The distribution deal complements ScaleFlux’s channel expansion, which has seen the release of a product for partners, and the launch of their first partner program.
J.B. Baker, ScaleFlux’s VP of Marketing
San Jose-based ScaleFlux, which makes SSDs with computational storage at scale for larger customers, has formally announced the existence of a distribution deal with TDSYNNEX for North America, covering both the U.S. and Canada. It follows up the launch of its first channel-friendly products, the 3000-series suite of products based on its new System-on-Chip Storage Processor, and the construction of their inaugural channel program.
While the 3000 series was announced in August, both the channel program and the distribution deal were in the works before that, but ScaleFlux saw no point in announcing the Go-to-Market mechanisms before the actual product was ready. The earlier 1000 and 2000 series were quite complex and were sold direct. Now the 3000 series becomes the flagship product going forward, and the channel a key supplement in what is now a hybrid sales model, that was basically direct before.
“We didn’t talk about the channel program when was it introduced, even though we had kicked it off before,” said J.B. Baker, ScaleFlux’s VP of Marketing. “We also had to start working on logistics with TDSYNNEX to get it all together. We have been working on that for months and have been reaching out with TDSYNNEX to get people signed up. Then we needed to have the 3000 series broadly available so this wasn’t all futures stuff.”
The channel program itself is a work in progress, with the plan being to flesh it out as partners are added and they identify what kind of enablement support fits them best.
“There will definitely be some evolution over time,” Baker said. “The fundamental intent is that if you are a registered partner and drive deals, someone can’t just come in and get a better price and take the business. We want to reward partners in the program for generating business.” Both the partner portal and the deal registration process are already in place.
ScaleFlux’s product is SSDs deployed with Computational Storage technology to offload storage processing from the CPU. They compete primarily against the makers of NVMe storage.
“This is a better vendor selection for your SSD,” Baker stated. “We are the new kid on the block, but we have a better SSD that doesn’t require any complex integrations. We see the role of TDSYNNEX in the process as bringing us together with quality integrators and VARs, who are putting things together for their customers, and having them integrate us rather than an ordinary SSD. This will give them a better solution to provide to their users.”
Baker indicated that significant discussions took place with TDSYNNEX before they decided to work with them.
“We had significant discussions with them, and they were excited about bringing us on,” he said. “They had significant programs which will enhance our growth. They do carry NVMe suppliers who compete with us, but our product is an NVME that uses an in-box driver. The question for the partner is whether they want a standard NVMe or one with twice the performance and twice the endurance.”
ScaleFlux sees channel partners as serving the same market as their direct sales, larger customers who want their superpowered SSDs to provide enhanced performance.
“We see the channel as serving the same market, and providing us with more feet on the street,” Baker noted. “It is those who use applications that run very, very fast.”
While this is typically larger companies, some types of smaller ones can also be a fit.
“We can exist as well in small and medium deployments with this same kind of application, where it can be the lifeblood of their company.”
