy of PlanetOne were undeniable — it was the right deal at the right time and for the right reasons,” Schuman said.

Kieninger said both companies possess a mutual respect for “excellence and the employee and partner experience.”

PlanetOne’s Ted Schuman

“One of the best aspects of this move is where there are synergies and separations in the Avant and PlanetOne models, there are incredible and immediate opportunities for our people, partners and providers to grow the business together,” said Werpy, whose new position puts him in charge of strategic initiatives, inorganic growth and alliances.

Background

PlanetOne’s Chris Werpy

Avant last October announced that it had accepted an investment from Pamlico Capital.

CEO Ian Kieninger told Channel Futures last fall that bringing in institutional capital made sense for his team as the technology advisory space grew. He said they had been watching the deals Intelisys and Telarus made with attention to how the industry responded.

“And we watched how people were making these partnerships and what their objectives were. And we realized at some point these industries are going to get really, really big. What was very clear to us is that the revenue opportunity of our channel is tremendous,” Kieninger said at the time. “But we’ve got to widen the straw. It was like we were trying to drink the glass of water through a straw, and the only thing holding us back was the size of the straw. Because the end user community is massive, right? How do we how do we widen the straw – the aperture, if you will – and help these trusted advisers access more customers of their own?”

Kieninger laid out several areas where the investment will help, including international growth, deeper market research and more financial resources for partners. Kieninger also said at the time that Pamlico valued Avant’s organic growth, although M&A was still on the table.

Avant has already put the new money to use. It expanded its market research efforts, vowing to provide Forrester-level insights for the agency space. It also launched an enhanced security practice.

Joining the Fray

Although PlanetOne stayed independent amid announcements from several of its competitors, Schuman acknowledged last year that M&A was always possible for his firm. Although he said he enjoyed PlanetOne’s independence, he said every company has its price.

“I’m not saying that I would never sell. Because anyone who tells you that is lying,” Schuman told Channel Futures last fall..

Schuman exchanged his rationale for the transaction in a video.

Today is an exciting day for PlanetOne. We are overjoyed to announce we have finalized a deal that brings PlanetOne and @Avant_CCC together under the AVANT brand!

Learn more: https://t.co/n5yI3KWSGP pic.twitter.com/STgvqh1PwD

— PlanetOne (@PlanetOneComm) May 11, 2022

Partner Perspective

Mejeticks CEO Rob Devita works closely with Avant. He praised the acquisition.

Mejeticks’ Robert Devita

“This acquisition shows Avant’s commitment to growing by buying other regional masters instead of direct-selling agencies. This gives them a much larger presence in the Southwest,” he said. “PlanetOne brings project management resources to the table where Avant had a gap. Avant gains additional vendors and adds to the revenue book on existing vendors. PlanetOne’s Sentient will fit well into Avant’s Pathfinder platform and gives them additional feature functionality.”

Devita pointed to TCG and TBI, who have both vowed to stay away from private equity. Devita said they remain as two of the largest remaining firms of their kind.

“We will continue to see additional consolidation in this space,” he said.

Avant is buying PlanetOne in a landmark deal for the technology advisory space.

Chicago-based Avant’s merger with PlanetOne brings PlanetOne’s team as well as its business intelligence platform – Sentient – into the fold. PlanetOne founder and CEO Ted Schuman will become customer experience officer (CXO) at Avant, and chief operations officer and president Chris Werpy will serve as chief innovation officer (CIO).

Avant’s Ian Kieninger

“The acquisition of PlanetOne is an instant multiplier for the people, partners and providers working with and for Avant and PlanetOne,” Avant CEO Ian Kieninger said.

The transaction, whose financial details were not disclosed, offers synergies between the Sentient and Avant Pathfinder applications, the companies said.

“The synergies gained from merging the sales excellence and technical talent of Avant with the back-office, operational efficiencies and partner enablement energy of PlanetOne were undeniable — it was the right deal at the right time and for the right reasons,” Schuman said.

Kieninger said both companies possess a mutual respect for “excellence and the employee and partner experience.”

PlanetOne’s Ted Schuman

“One of the best aspects of this move is where there are synergies and separations in the Avant and PlanetOne models, there are incredible and immediate opportunities for our people, partners and providers to grow the business together,” said Werpy, whose new position puts him in charge of strategic initiatives, inorganic growth and alliances.

Background

PlanetOne’s Chris Werpy

Avant last October announced that it had accepted an investment from Pamlico Capital.

CEO Ian Kieninger told Channel Futures last fall that bringing in institutional capital made sense for his team as the technology advisory space grew. He said they had been watching the deals Intelisys and Telarus made with attention to how the industry responded.

“And we watched how people were making these partnerships and what their objectives were. And we realized at some point these industries are going to get really, really big. What was very clear to us is that the revenue opportunity of our channel is tremendous,” Kieninger said at the time. “But we’ve got to widen the straw. It was like we were trying to drink the glass of water through a straw, and the only thing holding us back was the size of the straw. Because the end user community is massive, right? How do we how do we widen the straw – the aperture, if you will – and help these trusted advisers access more customers of their own?”

Kieninger laid out several areas where the investment will help, including international growth, deeper market research and more financial resources for partners. Kieninger also said at the time that Pamlico valued Avant’s organic growth, although M&A was still on the table.

Avant has already put the new money to use. It expanded its market research efforts, vowing to provide Forrester-level insights for the agency space. It also launched an enhanced security practice.

Joining the Fray

Although PlanetOne stayed independent amid announcements from several of its competitors, Schuman acknowledged last year that M&A was always possible for his firm. Although he said he enjoyed PlanetOne’s independence, he said every company has its price.

“I’m not saying that I would never sell. Because anyone who tells you that is lying,” Schuman told Channel Futures last fall..

Schuman exchanged his rationale for the transaction in a video.

Today is an exciting day for PlanetOne. We are overjoyed to announce we have finalized a deal that brings PlanetOne and @Avant_CCC together under the AVANT brand!

Learn more: https://t.co/n5yI3KWSGP pic.twitter.com/STgvqh1PwD

— PlanetOne (@PlanetOneComm) May 11, 2022

Partner Perspective

Mejeticks CEO Rob Devita works closely with Avant. He praised the acquisition.

Mejeticks’ Robert Devita

“This acquisition shows Avant’s commitment to growing by buying other regional masters instead of direct-selling agencies. This gives them a much larger presence in the Southwest,” he said. “PlanetOne brings project management resources to the table where Avant had a gap. Avant gains additional vendors and adds to the revenue book on existing vendors. PlanetOne’s Sentient will fit well into Avant’s Pathfinder platform and gives them additional feature functionality.”

Devita pointed to TCG and TBI, who have both vowed to stay away from private equity. Devita said they remain as two of the largest remaining firms of their kind.

“We will continue to see additional consolidation in this space,” he said.

Avant is buying PlanetOne in a landmark deal for the technology advisory space.

Chicago-based Avant’s merger with PlanetOne brings PlanetOne’s team as well as its business intelligence platform – Sentient – into the fold. PlanetOne founder and CEO Ted Schuman will become customer experience officer (CXO) at Avant, and chief operations officer and president Chris Werpy will serve as chief innovation officer (CIO).

Avant’s Ian Kieninger

“The acquisition of PlanetOne is an instant multiplier for the people, partners and providers working with and for Avant and PlanetOne,” Avant CEO Ian Kieninger said.

The transaction, whose financial details were not disclosed, offers synergies between the Sentient and Avant Pathfinder applications, the companies said.

“The synergies gained from merging the sales excellence and technical talent of Avant with the back-office, operational efficiencies and partner enablement energy of PlanetOne were undeniable — it was the right deal at the right time and for the right reasons,” Schuman said.

Kieninger said both companies possess a mutual respect for “excellence and the employee and partner experience.”

PlanetOne’s Ted Schuman

“One of the best aspects of this move is where there are synergies and separations in the Avant and PlanetOne models, there are incredible and immediate opportunities for our people, partners and providers to grow the business together,” said Werpy, whose new position puts him in charge of strategic initiatives, inorganic growth and alliances.

Background

PlanetOne’s Chris Werpy

Avant last October announced that it had accepted an investment from Pamlico Capital.

CEO Ian Kieninger told Channel Futures last fall that bringing in institutional capital made sense for his team as the technology advisory space grew. He said they had been watching the deals Intelisys and Telarus made with attention to how the industry responded.

“And we watched how people were making these partnerships and what their objectives were. And we realized at some point these industries are going to get really, really big. What was very clear to us is that the revenue opportunity of our channel is tremendous,” Kieninger said at the time. “But we’ve got to widen the straw. It was like we were trying to drink the glass of water through a straw, and the only thing holding us back was the size of the straw. Because the end user community is massive, right? How do we how do we widen the straw – the aperture, if you will – and help these trusted advisers access more customers of their own?”

Kieninger laid out several areas where the investment will help, including international growth, deeper market research and more financial resources for partners. Kieninger also said at the time that Pamlico valued Avant’s organic growth, although M&A was still on the table.

Avant has already put the new money to use. It expanded its market research efforts, vowing to provide Forrester-level insights for the agency space. It also launched an enhanced security practice.

Joining the Fray

Although PlanetOne stayed independent amid announcements from several of its competitors, Schuman acknowledged last year that M&A was always possible for his firm. Although he said he enjoyed PlanetOne’s independence, he said every company has its price.

“I’m not saying that I would never sell. Because anyone who tells you that is lying,” Schuman told Channel Futures last fall..

Schuman exchanged his rationale for the transaction in a video.

Today is an exciting day for PlanetOne. We are overjoyed to announce we have finalized a deal that brings PlanetOne and @Avant_CCC together under the AVANT brand!

Learn more: https://t.co/n5yI3KWSGP pic.twitter.com/STgvqh1PwD

— PlanetOne (@PlanetOneComm) May 11, 2022

Partner Perspective

Mejeticks CEO Rob Devita works closely with Avant. He praised the acquisition.

Mejeticks’ Robert Devita

“This acquisition shows Avant’s commitment to growing by buying other regional masters instead of direct-selling agencies. This gives them a much larger presence in the Southwest,” he said. “PlanetOne brings project management resources to the table where Avant had a gap. Avant gains additional vendors and adds to the revenue book on existing vendors. PlanetOne’s Sentient will fit well into Avant’s Pathfinder platform and gives them additional feature functionality.”

Devita pointed to TCG and TBI, who have both vowed to stay away from private equity. Devita said they remain as two of the largest remaining firms of their kind.

“We will continue to see additional consolidation in this space,” he said.

Avant is buying PlanetOne in a landmark deal for the technology advisory space.

Chicago-based Avant’s merger with PlanetOne brings PlanetOne’s team as well as its business intelligence platform – Sentient – into the fold. PlanetOne founder and CEO Ted Schuman will become customer experience officer (CXO) at Avant, and chief operations officer and president Chris Werpy will serve as chief innovation officer (CIO).

Avant’s Ian Kieninger

“The acquisition of PlanetOne is an instant multiplier for the people, partners and providers working with and for Avant and PlanetOne,” Avant CEO Ian Kieninger said.

The transaction, whose financial details were not disclosed, offers synergies between the Sentient and Avant Pathfinder applications, the companies said.

“The synergies gained from merging the sales excellence and technical talent of Avant with the back-office, operational efficiencies and partner enablement energy of PlanetOne were undeniable — it was the right deal at the right time and for the right reasons,” Schuman said.

Kieninger said both companies possess a mutual respect for “excellence and the employee and partner experience.”

PlanetOne’s Ted Schuman

“One of the best aspects of this move is where there are synergies and separations in the Avant and PlanetOne models, there are incredible and immediate opportunities for our people, partners and providers to grow the business together,” said Werpy, whose new position puts him in charge of strategic initiatives, inorganic growth and alliances.

Background

PlanetOne’s Chris Werpy

Avant last October announced that it had accepted an investment from Pamlico Capital.

CEO Ian Kieninger told Channel Futures last fall that bringing in institutional capital made sense for his team as the technology advisory space grew. He said they had been watching the deals Intelisys and Telarus made with attention to how the industry responded.

“And we watched how people were making these partnerships and what their objectives were. And we realized at some point these industries are going to get really, really big. What was very clear to us is that the revenue opportunity of our channel is tremendous,” Kieninger said at the time. “But we’ve got to widen the straw. It was like we were trying to drink the glass of water through a straw, and the only thing holding us back was the size of the straw. Because the end user community is massive, right? How do we how do we widen the straw – the aperture, if you will – and help these trusted advisers access more customers of their own?”

Kieninger laid out several areas where the investment will help, including international growth, deeper market research and more financial resources for partners. Kieninger also said at the time that Pamlico valued Avant’s organic growth, although M&A was still on the table.

Avant has already put the new money to use. It expanded its market research efforts, vowing to provide Forrester-level insights for the agency space. It also launched an enhanced security practice.

Joining the Fray

Although PlanetOne stayed independent amid announcements from several of its competitors, Schuman acknowledged last year that M&A was always possible for his firm. Although he said he enjoyed PlanetOne’s independence, he said every company has its price.

“I’m not saying that I would never sell. Because anyone who tells you that is lying,” Schuman told Channel Futures last fall..

Schuman exchanged his rationale for the transaction in a video.

Today is an exciting day for PlanetOne. We are overjoyed to announce we have finalized a deal that brings PlanetOne and @Avant_CCC together under the AVANT brand!

Learn more: https://t.co/n5yI3KWSGP pic.twitter.com/STgvqh1PwD

— PlanetOne (@PlanetOneComm) May 11, 2022

Partner Perspective

Mejeticks CEO Rob Devita works closely with Avant. He praised the acquisition.

Mejeticks’ Robert Devita

“This acquisition shows Avant’s commitment to growing by buying other regional masters instead of direct-selling agencies. This gives them a much larger presence in the Southwest,” he said. “PlanetOne brings project management resources to the table where Avant had a gap. Avant gains additional vendors and adds to the revenue book on existing vendors. PlanetOne’s Sentient will fit well into Avant’s Pathfinder platform and gives them additional feature functionality.”

Devita pointed to TCG and TBI, who have both vowed to stay away from private equity. Devita said they remain as two of the largest remaining firms of their kind.

“We will continue to see additional consolidation in this space,” he said.

Avant is buying PlanetOne in a landmark deal for the technology advisory space.

Chicago-based Avant’s merger with PlanetOne brings PlanetOne’s team as well as its business intelligence platform – Sentient – into the fold. PlanetOne founder and CEO Ted Schuman will become customer experience officer (CXO) at Avant, and chief operations officer and president Chris Werpy will serve as chief innovation officer (CIO).

Avant’s Ian Kieninger

“The acquisition of PlanetOne is an instant multiplier for the people, partners and providers working with and for Avant and PlanetOne,” Avant CEO Ian Kieninger said.

The transaction, whose financial details were not disclosed, offers synergies between the Sentient and Avant Pathfinder applications, the companies said.

“The synergies gained from merging the sales excellence and technical talent of Avant with the back-office, operational efficiencies and partner enablement energy of PlanetOne were undeniable — it was the right deal at the right time and for the right reasons,” Schuman said.

Kieninger said both companies possess a mutual respect for “excellence and the employee and partner experience.”

PlanetOne’s Ted Schuman

“One of the best aspects of this move is where there are synergies and separations in the Avant and PlanetOne models, there are incredible and immediate opportunities for our people, partners and providers to grow the business together,” said Werpy, whose new position puts him in charge of strategic initiatives, inorganic growth and alliances.

Background

PlanetOne’s Chris Werpy

Avant last October announced that it had accepted an investment from Pamlico Capital.

CEO Ian Kieninger told Channel Futures last fall that bringing in institutional capital made sense for his team as the technology advisory space grew. He said they had been watching the deals Intelisys and Telarus made with attention to how the industry responded.

“And we watched how people were making these partnerships and what their objectives were. And we realized at some point these industries are going to get really, really big. What was very clear to us is that the revenue opportunity of our channel is tremendous,” Kieninger said at the time. “But we’ve got to widen the straw. It was like we were trying to drink the glass of water through a straw, and the only thing holding us back was the size of the straw. Because the end user community is massive, right? How do we how do we widen the straw – the aperture, if you will – and help these trusted advisers access more customers of their own?”

Kieninger laid out several areas where the investment will help, including international growth, deeper market research and more financial resources for partners. Kieninger also said at the time that Pamlico valued Avant’s organic growth, although M&A was still on the table.

Avant has already put the new money to use. It expanded its market research efforts, vowing to provide Forrester-level insights for the agency space. It also launched an enhanced security practice.

Joining the Fray

Although PlanetOne stayed independent amid announcements from several of its competitors, Schuman acknowledged last year that M&A was always possible for his firm. Although he said he enjoyed PlanetOne’s independence, he said every company has its price.

“I’m not saying that I would never sell. Because anyone who tells you that is lying,” Schuman told Channel Futures last fall..

Schuman exchanged his rationale for the transaction in a video.

Today is an exciting day for PlanetOne. We are overjoyed to announce we have finalized a deal that brings PlanetOne and @Avant_CCC together under the AVANT brand!

Learn more: https://t.co/n5yI3KWSGP pic.twitter.com/STgvqh1PwD

— PlanetOne (@PlanetOneComm) May 11, 2022

Partner Perspective

Mejeticks CEO Rob Devita works closely with Avant. He praised the acquisition.

Mejeticks’ Robert Devita

“This acquisition shows Avant’s commitment to growing by buying other regional masters instead of direct-selling agencies. This gives them a much larger presence in the Southwest,” he said. “PlanetOne brings project management resources to the table where Avant had a gap. Avant gains additional vendors and adds to the revenue book on existing vendors. PlanetOne’s Sentient will fit well into Avant’s Pathfinder platform and gives them additional feature functionality.”

Devita pointed to TCG and TBI, who have both vowed to stay away from private equity. Devita said they remain as two of the largest remaining firms of their kind.

“We will continue to see additional consolidation in this space,” he said.

Social media is on fire with reaction to Avant‘s acquisition of PlanetOne.

Avant announced the deal on Wednesday in a move that brings longtime channel fixture Ted Schuman and the PlanetOne team to Avant. The two sides didn’t reveal terms of the transaction.

“We’re dropping a nuke. This isn’t one-plus-one-equals-three; this is one-plus-one-equals-ten. Today, the channel has changed. We just created a new monster in the channel,” said Schuman, who will serve as chief experience officer (CXO).

PlanetOne’s Ted Schuman

Partners have praised the deal for the geographical and project management gaps Arizona-based PlanetOne helps fill for Chicago-based Avant. Executives from both companies say their respective Sentient and Pathfinder platforms are complementary to one another.

Moreover, the transaction brings together one of the oldest sourcing firms in the industry with a 12-year-old upstart.

Avant’s Ian Kieninger

“It’s really cool to see 30 years of institutional knowledge and success combined with one of the younger firms to create a really special organization, which can cover anything from the front end of pre-sales support to the backend of project management,” Avant CEO Ian Kieninger told Channel Futures. “There are zero gaps here. This is undeniably the most valuable organization to work with, because the amount of value we offer from soup to nuts. There are no gaps in the strategy. There are no gaps in the value chain.”

A New Value Proposition

Schuman said he has turned down multiple acquisition offers. He said Avant brought a value proposition that he had not yet seen.

“I’ve turned down multiple offers. I get approached almost daily and have been for the last three or four years. And it’s just the nature of the world we live in. The [private equity] community has descended onto our channel, validating what we’ve known for years. We have something very special here; it only gets stronger month over month,” Schuman said. “But for me, I never had found the right fit culturally, for employees and for partners.”

At the same time, partners expressed curiosity about how private equity investment in the agent channel and TSB consolidation will look three years from now. More eyes are turning to the remaining independent brokerages and distributors, including TBI, TCG and Sandler Partners. Others questioned if any traditional IT distributors will get into the action or if they already have.

Scroll through the images above to see instant reactions from partners, as well as pictures of the Avant and PlanetOne teams together.

Avant is buying PlanetOne in a landmark deal for the technology advisory space.

Chicago-based Avant’s merger with PlanetOne brings PlanetOne’s team as well as its business intelligence platform – Sentient – into the fold. PlanetOne founder and CEO Ted Schuman will become customer experience officer (CXO) at Avant, and chief operations officer and president Chris Werpy will serve as chief innovation officer (CIO).

Avant’s Ian Kieninger

“The acquisition of PlanetOne is an instant multiplier for the people, partners and providers working with and for Avant and PlanetOne,” Avant CEO Ian Kieninger said.

The transaction, whose financial details were not disclosed, offers synergies between the Sentient and Avant Pathfinder applications, the companies said.

“The synergies gained from merging the sales excellence and technical talent of Avant with the back-office, operational efficiencies and partner enablement energy of PlanetOne were undeniable — it was the right deal at the right time and for the right reasons,” Schuman said.

Kieninger said both companies possess a mutual respect for “excellence and the employee and partner experience.”

PlanetOne’s Ted Schuman

“One of the best aspects of this move is where there are synergies and separations in the Avant and PlanetOne models, there are incredible and immediate opportunities for our people, partners and providers to grow the business together,” said Werpy, whose new position puts him in charge of strategic initiatives, inorganic growth and alliances.

Background

PlanetOne’s Chris Werpy

Avant last October announced that it had accepted an investment from Pamlico Capital.

CEO Ian Kieninger told Channel Futures last fall that bringing in institutional capital made sense for his team as the technology advisory space grew. He said they had been watching the deals Intelisys and Telarus made with attention to how the industry responded.

“And we watched how people were making these partnerships and what their objectives were. And we realized at some point these industries are going to get really, really big. What was very clear to us is that the revenue opportunity of our channel is tremendous,” Kieninger said at the time. “But we’ve got to widen the straw. It was like we were trying to drink the glass of water through a straw, and the only thing holding us back was the size of the straw. Because the end user community is massive, right? How do we how do we widen the straw – the aperture, if you will – and help these trusted advisers access more customers of their own?”

Kieninger laid out several areas where the investment will help, including international growth, deeper market research and more financial resources for partners. Kieninger also said at the time that Pamlico valued Avant’s organic growth, although M&A was still on the table.

Avant has already put the new money to use. It expanded its market research efforts, vowing to provide Forrester-level insights for the agency space. It also launched an enhanced security practice.

Joining the Fray

Although PlanetOne stayed independent amid announcements from several of its competitors, Schuman acknowledged last year that M&A was always possible for his firm. Although he said he enjoyed PlanetOne’s independence, he said every company has its price.

“I’m not saying that I would never sell. Because anyone who tells you that is lying,” Schuman told Channel Futures last fall..

Schuman exchanged his rationale for the transaction in a video.

Today is an exciting day for PlanetOne. We are overjoyed to announce we have finalized a deal that brings PlanetOne and @Avant_CCC together under the AVANT brand!

Learn more: https://t.co/n5yI3KWSGP pic.twitter.com/STgvqh1PwD

— PlanetOne (@PlanetOneComm) May 11, 2022

Partner Perspective

Mejeticks CEO Rob Devita works closely with Avant. He praised the acquisition.

Mejeticks’ Robert Devita

“This acquisition shows Avant’s commitment to growing by buying other regional masters instead of direct-selling agencies. This gives them a much larger presence in the Southwest,” he said. “PlanetOne brings project management resources to the table where Avant had a gap. Avant gains additional vendors and adds to the revenue book on existing vendors. PlanetOne’s Sentient will fit well into Avant’s Pathfinder platform and gives them additional feature functionality.”

Devita pointed to TCG and TBI, who have both vowed to stay away from private equity. Devita said they remain as two of the largest remaining firms of their kind.

“We will continue to see additional consolidation in this space,” he said.

Is it the golden age of the partner? Certainly, for the traditional agent, there might not be a better time to sell.

We asked Eclipse Telecom’s Dave Dyson to moderate a panel of agents at the 2022 Channel Partners Conference & Expo. They shared their experiences with M&A, changing customer needs and industry opportunity. We called it “The Secrets of Agents,” a partner-only panel sharing best practices with an audience of partners.

Despite higher multicloud revenue and lower net losses in the first quarter, and despite expectations for continued growth, Rackspace Technology has once again put itself up for sale.

“[W]e are evaluating strategic alternatives and options,” CEO Kevin Jones said on Tuesday. “We will provide further information as appropriate in light of developments.”

For full context, here’s what Jones said in a May 10 press release:

Rackspace’s Kevin Jones

“Rackspace Technology recently completed an in-depth strategic review of our company. As we completed this strategic review, and also based on inbound interest for one of our businesses, we concluded that a sum-of-the-parts valuation of Rackspace Technology could be greater than our current enterprise value. This is in part driven by the attractive growth profile of public cloud.”

The managed cloud computing company has boomeranged in recent years between Wall Street and private ownership. It last went public in 2020 after coming out of private ownership in 2016 — and it had been public before that.

Rackspace now could exit the public market once more, news that comes a few months after it first told investors such a change was a possibility. Rackspace and its board “have been carefully examining every area of our business, weighing the company’s strategic options to increase shareholder value,” Jones said.

In fact, in a conversation on Tuesday with analysts, Jones indicated Rackspace already is talking with a potential buyer.

“I can assure you, in terms of strategic alternatives, everything is on the table,” he said, according to a transcript from SeekingAlpha. “And we’re evaluating all options, including this current inbound interest for one of our businesses.”

To that end, Rackspace may divest part of its holdings, because public and private cloud have “very different business dynamics” that require “very different skill sets and levels of investment,” Jones told investors.

“[W]e operate in two very different multicloud markets, with different operating models, growth trajectories and investment prospects,” Jones explained. “On one hand, public cloud is right in a long-term secular growth wave and is a services-centric, capital-light product line where we can make smart investments to capture additional whitespace and growth opportunities. And on the other hand, private cloud and managed hosting is in a low-growth market where we’re focused on optimizing profit and free cash flow.”

Rackspace’s Amar Maletira

Rackspace may sell all or some of its assets, or reorganize across public and private cloud. Regardless of what happens, the company intends to invest $15 million-$20 million during the second quarter, and executives predict fast returns on that — “within three to 12 months, three to six months,” Amar Maletira, president and CFO of Rackspace, told investors.

Rackspace says it will share more information during its analyst day, coming up in September.

What’s Going On at Rackspace?

While Rackspace operates in a hot market, it’s struggling.

In spite of its first-quarter growth, Rackspace does not seem to be performing up to Wall Street’s expectations. Case in point: Analysts were forecasting the company’s earnings at 23 cents per share for the second quarter. Rackspace this week provided guidance of 15-17 cents per share.

Constellation Research’s Holger Mueller

“They are stuck between on-premises and cloud support and can’t move customers,” Holger Mueller, principal analyst and vice president at Constellation Research, told Channel Futures.

As such, Rackspace’s growth, he noted, is “way too slow.” So the company is going to …