To achieve RASP, status Avnet had to meet a comprehensive set of support requirements, including the availability of post-sales engineering support, ongoing education around Riverbed technology, and a dedicated lab for testing and problem replication. Avnet also needed to demonstrate detailed reporting mechanisms incorporating installed base data, training and certification procedures, performance metrics and service renewal activities. Conducting regular customer satisfaction surveys was a further requirement.
Avnet’s business partners will benefit from the agreement in terms of a more complete, end-to-end products and services portfolio and tangible cost savings on support for Riverbed solutions. In addition, business partners can take advantage of a new Avnet Same Day Plus service that includes the provision of a technical specialist on-site at customer locations.
Anthony Rowan, services director, Avnet Technology Solutions, UK, commented, “Our agreement with Riverbed marks yet another step forward in our continuing programme of service provision. Working with leading vendors like Riverbed, we can complete the loop from pre-sales support, configuration and supply of the latest technology, to full after care support – all backed with effective business development and marketing programmes and all in one place. This represents a powerful proposition for our business partners who are under increasing pressure to deliver end-to-end, revenue-generating business solutions to their customers quickly and cost-efficiently.”
Richard Gold, UK vice president, Riverbed, added, “Partnering with Avnet was a simple decision, as we share a common ethos for delivering the very best solutions that drive customer loyalty and generate additional value for both the channel and the end customer. Avnet’s proven track record of providing business partners with the expert technical knowledge and commercial clout necessary to succeed in today’s marketplace is critical to our own success. It reduces the load on the Riverbed support organisation, giving us the freedom to focus on engineering and development rather than day-to-day queries and to devote more resources to delivering innovative new technology.”
Avnet plans to expand its relationship with Riverbed by providing support services for Riverbed’s other lines of business, including the company’s network monitoring, application delivery and cloud storage acceleration technologies.