FD Insights Issue 11 | Page 9

First Distribution’s SPLA business has grown significantly recently, to the point where it is now the largest SPLA distributor in the MEA region with the greatest number of total partners reporting. PROFESSIONAL SERVICE PROVIDER First Distribution Awarded VMware VSPP Aggregator of the Year The company has invested in technical skills from both a back-office and account management perspective, and coupled with the fact that it has more than 10 years of experience in dealing with SPLA, the distributor’s understanding of SPLA and volume licensing is currently of an exceptional standard. F irst Distribution was awarded VMware’s Service Provider Programme (VSPP) Aggregator of the Year for the southern Africa and WECA region at the end of last year. VSPP enables the success of a public, private and hybrid cloud by providing customers with an OpEx strategy for investing in VMware infrastructure on a pay-as-you-go, pay-as-you-grow consumption model. VSPP is the ideal solution for various types of VMware partners who offer hosted services to third parties, such as infrastructure-as-a-service (IAAS) providers, cloud service providers, application service providers (ASPs), internet service providers (ISPs) and platform-as-a-service (PAAS) providers. “First Distribution has truly shown its dedication and commitment to the VMware brand through consistent success with customers as well as investment into developing skills, resources and partners,” said Mark Reynolds, Partner and General Business Lead at VMware. “The company’s success around the VSPP portfolio highlights this commitment as it continues to play a big role in helping our customers move to the cloud, embrace the software-defined data centre as well as plot their path to the hybrid cloud.” IBM Business Partner Award 2015 Choice Winner First Distribution Wins 2015 IBM Choice Award for Growth and Transformation, MEA T he distributor won yet another award in February at the IBM PartnerWorld Leadership Conference, in Las Vegas. IBM’s Choice Awards recognise a select number of IBM Business Partners which have demonstrated business excellence in delivering IBM-based solutions resulting in exceptional client experience and business growth. The IBM Business Partners which win Choice awards exhibit IBM values in all client interactions and achieve common business goals, resulting in superior customer satisfaction and mutually significant business impact. The Choice Awards are selected by IBM leadership in each geography and are given to business partners across a range of categories, recognising their working relationships with clients and demonstrated skills in selling IBM solutions. First Distribution Wins Microsoft SPLAR Distribution Award for SA, WECA irst Distribution’s MSP and Hosting team won the ‘Excellence in Execution’ award, which was bestowed at the 2014 SPLAR Summit in Istanbul, Turkey in November 2014. F Readiness events, consistent roundtables, licensing expertise, driving business with discipline and integrity, on-time reporting, and adherence to compliance at all times contributed to the success of First Distribution’s hosting business, and the winning of the award. 09 | www.firstdistribution.co.za