Monday Morning Impact – June 1

By Ken Presti, Senior Consultant, Channel Impact

CSC to Split in Two

Computer Sciences Corporation, of Falls Church, Virg., has announced intentions to separate the company into two publicly traded, pure-play companies.

CSC – Global Commercial will focus on Fortune 1,000 companies and non-U.S. government clients, leveraging its industry, infrastructure and consulting expertise. With $8.1 billion in FY 15 revenue, CSC Global Commercial will have more than 1,000 customers (including 175 of the Fortune 500), 51,000 employees and 34 delivery centers globally.

CSC – U.S. Public Sector will be a provider of mission-specific IT, infrastructure and business services to U.S. federal, state and defense agencies. Building on more than a half-century of government service, the business also intends to function as a service provider to national security. The public sector business had FY 15 revenues of $4.1 billion and employs 14,000 people, including 3,500 U.S. military veterans.

Concurrent with the separation, CSC intends to pay a special cash dividend to shareholders of $10.50 per share at closing, which is expected by October 2015.

“During the first three years of CSC’s turnaround, we benefitted from taking a unified approach,” said CEO Mike Lawrie. “The progress we’ve made, coupled with the changing demands of the market, make this a good time to give these two businesses room to thrive as independent companies, able to move decisively to capture the opportunities in front of them.”

Channel Impact
The intent appears to be the development of sharpened focus on guiding customers through various types of business transformation through the commercial entity while the public sector entity is tasked with meeting the unique demands that are common to government accounts. By separating, each business is anticipated to have necessary scale and expertise to meet its respective mission.

Tech Data Provides Cloud-Connected Security and Storage with Barracuda Networks

Tech Data Corporation has announced an agreement with Barracuda Networks to distribute Barracuda’s full portfolio of products in the United States. Available product lines include content security, network and application security, and storage; all of which are available immediately through Tech Data’s Advanced Infrastructure Solutions (AIS) division.

Barracuda’s solutions are designed specifically for mid-market customers navigating the complexities cloud computing, virtualization, and the proliferation of mobile devices. Highlighted solutions include Barracuda’s next-generation firewall, spam firewall, web filter, cloud-integrated backup, cloud-connected message archiver and eSignature.

Channel Impact
Security continues to gain relevance to channel partners and customers alike. Adding new sourcing venues adds convenience and versatility for partners.

Pure Storage Upgrades Global Partner Program

Pure Storage, the Mountain View, Calif.-based solid-state array vendor, has announced updates to its partner program.

Under the revised global P3 program, Pure Storage is introducing an improved incentive framework, consisting of a new co-branded partner-driven customer reference program, a demo purchase program featuring significant discounts on products differentiated by partner tier, and the introduction of a new Pure sponsored headcount incentive that Platinum level partners can leverage to accelerate the development of their all-flash storage practice.

“Today’s P3 enhancements are designed to further enable our partners with the opportunity to develop their all-flash storage expertise, build practices around a next generation technology, and ultimately position them for new and increased business opportunities today and into the future,” said Michael Sotnick, vice president of Global Alliances and Channels.

The company has also extended a Platinum partner tier to accompany the current Gold and Silver tiers. Eligibility is determined by a combination of Pure Storage bookings, sales and technical accreditations and marketing engagement.

New TCO, marketing and sales tools have also been added.

Channel Impact
Updating components of a partner program is a key indicator of company growth and investment. This goes a long way towards strengthening a company’s ability to recruit partners that are best suited to its product line.