Podcast Edge Solutions and Power Management With Eaton
Through a strategic and thoughtful partnership, Eaton and Tripp Lite are expanding the breadth of their solutions.
By Insight Editor / 20 Sep 2021 / Topics: Data center
By Insight Editor / 20 Sep 2021 / Topics: Data center
In this TechTalk, we interview Graciano Beyhaut from Eaton to learn more about their recent acquisition of Tripp Lite. Eaton has strategically teamed up with Tripp Lite, offering their users an expansion that no other category or power management category vendor has. Combining these two companies offers a lot of complimentary products that give a unique value prop to the market.
To experience this week’s episode, listen on the player above, watch the conversation below, or scroll down to read a complete transcript. You can also subscribe to Insight TechTalk on Apple Podcasts, Pandora, and Spotify.
Audio transcript:
Erin
Hello, and thank you for joining us today for another Insight Tech Talk. My name is Erin Hazan, I'm a client solutions executive here at Insight, and today I'm joined by Graciano Beyhaut, commercial integration leader for Eaton. Thank you so much for joining us today, Graciano.
Graciano
Thank you for having me.
Erin
It's our sincere pleasure to have the opportunity to speak with you. And I'm really excited to dive into this topic with you around Edge solutions and power management, and in the integration and alliances of Eaton and Tripp Lite, which we're going to talk about in just a moment here. Along with some cybersecurity features that maybe we can touch along, but I know that with your 16 years in the industry, you have a lot of wisdom to share with our clients and our teammates so I'd love for you to take a minute just to tell us a bit about yourself and your role at Eaton.
Graciano
No, I appreciate that, Erin. I don't know if wisdom is the word, but definitely learning (Erin chuckles) from your mistakes throughout those years. Yeah, so I've been with Eaton for 16 years and primarily on the sales and marketing side, as well as the product line side. So I've gotten a lot of experiences around this market, as well as international. I was in Latin America for a few years, so, happy to have done that stint. And now I'm in Charlotte, North Carolina, running the commercial integration for the Tripp Lite acquisition that closed in March.
Erin
Mm-mm, that sounds terrific. Tell us a little bit more about that. I understand that we have a real powerhouse, no pun intended, of a better together story here. So tell (chuckles) us a little bit about that.
Graciano
Yeah, no, we're extremely excited and having a phenomenal start in terms of the performance from Tripp Lite but, yeah, combining Eaton and end Tripp Lite, we really think it's a lot of complimentary, go to markets, complimentary products, that really give us a unique value prop to the market in terms of a real partner, in executing this in the cloud. IT as a service era. As we kind of have a holistic, more IT infrastructure offering, versus in the past where we were primarily backup power and UPSs only. Now we're expanding that breadth of our solutions and can really be a place where you focus on getting the right thing for you. Hybrid IT is stemming the tide between legacy and on-prem IT and cloud. So, from our perspective, we want to be ready for it. And now with the Tripp Lite acquisition, we really think we're well positioned to help.
Erin
It sounds terrific and really exciting; I think for our clients and the community as a whole. This is really going to bring a lot of strength in your capabilities and offerings. So, maybe, if you want to dive into that a little bit further. Tell us what's new at Eton? I know you're working through this integration, but what is, maybe aside from, well, in addition to this acquisition, what's something that is a differentiator for you in the market compared to maybe some of the others?
Graciano
Yeah, so the connectivity portfolio for Tripp Lite offers us kind of an expansion that no other category or power management category vendor has. And one of those solutions that kind of brings it all together is a micro data center, right? You're talking about Edge or Fog, that's continuing to gain importance in marketplaces where you need to be up continuously. You need to be able to have power management software, which Eaton is coming out with every day, that integrates into some of the top IT vendors like VMware, like Nutanix, like HPE, like Cisco, and combining that holistic infrastructure that Tripp Lite brings with that software layer that Eaton brings. We really think we have a winner in defining solutions that we still don't know what they're going to look like. Right? The other thing that's coming down the pipe is physical security with our cards, our SNMP cards for our UPSs, we have UL certification for cybersecurity. We're the first vendor to do that, as well as lithium-ion technologies in our batteries. So, a lot of advancements are happening in this space and in this category.
And really, it's about continuous up-time. I mean, we understand all the supply chain challenges that this world is going through right now, and the last thing that you want is your power to go down and you not able to service something. And so, our focus is really built on those layers and those Edge deployments, and really trying to offer something unique that is predicated around this exciting acquisition. So, that's where our head's at, and that's where we're headed towards. Right now, we're taking a lot of our time to listen and learn. We go through a two-to-three-year cycle in what's known as the acquisition integration framework, internally at Eaton. And this listening and learning phase, which is the most important phase, based on everybody I talk to, is really about getting VOC. And so, we're talking to end customers daily. I'm on calls daily, really getting their feedback and really trying to understand, how can we solve your solutions? And we really think that now we're ready to do so. And we have in the past, but not to the scale that we're able to now.
Erin
That's actually a really interesting point and I love that you guys are taking the time to really listen to the clients. Maybe, can you share with me, what is the number one area of concern? What's keeping people up at night? What's, something that is a feedback you're getting?
Graciano
Yeah, some of the concern is just, you look at some of the things that we've done well as separate companies, and they're complimentary in the fact that, from an Eaton perspective, we have this technology leadership perspective in the market, brand recognition in the market. And from a Tripp Lite perspective, you have this very good supported vendor, that it over serves your clientele. And the concern is you're going to miss out on one or the other. So, depending on who you talk to, they're worried about the other's concern. So my job, really, is to make sure that we take the best of both worlds and really make one plus one equal three in that, combining that hustle that we see from one vendor and then looking at the solution perspective from the market with the other. And we really think we can get there. And we're actually happy to see that those are overlays, versus kind of, we're doing the right things in the same places.
Erin
Okay.
Graciano
So, it's exciting.
Erin
Very strategic and thoughtful partnership because it's like two puzzle pieces, right? Where maybe there was some area that was missing, the other one's filling in. I think that it's going to be a great advancement for the entire industry. Now, just maybe selfishly, tell us a little bit about how you see this partnership also playing out with Insight, and how we can continue to best serve our collective partners and clients?
Graciano
Yeah, I mean it's funny you say Insights because they're one of the providers for Eaton, you guys are providing products for actual our 90,000 employees across the globe. (Erin chuckles) And our KSIs are the same ones that I just explained. Right? So, enable hybrid cloud, deploy emerging solutions to lessen distributed technology, reduce complexity and increase agility. I'm reading these off of our own IT KSIs and Insight is servicing that. So, I think as you look at a Fortune 50, mega conglomerate potential client, think about those things in terms of that's the last mile, right? The last percentage of this huge IT deployment. It could be a new ERP system that's going into our manufacturing plants, and then we kind of forget about all this Edge solutions and all these Edge devices that are hardware and there is software into it, but we kind of, that's the last mile. And I would say that makes all the difference, right? As you think about the category and what we provide as a solution to the market, it really can make or break the experience. So, drive that home. It's certainly something we drive at home internally at Eaton, because we manufactured Insight and now it carries Tripp Lite. And in terms of, for Eaton. And so, think about those things in terms of servicing Eaton moving forward.
Erin
Great. No, and we are grateful for our continued, strong partnership. I know we definitely appreciate working so closely together with our valued partners. And I understand, just maybe, on a little like, maybe toot your own horn moment here, that recently we just had industry awards for the CRN, at ARC Awards, am I getting that right?
Graciano
Yeah, Annual Report Card, that goes out to our partners like Insight,
Erin
Yeah.
Graciano
And they grade us. And they grade us on technology. Interestingly enough, we swept the category, so I brought this broom here. And you can hear we have some sweeping going on now.
Erin
Congratulations.
Graciano
The number one vendor was Eaten overall, but closely following that was Tripp Lite. So again, complimentary as to where they were shined, and where we shine, and now it's time to make sure we sweep again. So, nowhere to go but down, I guess, as I take this role on. (Erin chuckles) We're doing a good job, so I just got to keep it up.
Erin
I love it, I love it. Thank you so much, Graciano. I'm excited to hear that the success of the organizations and the partnerships, it should only make our clients and our teammates feel even that more confident in the capabilities that you can deliver, or that we can deliver together. So, thank you so much for sharing all of your wisdom and I'm going to use that word again, because I think you deserve it. It has been a sincere pleasure to spend some time with you today, Graciano. Thank you so much for what you've brought to our clients and teammates.
Graciano
Thank you, Erin.
Erin
Sincerely my pleasure.
Graciano
Appreciate it.
Erin
And thank you everyone for joining us today. If you'd like to learn more about Eaton and Tripp Lite Solutions you can visit insight.com and while you're there, make sure that you sign-up for our quarterly digital magazine, "The Tech Journal," for even more inspiration and insights around the future of business and technology. It's a terrific and completely free resource that we are happy to provide to you. My name is Erin and I am so grateful for your time and attention today. And I can't wait to "Tech Talk" with you again soon. Have a fabulous day.
Commercial Integration Leader, Eaton
Over the past 16 years, Graciano’s leadership experiences with Eaton include domestic and international sales, channel marketing and operations. As the commercial integration leader for the Eaton acquisition of Tripp Lite, Graciano is tasked with the successful integration of Tripp Lite and Eaton sales, marketing, and branding strategy.
Client Solutions Executive, Insight
Erin is passionate about supporting clients and helping organizations thrive by leveraging digital transformation. Throughout her career, she’s made it a priority to develop meaningful connections — whether that’s through events, leadership opportunities, marketing initiatives, or connecting over coffee. Erin is an intuitive and attentive leader and collaborator who establishes and fosters trust relationships with clients, teammates, and stakeholders alike.
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