Fábio Noaldo, Regional Channel Sales Manager, Vertiv LATAM, describes the huge opportunities Vertiv partners face in 2024 and the impact of AI on the data center sector.
What does your position entail?
My mission is to build a win/win relationship with our partner ecosystem where, above all, the Vertiv customer wins. Where there’s data, there’s a data center processing that data.
In this environment, Vertiv’s mission-critical offerings of hardware, software and services collaborate to continue the digital processes of the data center and all businesses and people who rely on this data center for their business operations.
In relation to the channel, Vertiv invests in people, processes and technology to support the expansion of this ecosystem’s business. We are providers of mission-critical products and know that, always working in partnership with the channel, we sell digital resilience, supporting the expansion of our region’s economy.
In 2024, our partners face a huge opportunity: the construction and retrofitting of data centers to support the explosion of AI applications in Latin America.
It’s an open door, added to the implementation of 5G networks, the expansion of modular data centers in Edge Computing, and the quest for the best UX for data center users, means growth for the channel.
Can you explain how your company works with channel partners?
Firstly, we have a very good price positioning in our region, which allows the channel to have fair earnings, without the need for low margins.
Secondly, the partner benefits from us having complete, high-level solutions, which helps the partner to include services in their value proposition. It’s worth noting that every data center operates 24×7 and must offer the service quality that our region’s economy demands. This means the possibility for the channel to offer continuous and managed services to customers.
The data center is a living organism that requires trained and capable partners, prepared to act predictively – with the help of Vertiv’s software solutions – to ensure the uptime of this critical environment.
All partners can explore the technology, business and management intelligence of the Vertiv Partner Program, which delivers training, certification, incentives and exclusive benefits.
All channel training can be accessed through the Vertiv Partner Portal. One of the pillars of the Vertiv Channel Program is precisely to offer a vast and solid range of in-person and online training. Through the Vertiv Partner Program, each partner will find the exact answer, in terms of training on market trends and Vertiv offerings, they were looking for.
What is your management philosophy?
Our ethics in relation to the channel never change. But, in relation to 2024, it’s worth highlighting the tremendous momentum that the new AI technologies will bring to the Latin American data center market.
We are in the era of AI and this changes everything in relation to what the Vertiv channel will deliver to the market.
Today, data centers support rack energy requirements above 20 kilowatts (kW), but the market is moving towards 50 kW or more. The latest generation central processing units (CPUs) and graphics processing units (GPUs) have much higher thermal density properties than previous generation architectures. In addition, server manufacturers are placing more CPUs and GPUs in each rack, to meet the accelerated demand for high-performance computing and AI applications.
This means that data centers must prepare for this context. One of the biggest challenges of the new AI era with very high data density is balancing the energy efficiency that the data center demands to be cooled and managed correctly. This has a direct impact on energy consumption and the main costs of the data center.
Air or chilled water cooling technologies will not be sufficient to meet future AI demands, so we bring the new Liquid Cooling technology for cooling data centers, which can be found in three options. Each board/chip can be cooled by immersion, heat exchangers on the rear doors and direct on the chip.
For the channel, the most immediate opportunity concerns ‘retrofit’ projects for data centers for the hyper data density of the AI era.
We are in a transition period between the traditional data center and the AI ‘native’ data center.
The initial sales opportunity for partners is to offer companies in the sector the Vertiv cooling chip (equipment) that can be coupled to existing racks. Another possibility is to offer new maintenance services for Vertiv’s innovative Liquid Cooling solutions. The partner has to keep in mind that, to generate business, I need to evaluate the real need of the client to propose an assertive offer.
Do you work differently with channel partners in Latin America compared to other regions?
No – we follow the global guidelines of the company.
How do your partners deliver Vertiv solutions to end-users?
Consultative sales, based on deep assessments of both the business and technology needs of end customers, are a hallmark of our channel.
Yes, we have resellers more focused on more specific solutions. But both Brazil and Latin America are currently experiencing a moment of profound disruption brought by AI.
In this context, the partner who has the intelligence to act from the project to the offer of maintenance and management services, without forgetting the entire implementation and testing phase of the data centers, will have access to differentiated opportunities.
How do you ensure channel partners flourish in a highly competitive market?
The data center is a data factory that cannot stop, that needs to offer high-level services to all its customers. The partner that presents cultural maturity, mastery of technology and the correct commercial strategy will grow like never before in 2024.
What are the latest trends you see emerging across the channel?
AI, 5G, Edge Computing, modular data centers, Liquid Cooling, sustainable data centers, managed data center services.
Which regions do you see offering the most opportunities for your company?
The acceleration of the digital economy in Latin America is immense. Our entire region is advancing non-stop.
But it’s worth highlighting the data center segment in Brazil is in constant expansion. Both hyperscale data centers and smaller ones – many modular – continue to be built and undergoing expansions in the country.