Monday Morning Impact – May 25

Published On: May 25, 2015Categories: Buzz, Uncategorized

By Ken Presti, Senior Consultant, Channel Impact

Cisco Expands its Refurbished Gear Program

Cisco Capital has updated its Cisco Certified Refurbished Equipment (CCRE) program and has reflagged the initiative as, “Cisco Refresh.” Available through Cisco authorized resellers and the Cisco Commerce Workspace, refurbished products sold through Cisco Refresh are backed by the same Cisco warranty and service support options as if buying new. As part of the announcement, the company has also announced worldwide availability of its 1 Click Tool (1CT), which supports blending of customer’s bill of materials along with a simple way of identifying the right discount level necessary to close the deal. The tool also introduces “Watch List,” a new feature that allows partners to insert part numbers that they are tracking, and automatically be notified when these parts become available.

In addition, approximately 500 products have been added to the Cisco Refresh portfolio, meaning that the overall inventory now includes nearly 4,000 offerings from a wide range of technology areas, including switching, routing, wireless, IP telephony, security, and other advanced technologies. These offerings are intended to provide viable Cisco alternatives for resource-constrained prospects.

An accompanying incentive program also opens the door to additional rebates for participating partners.

Channel Impact
Extending their brand to customers with tight budgets has been a good idea, especially since many products are also available on the gray market, regardless of Cisco’s consent.

All Covered Acquires Assets of Houston-based Techcess Group

All Covered, the IT Services division of Konica Minolta Business Solutions USA, has acquired the assets of Techcess Group of Houston for an undisclosed price.

“Their expertise in cloud computing and mobility solutions will help All Covered greatly expand the innovative technologies we are offering customers not only in Texas but nation-wide,” said Todd Croteau, President of All Covered.

Hugh Sazegar, former president and CEO of the Techcess Group, has been named managing director for All Covered in Houston.

As a result of the acquisition, Techcess’ staff of IT professionals will join the workforce of more than 800 employees at AllCovered, which has local offices in over 25 cities with more than 500 engineers.

Channel Impact
AllCovered has a long-established strategy of expansion through acquisition. This move is very consistent with that strategy, and promises to extend the company’s footprint in a very large state.

Windstream names Jeffery Howe EVP of Enterprise Sales

Windstream, a Little Rock, Ark.-based cloud and managed services provider has announced the appointment of Jeffery Howe as executive vice president of enterprise sales. Howe succeeds John Leach who is leaving the company to pursue other career opportunities.

“I am confident that Jeff will do a fantastic job leading our Enterprise sales organization,” said David Works, president of the company’s enterprise business. “He has a proven sales leadership track record and a deep understanding of our industry.”

Howe joined Windstream in 2007, and most recently served as president of the East Region and Central Sales Regions. He also was responsible for the company’s overall channel strategy, national accounts as well as federal government sales and support.

Prior to joining Windstream, Jeff held leadership roles at One Communications, Veramark Technologies, Level 3 and Motorola. He holds a degree in business administration from the University of Wisconsin at Eau Clair.

Channel Impact
Any potential adjustments to the company’s channel strategy were not disclosed.

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