Schneider Electric has deepened its partnership with Arrow in a move it says will enable it to serve a “different kind of partner”.
The energy management vendor has appointed Arrow as an Elite IT Solutions Provider Partner in Europe.
It will now begin working with its Arrow ECS enterprise computing arm, building on its ten-year relationship with Arrow Intelligent Solutions.
Although Schneider Electric also works with TD Synnex, Ingram Micro, Exertis, Westcoast, Anixter and Mayflex in the UK, the Arrow pact will enable it to address “next generation” partners, James Mealor, Strategic IT Channel Director, Schneider Electric, Europe, said.
“Our partnership with Arrow really enables us to address and serve a different type of partner with large-scale cloud, AI and datacentre projects as the central point of focus,” he told IT Channel Oxygen.
The fresh pact will provide partners full access to Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure for Data Centers portfolio, which is designed to enable end-user customers to meet imminent regulatory requirements such as the European Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), the vendor stressed.
The EED will come into effect in May 2024. This means partners and end-users with an installed data centre capacity of 500kW and above must begin to disclose their energy performance data, including power-usage effectiveness (PUE) ratings, temperature settings, waste heat, water, and renewable energy consumption, the Schneider Electric pointed out.
“With the growth and adoption of these [cloud, AI and datacenter projects], energy-efficient, resilient and sustainable full-stack infrastructure solutions are vital to meet demand and ensure sustainability remains front of mind,” Mealor said.
“As Arrow have been announced as our latest Elite IT Solution Provider in our main channel partner programme, we see them as a long-term, strategic project and specialist distribution partner, rather than a traditional IT distributor, which adds a new depth to our relationship,” he added.
“At Arrow, we pride ourselves on working with some of the world’s leading technology manufacturers, and as AI adoption gathers pace, it is essential that we provide our channel partners with solutions that help address the increasing sustainability requirements of their end customers”, Mike Worby, head of strategic alliances for Arrow ECS EMEA, added in a statement.
“Our new collaboration with Schneider Electric is another step forward in enhancing our sustainable solutions offering, helping our customers access the support and expertise they need to reduce their environmental impact.”
