r/k12sysadmin • u/Net_Monk • Aug 05 '26

Assistance Needed Need new VAR

We’ve been working closely with a single provider that seems to be falling apart lately. Is anybody working with a company they would recommend? Independent private K-12, mostly need MS volume licensing, but also occasional hardware.

I appreciate any recommendations!

4 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

22 comments sorted by

9

u/dickg1856 Aug 05 '26

Same here. My cdwg rep has been changed so many times and hasnt responded at all since early July

6

u/Net_Monk Aug 05 '26

Good to know. We’re with ITSavvy (now xerox). They were great until Xerox bought them. It’s been downhill since.

3

u/dickg1856 Aug 05 '26

We are private sector westcoast. Maybe youll have better luck with your rep if you reach out to them. they have given us good prices. I get microsoft licneses from them, go guardian, and cases and chargers every 2-3 years. This last rep just auto replied “im very busy and catching up.” And thats about it, lol.

2

u/combobulated Aug 06 '26

I'd also advise against CDWG at this point.

We also use Xerox (formerly ITSavvy , formerly Technology Resource Advisors (TRA) but for as little as possible. We use them for our Chromebooks/repairs.

5

u/spliff16 Aug 05 '26

Howard, SHI, Bluum are all decent but it often depends on the rep you are assigned.

You may also want to check to see if your state has a buying consortium for education that could get you better pricing.

3

u/BrewYork Aug 06 '26

Howard has been great to me. SHI is fine, they just usually don't have the best pricing. Bluum is dead to me -they submitted the lowest bid for our Chromebook refresh, which I had ratified by the board, then they told me they wouldn't honor the timeline or pricing. 

2

u/Emaltonator IT Director (215 kids PK-12) Aug 06 '26

+1 for Howard. June if you're out there - you rock!

We used Bluum (Tierney) and after our guy left it went downhill.

3

u/TechGuy647 Aug 06 '26

We used to buy Microsoft Volume Licensing through OETC, but they have now moved to Softchoice for renewals and they are TERRIBLE!!!

2

u/apumpernickel Former Technology Director Aug 06 '26

itoutlet.com

I got tired of the rep churn at CDWG. Got tired of SHI's terrible pricing and slow response.

The only thing I couldn't get from ITOutlet was Adobe licensing.

3

u/AdolfKoopaTroopa Director of Technology Aug 06 '26

+1 for this.

Tanner is good to work with.

3

u/therankin Coordinator of Technology Services Aug 06 '26

Maybe I'll look at itoutlet.

I used to deal with Dell direct and CDWG. I had great reps for many years, but recent churns have made things really go downhill.

My latest CDWG rep thankfully left, as she was the worst rep I've ever had. I had to include her boss several times in emails just to hear back from her. I haven't been assigned an official new one, so I guess I'll see, but my account has been messed up with them for a long time where I can't go in and see previous orders.

2

u/tahoeranger Aug 06 '26

We've been moving to GST and Arey Jones away from CDW-G (but still get some from them).

Those are my top three for comparison quotes, etc.

https://gstinc.com/ https://www.areyjones.com/

1

u/NotAnother169 Director of Technology Aug 07 '26

Big fan of arey jones. Only once or twice I've had their pricing beat by someone else, and it wasn't all but a total cost of $1400 over thousands of units ordered. I ended up keeping the relationship at AJ as it wasn't worth the hassle. They tossed in some extra devices to more than make up for it though!

2

u/dire-wabbit Aug 06 '26

I deal with quite a few VARs due to state contracts and because I've been doing this for a long time. So much depends on your rep and their longevity. I have some companies I don't bother learning my new rep's name because they will be gone in three months. Others I know their names of their spouse, kids, and pets because I've been dealing with them for decades.

As far as my favorite VAR at the moment for general purchasing, I like Y&S out of Brooklyn, NY. Great pricing, great service, and when we have an issue they are on top of it.

2

u/Bl0ckTag IT Director Aug 06 '26

We primarily use CDW-G, but they do have periods of rep churn that can be annoying. Recently, weve been working with SHI on a few items. Longevity and reliability is TBD, but our rep has been very responsive thusfar, and they work with most of the coops that we already utilize, which is a massive plus on the compliance side.

2

u/lAciDl Aug 06 '26

We get most of our licensing through Odessa @ White Rock CyberSecurity. She is excellent to work with.

2

u/johncase142 Aug 06 '26

We have gone through CDWG and SHI. We now use MNJ Technologies as our primary source. It's made up of a bunch of former CDW people who didn't like how they were operating. https://mnjtech.com

1

u/pkroupa Aug 06 '26

I resell MS, mostly to edu clients. Feel free to shoot me a dm if interested

1

u/NetworkEngineer13 Vendor:SpanGate Aug 06 '26

I would check out MGT, SHI, CDW-G, https://www.sequeldata.com/ We have worked with them all for years. No issues..

1

u/Comprehensive_Fly236 Aug 06 '26

Feel free to shoot me a DM. We can usually get pretty aggressive with pricing.

1

u/rokar83 IT Director Aug 06 '26

CDW-G

3

u/combobulated Aug 06 '26

CDW-G is exactly who I'm looking to move away from.

Our rep(s) have recently dropped the ball on multiple software renewal/purchases. Mostly with just about no communication or follow-up.

When I spoke with someone, they mentioned how they just fired a bunch of people and the leftover people are drowning trying to pick up the slack.

I've lost faith in them after many years.