Boom In AWS Business Driving SHI's Growth So Far In 2018

SHI International on Friday said its business related to Amazon Web Services was the top driver of the Somerset, N.J.-based global solution provider's business in the first half of 2018.

SHI, which as a private company is not required to disclose its finances in detail, reported record revenue in the first half of 2018 of $4.6 billion, up 21 percent over the same period of 2017.

That growth was led by a 62-percent year-over-year growth in revenue related to its partnership with AWS, SHI said. The revenue growth stemmed in large part to the solution provider's expansion of its AWS technical certifications and AWS services over the past year.

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SHI in November achieved AWS managed service provider partner status. The company, which was both an AWS advanced consulting partner and MSP as well as a VMware partner, in May received the VMware Cloud on AWS Solution Competency.

SHI provides a wide range of AWS services for clients including multi-level support services, AWS-based storage services from primary storage to archiving and disaster recovery, and VMware Cloud on AWS. The company also works closely with the Google Cloud Platform and Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider programs.

SHI was unable to provide more information about its AWS partnership by press time.

However, in a prepared statement, Thai Lee, SHI president and CEO, said her company wants to increase its share of the worldwide public cloud services market, which in 2018 is expected to grow 21 percent to reach nearly $200 billion.

"SHI’s credibility in the cloud marketplace helps us support the critical goals of cost and usage optimization. We’ve been staffing up our cloud resources in every customer vertical to better support the unique needs of each, and we are working closely with our valued partners to make our customers’ business and IT initiatives a reality," Lee said in the statement.

SHI, ranked No. 9 in CRN's 2018 Solution Provider 500, said it saw growth across almost every part of its business. This included a 26-percent year-over-year rise in sales of its Public Sector division, a 22-percent rise both its Commercial and Strategic Enterprise division and its Corporate and SMB division, and a 50-percent growth in sales to the French market.

Sales of technology from SHI's top four vendor partners -- Microsoft, Dell EMC, HP Inc., and Cisco -- all grew at least 23 percent over last year, while sales of technology from Adobe, Apple, and Symantec all grew at lease 20 percent over last year.

SHI’s investment in obtaining additional AWS technical certifications and expanding its AWS services over the past 12 months led to 62 percent year-over-year growth in AWS revenue in the first half of 2018. SHI achieved Managed Service Provider Partner status from AWS in October 2017, followed by VMware Cloud on AWS certification in March, with further certifications soon to be announced.

SHI also ended the first half of 2018 with an employee count of over 4,000, which was a record for the company.