Clearwater's Tech Data Creates 'Activate IT,' Jobs

Tech Data Corp., located in Clearwater, recently rolled out a service it hopes will have a positive impact on the Tampa Bay economy.

Activate IT is a new service that allows end users to open a technological product and begin using the Web via carriers such as T-Moble, Sprint and others instantly, rather than having to go through an activation process.

The rollout reflects a merger between Tech Data and Brightstar, a telecommunications company based in South Florida.

According to Greg Parsonson, VP of Tech Data's client systems division, the new service will enable Tech Data resellers to make more profit. "It enables the resellers, who are our customers, to participate in the commission associated with each activation," says Parsonson. "This is a whole new element of profitability for them in selling these devices."

Parsonson says that while Tech Data has been selling activation devices for years, this is the first service of its kind to pre-activate a product. "So where we were previously selling these services, the end user had to activate the service on their own," explains Parsonson. "Now it's done for them. So the end user opens the notebook and it is already on the Web through the carrier network. We've been selling devices for years that can activate but this is the first foray into selling devices that activate directly."

Parsonson further explains how the new service will affect the Tampa Bay economy. "Its impact is twofold," says Parsonson. "It will enable resellers throughout the Tampa Bay area to increase their profitability through commissions, and in addition, as we see success, it will entail hiring more people in that division, adding more jobs to the Tampa Bay economy."

Writer: Missy Kavanaugh
Source: Greg Parsonson, Tech Data Corp.