(Source: Business Wire)TechSelect ” Tech Data's (NASDAQ:TECD) SMB reseller community ” has proven to be one of the channel's most effective and sustainable avenues for leading software publishers and hardware manufacturers to deliver their technology solutions to small and medium businesses (SMBs) nationwide. At its 2009 Vendor Partner Summit, Tech Data today previewed the latest TechSelect developments that create new opportunities for vendors to work with resellers and grow their businesses.

"TechSelect will celebrate its 10th anniversary next month, and one of the hallmarks of the community's success has been the lasting channel partnerships its vendor sponsors have been able to forge with these top SMB resellers," said Tech Data Senior Vice President, U.S. Sales Murray Wright. "TechSelect enables vendors to engage a select group of resellers, creating relationships and fostering tremendous loyalty. That's evident by how and where these resellers choose to invest their resources and with which vendors they align their businesses. In fact, 75 percent of the community's more than $1 billion in total purchases with Tech Data U.S. last year were for products and services offered by TechSelect vendor sponsors."

Business Gets Personal

In addition to the relationships they build with one another through best-practice sharing and business partnerships, TechSelect members also use the community as a platform for one-on-one engagement with vendors.

"People like to do business with people," said Gary Sims, TechSelect member and CEO of Advanced Technical Solutions. "As a reseller, the amount of attention you receive from vendors, especially out in the field, depends mostly on your size and location. No vendor has the resources to touch all the SMB resellers out there. That's why TechSelect is so valuable. Through the community, we've been able to build relationships with key vendors, educating them on our capabilities, building mindshare and translating that into new business for us and them."

"HP has been a TechSelect sponsor since the beginning," said Gary Koopman, vice president distribution sales, Solution Partners Organization -- Americas, HP. "Working with the channel to reach the SMB market is all about collaboration and partnership, and TechSelect embodies that.