SoftwareOne Channel Partner NewsKuala Lumpur, Malaysia
SoftwareOne and Crayon Unify Channel Businesses Across APAC, Expanding Capabilities for Partners
The combination brings together complementary expertise, technology capabilities, vendor relationships, and services to create a stronger channel proposition for partners across the region.
SoftwareOne, a leading global provider of software and cloud solutions, and Crayon today announced the completion of the integration of their channel businesses across APAC under the SoftwareOne brand, bringing together two established technology organisations to create a broader and more connected channel business for partners across the region.
The combination brings together complementary strengths from both organisations, including established partner relationships, technology expertise, vendor relationships and capabilities across software asset management, cloud, cybersecurity, data and AI, and managed and technical services. The result is a single SoftwareOne channel business with greater breadth of capability and access to a wider technology ecosystem, while maintaining the partner relationships and customer ownership that have been central to both organisations. For partners, the combination is designed to make more expertise, services, and opportunities available through the relationships they already have.
“This is an important step in bringing together two strong channel businesses with complementary strengths,” said Varun Paliwal, President of APAC, SoftwareOne.
“Crayon and SoftwareOne have both built strong partner relationships and deep technology capabilities across the region. By bringing those strengths together, we can offer partners a greater breadth of services and opportunities while retaining the local expertise and relationships that make the channel successful. For us, success is not simply measured by the scale of the combined business. It is measured by our ability to create more opportunities for our partners, help them respond to their customers’ evolving needs and support their growth. Ultimately, that is what this combination is designed to achieve.”
The integration brings together two businesses that have developed capabilities across different parts of the technology ecosystem. SoftwareOne brings its global scale, technology vendor ecosystem and established capabilities across software, cloud, and IT portfolio management, alongside advisory, managed and implementation services. Crayon brings established channel relationships and expertise across cloud, software, data and AI, as well as extensive experience working with partners across APAC. Together, these capabilities create a broader platform from which partners can access technology expertise, services and commercial opportunities, while drawing on a larger pool of specialist resources as customer requirements become increasingly complex.
This includes solution architects, security and vendor specialists, bid support, practice development and technical expertise across cloud, security, AI and productivity. Rather than requiring partners to build every specialist capability themselves, these resources can be brought into opportunities and practices where additional expertise is required.
“Bringing these businesses together gives us the opportunity to put more capability behind our partners. They can continue to work with the people and relationships they trust while gaining access to a broader range of expertise and services.”
“Whether a partner is looking to establish a new practice, pursue a more complex opportunity or expand what they can deliver to an existing customer, we can bring additional capabilities to the table. Our ambition is to strengthen our partners’ capabilities and help them pursue opportunities that might otherwise be beyond their reach.”
The combination comes as technology customers increasingly manage interconnected requirements across cloud, software, cybersecurity, data and AI, while technology investment continues to grow. IDC expects ICT spending in the region to reach US$647 billion in 2026, with spending on AI and generative AI projected to reach US$370 billion by 2029, representing a 38.4% CAGR. As enterprises move from AI experimentation to scaled deployment, technology partners are increasingly expected to deliver not only access to technology, but also the expertise, services and commercial models required to turn ambition into business value. It is this shift, and the complexity it brings, that has driven Crayon and SoftwareOne to combine their channel businesses. For partners, this creates significant opportunities to expand their businesses while increasing the breadth of expertise and services required to support customers throughout the technology lifecycle.
SoftwareOne’s services model supports delivery to, through and with partners. This includes services delivered under a partner’s own brand, as well as collaborative engagements where SoftwareOne and the partner work together on larger or more complex opportunities. The approach allows partners to extend their offerings without necessarily having to build every capability, hire every specialist or establish every delivery function themselves. The model is intended to complement rather than compete with the partner’s own business, enabling partners to retain ownership of their customer relationships while leveraging additional capabilities where SoftwareOne can add value.
That principle is reflected in SoftwareOne’s broader approach to distribution, which places partner growth at the centre of the relationship rather than focusing solely on individual transactions. The model is built around understanding a partner’s business, growth objectives, target markets and service offerings, and aligning relevant sales, technical and advisory resources to those objectives.
The combination also expands the ecosystem available to partners. SoftwareOne operates in more than 70 countries with approximately 12,000 employees and maintains relationships across the global technology vendor landscape. Through this ecosystem, partners can access vendor programmes, specialist expertise and connections with other organisations that help them pursue opportunities beyond their existing capabilities, particularly where customers require multiple areas of expertise.
SoftwareOne’s Partner Connections programme, for example, connects resellers with specialist delivery partners, enabling organisations to collaborate on opportunities that may be difficult for a single partner to pursue independently. Its ISV Innovation Hub supports partners looking to commercialise their intellectual property through vendor marketplaces, incentives and development support.
The combined channel will continue to support partner enablement through market insight, vendor programme guidance, certifications and practice development, helping partners translate technology developments and evolving customer requirements into sustainable business opportunities.
For APAC, the combination brings together global scale with deep local relationships and market expertise. The region encompasses markets with varying levels of technology maturity, regulatory requirements, customer needs and routes to market. A unified channel organisation can therefore provide access to global technology capabilities and resources while continuing to operate through local teams that understand the markets and partners they serve.
Varun Paliwal added: “APAC is a region where local context matters. Partners need access to global technology and expertise, but they also need people who understand their market, their customers, and the way they operate. Bringing Crayon and SoftwareOne together gives us an opportunity to combine those strengths. We can bring greater scale and breadth to the relationship without losing the local knowledge and partner relationships that have made both businesses successful.”
While the combination creates a broader channel business, the fundamental role of the partner remains unchanged. Partners retain ownership of their customer relationships while gaining access to additional expertise, services and technology capabilities through SoftwareOne, including the Cloud-iQ platform, which helps simplify the management of cloud and software subscriptions through subscription management, automated billing, usage intelligence, and business insights. Together, these capabilities provide partners with additional ways to grow their businesses by developing new practices, extending service offerings, accessing specialist expertise, pursuing more complex opportunities, and using technology to simplify their own operations.
The integration of Crayon’s channel business into SoftwareOne therefore represents more than a brand transition. It brings together two established channel businesses into one organisation with broader capabilities, a wider ecosystem, and greater resources available to the partners it serves.
Vikas Bhonsle, Head of Channel, APAC, said: “The most important outcome of this combination is the increased opportunity it creates for our partners. We can bring more expertise into their engagements, more services into their portfolios and stronger connections into their ecosystems. If our partners can grow, win new opportunities and deliver greater value to their customers, then the combination is achieving exactly what it was intended to achieve.”
SoftwareOne has a presence in more than 70 countries and approximately 12,000 professionals, with access to more than 7,500 software vendors through its global marketplace. The company provides expertise across software, cloud, cybersecurity, AI and IT portfolio management, supported by advisory, managed and implementation services.
SoftwareOne is a global software and cloud solutions provider and distributor. With a presence in over 70 countries and a team of about 12,000 professionals, we combine global scale and local expertise to help partners and customers optimize costs, source and procure, accelerate growth, and navigate complex IT environments with confidence. Leveraging deep capabilities in cloud, software, and data and AI, the company empowers organizations to modernize, innovate, and unlock the full value of their technology investments. Headquartered in Switzerland, SoftwareOne is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and Euronext Oslo Børs under the ticker symbol SWON. Visit us at www.softwareone.com
