Synnex: Coronavirus Pandemic Driving Digital Transformation

‘We expect digital transformation growth will accelerate even more, creating many opportunities. Given the expectation, our new normal life will require more IT support and infrastructure. We at Synnex are planning and investing to ensure we can support you during this expected resurgence,’ says Synnex President and CEO Dennis Polk.

Synnex’s response to the challenges caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has made the distributor stronger and better able to service its solution provider community going forward.

That’s the word from Dennis Polk, president and CEO of the Fremont, Calif.-based distributor, who Thursday opened the company’s Synnex Summit by noting it is being held in a virtual format because of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

“Like you, I’m hopeful we’ll all be back to our normal ways of life soon,” Polk told solution provider attendees.

[Related: CRN Exclusive: Synnex President Michael Urban On The ‘Rise Of The Super VAR’]

Despite the challenges faced by the IT industry in the last couple of quarters, Polk said Synnex’s overall business in North America has remained strong.

“Many of the products and services that we provide have been critical to ensuring that businesses, schools, and the work-at-home life can continue without interruption,” he said.

For Synnex, that includes shifting resources to ensure that high-demand products like notebook PCs, Chromebooks, security, cloud and Everything as a Service are available, Polk said.

The distributor’s collective IT marketplace has taken an overall hit during the pandemic as commercial customers spent less on some IT needs because of shutdowns and other pandemic-related issues, but much of that demand is returning, he said. And, he said, as the economy opens up, Synnex expects to see a rapid comeback in IT spending.

One important result of the pandemic is the recognition that digital transformation has become more important to the business community, Polk said.

“We expect digital transformation growth will accelerate even more, creating many opportunities,” he said. “Given the expectation, our new normal life will require more IT support and infrastructure. We at Synnex are planning and investing to ensure we can support you during this expected resurgence.”

Synnex’s strategy has three main pillars, Polk said.

The first is a relentless focus on optimizing the company’s core business. “The more we do day to day to ensure we have the most efficient and effective platform for you, the more we can both leverage it for the success of our businesses,” he said.

The second is to organically grow Synnex’s business via continued investments in such areas as line card expansion, Everything as a Service and hybrid cloud offerings, Polk said.

“Most importantly, as we add new team members in our sales, product management and support operations to enable you and your needs, our joint services and opportunities will increase,” he said.

The third is to enhance Synnex’s value offerings via strategic acquisitions, Polk said. “We view ourselves as a leader in the technology channel and plan to maintain this position with further M&A activity,” he said.

At the same time, Synnex recently said its planned spinoff of its Concentrix customer care business into a separate company, which in March was put on hold, is expected to be finalized in the near future, Polk said.

“What this means is that, [post-spin-off], our technology solutions business will be even more well-positioned and capitalized to serve you,” he said.

Michael Urban, Synnex’s president of worldwide technology solutions distribution, used his Synnex Summit keynote to note that digital transformation is a driver of change, and while some companies were slow to adopt it, others have moved quickly.

“Think about it,” he said. “If this pandemic would have happened five years ago, it would have been a disaster for many end-user companies. Many companies reacted fast, and allowed people to work from home. This was all possible because most companies were digitally equipped. Companies not fully ready have asked you for support.“

While businesses have purchased the client devices and collaboration tools to enable their employees to work from home, it is only the beginning of the move to digitally transform, Urban said. It is not just adding hardware and software, he said. “It‘s a complete change for how we work for the future,” he said.

The last six months have accelerated the investments in digital transformation, Urban said. This includes investment in what for solution providers are growing areas of business including hybrid cloud, networking, security, collaboration, IoT and more. Going forward, he said to expect further investments in areas like artificial intelligence and analytics, he said.

“Much of that business today is direct,” he said. ”But it will be for the channel a growing opportunity over time.”