Interactive & Dicker Data expand partnership with data centres

Interactive has expanded its partnership with Dicker Data to incorporate data centre services into its existing hardware maintenance offering.

Dicker Data, a technology hardware, software, and cloud distributor, initially partnered with Interactive in 2017 to provide hardware maintenance support. This allowed resellers and their customers to access a range of maintenance solutions, including post-warranty support, short-term services, and multi-vendor maintenance for IT infrastructure.

Since the inception of their collaboration, Interactive has worked with more than 600 resellers to support Dicker Data's customers across Australia and New Zealand, offering end-to-end infrastructure support.

The expanded agreement will allow resellers to offer Interactive's data centre services in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane. These services are designed to provide reliable, locally hosted infrastructure options for customers, align with changing business requirements, and support critical outcomes like customer retention and business growth within the distribution ecosystem.

With this development, the partnership's scope now covers software, cloud distribution, and data centre services, positioning Interactive as a key strategic partner for Dicker Data in these sectors.

The partnership provides customers access to Interactive's sovereign data centres when demand for secure and scalable data centre capacity is increasing. This growth is attributed to the expansion of AI workloads, higher demand for data-intensive applications, and the continued adoption of hybrid cloud models. The enterprise-grade centres supply resilience, security, and continuous connectivity for modern business operations.

Pennie Stevens, General Manager of Software ANZ at Dicker Data, commented on the expanded partnership: "We're pleased to be expanding our partnership with Interactive to offer their data centre services in Australia. We continue to see strong demand for hybrid cloud solutions, and this new offering from Interactive will enable partners of all sizes to access colocation services, and more, to support their customers' needs."

Lizzi Long, General Manager of Data Centres at Interactive, outlined the strategic benefits for resellers and customers: "In today's hybrid environment, businesses are under pressure to shift to the cloud, but many don't know where to start. We provide market choice and guidance on the solution that works best for your organisation, ultimately supporting business objectives. We're thrilled to expand our partnership with Dicker Data and look forward to empowering reseller partners with the capabilities to offer robust, locally hosted solutions to their customers."

The inclusion of data centre services aims to strengthen Dicker Data's operations in Australia by allowing resellers to offer a broader range of services and infrastructure options to their customers. The companies expect that access to these locally managed facilities will assist resellers in addressing the increasing complexity of business IT needs and regulatory and compliance requirements.

Data centre capacity has become a key concern for organisations as more workloads are migrated to the cloud and applications requiring greater processing power become more prevalent. Interactive's sovereign data centres are intended to address these challenges and provide secure hosting environments for Australian businesses.

This partnership reaffirms both companies' commitment to collaborating with local resellers and offering options catering to various business objectives and operational demands. By expanding their alliance, the companies aim to ensure their network of resellers can offer managed services required by customers navigating digital transformation and evolving compliance obligations.