Few IT solutions providers have a vast presence, extensive offerings, and a strong reputation. SHI International Corp. (or SHI) has expertise across the IT world.
But does the performance live up to the promise? We decided it was time to find out.
We aimed to move beyond a surface-level view and better understand SHI's solutions and services.
Before we begin, here’s a brief overview of what SHI is...
Via SHI
SHI International Corp. (SHI) is a global IT solutions provider with a wide range of services and products to help organizations optimize their IT environments. It’s a value-added reseller (VAR) established over 35 years ago, serving industries including government, education, healthcare, and enterprise businesses.
Some primary offerings from SHI include:
SHI’s IT asset management solution includes:
Software asset management: Licensing advisory, compliance expertise, and audit defense for major software vendors.
Lifecycle management: Support for the entire lifecycle of hardware and software assets.
Optimization services: Office 365 and SaaS management.
Self-service portals: Tools to manage software requests and licensing updates
SHI offers managed services for different organizational needs:
SHI Complete: A managed service that helps SMBs in IT transformation. It includes cloud adoption, secured networking, SaaS app management, and zero-touch provisioning.
SAM managed services: Tool-agnostic solutions for managing software inventory, compliance, and licensing.
SHI supports organizations in adopting and optimizing cloud technologies
Public cloud services like AWS, Azure, Google Cloud
Cloud FinOps: Financial governance for cloud spending
Migration services for seamless transitions to cloud platforms.
SHI has developed proprietary AI tools, including Mindspark, a generative AI platform for enterprise productivity and collaboration. It also provides consulting services for securely integrating AI into business processes.
SHI simplifies IT hardware procurement for public sector organizations with
Comprehensive contracts customized for government, education, and healthcare sectors.
Assistance with funding initiatives and compliance with federal standards.
In addition to these, SHI also provides cybersecurity solutions, cost optimization services, and IT training and support.
Given the scope of SHI’s offerings, this will not be a complete review of SHI as a business. Instead, it will provide an overview of some of SHI’s major offerings and their performance, based on real-world user reviews.
At their core, managed IT services involve handing over some (or all) of your IT operations to a third party—encompassing everything from planning and deployment to ongoing maintenance. SHI pitches itself as an end-to-end partner in this regard, helping organizations through the entire IT lifecycle.
This means they’re involved from the start, helping organizations with everything from setting up technology and choosing the right options to deployment and upkeep.
SHI is a powerhouse here as it relies on a vast network of technology partners, including many industry leaders (Google, Apple, Broadcom, Dell, HP, Palo Alto, Adobe, and so on). These partnerships enable SHI to deliver IT solutions and personalize services based on diverse needs.
We dug a bit deeper into their managed services to see what’s on offer:
Cloud-managed services: SHI gives organizations confidence when moving to or operating in the cloud and offers assistance with platform design, managing operations, and monitoring compliance and security.
SHI Expert Support: SHI provides a single point of contact for support across various manufacturers (OEMs), which is highly appealing. You can expect fast initial response times, 24/7 global availability, and a substantial team (over 100 people with over 400 certifications) ready to address issues promptly.
Vendor-specific expertise: They clearly value their partnerships. SHI maintains partnerships with Cisco (focusing on secure remote work setups like SASE, SD-WAN, and Meraki), Microsoft (aiming to help maximize value from things like Enterprise Agreements, CSP, Teams, and Azure), and ServiceNow (positioning themselves as a major provider offering consulting, reviews, and even supporting ServiceNow's buying program).
SHI Complete (for SMBs): SHI also offers a packaged offering specifically designed for small—to medium-sized businesses, called SHI Complete. It helps such organizations through their IT transformations with the right operating model and governance.
We were impressed by the broad portfolio of managed IT services offered here. SHI is a no-brainer option if you are looking for a reputable managed IT services provider.
Read More: 9 Leading Value-Added Resellers to Simplify Your IT Management
SHI’s approach to IAM is comprehensive. It starts with expert-led workshops and assessments designed to transform fragmented identity environments into security controls. The goal is to unify disconnected identity platforms into a cohesive architecture, reducing redundant tools and operational overhead.
A major focus is on implementing modern authentication frameworks, such as Single Sign-On, adaptive MFA, and RBAC, to balance strong security with user convenience across apps.
The main IAM offerings from SHI include:
Identity Governance and Administration (IGA): Here, the focus is on unifying identity policies, automating user lifecycle management, and certifying access. SHI relies on partners like IBM Identity Governance, One Identity, and SailPoint for IGA.
Access management: This involves managing privileged accounts and controlling excessive access rights. SHI integrates solutions with CyberArk, Microsoft, and Okta to establish Zero Trust controls and automated oversight for privileged access.
IAM Active Management: This involves unified authentication experiences (such as SSO) across cloud and on-premises apps, utilizing adaptive MFA to manage risk intelligently.
We noticed a consistent theme in how SHI integrates solutions from top-tier partners. We are fairly confident that SHI is an experienced partner capable of guiding complex IAM transformations.
Given how fast the AI space moves, we were eager to learn about SHI’s AI approach. Right away, it's clear that they are focused on delivering real business value, not just chasing the latest trend.
SHI’s stress on being vendor-neutral stood out immediately.
Looking at their extensive list of AI ecosystem partners, they are equipped to offer advice across various platforms rather than pushing a single solution. Partners include AWS, Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Cisco, Intel, and other industry leaders.
This variety is necessary for finding the right fit for specific needs and existing infrastructure.
This is what SHI’s three-step approach looks like:
Imagine: Involves readiness assessments and workshops. The goal is to work together to pinpoint 3 to 5 AI use cases that fit our infrastructure and business goals and narrow on what’s technically doable and has the biggest impact.
Experiment: Here, the AI and Cyber Labs concept is a dedicated sandbox environment where you can test potential AI solutions using your data. Their data scientists and AI architects built proofs of concept relatively quickly (within 2-6 weeks).
Adopt: SHI utilizes a phased implementation approach once a solution proves viable. They focus on integrating with existing security controls, governance frameworks, and compliance needs.
Our time researching SHI’s AI offerings tells us this: They have a perfect handle on the practical ways businesses are looking to use genAI today. SHI is a valuable, structured partner capable of helping organizations move from AI curiosity to real-world implementation with measurable results.
Beyond their service offerings, most of our time was dedicated to SHI’s IT management platform, SHI One. So let’s talk about that (to be honest, it deserves a review).
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SHI One has a bold promise: to be the unified platform that brings order to the chaos of hybrid IT.
We get the appeal; the idea of a single dashboard to oversee everything from on-premise gear to multi-cloud sprawl (AWS, Azure, GCP) is attractive.
While the concept of a single pane of glass is the holy grail for many IT departments, our experience suggests that true unification across diverse environments is extremely challenging.
SHI One is a big step towards centralizing SHI-related interactions and major cloud providers. Still, we are cautiously optimistic about its ability to be the single definitive view for all aspects of a complex, bespoke IT infrastructure.
You get a modern, reasonably intuitive dashboard with customizable dashboards and widgets. Personalized views on assets, cloud, labs, support, and services make sense. However, the primary test of any dashboard is its day-to-day usability.
While customization is powerful, it can also mean complexity or information overload if not implemented carefully. With SHI One, you need quite a bit of configuration to work with your specific priorities and workflows.
SHI One integrates several key functions. Here are our thoughts:
The tight integration with SHI's own Warehouse and Integration Centers for real-time inventory and order tracking is a standout feature if SHI is a primary procurement partner.
Managing the asset lifecycle and secure decommissioning within the platform adds definite value. However, we have doubts about the depth of discovery and management for assets not procured through SHI.
Read More: 10 Best IT Asset Management Software for Distributed Teams
Providing a consolidated view of spending across AWS, Azure, and GCP, along with cost-saving recommendations and governance tools, addresses a major pain point. This is genuinely a solid offering.
The real differentiator is the actionability of these insights; they don’t simply report; they facilitate direct optimization actions within the platform.
Centralizing support tickets, service tracking, and even billing/invoicing related to SHI services is undeniably convenient for SHI customers and streamlines their interaction with SHI.
The downside is that it inadvertently channels all support interactions through this single portal, potentially bypassing other established internal processes or direct vendor contacts when needed.
Again, this transparency into SHI's logistics is excellent for SHI customers. It provides valuable operational visibility into that specific part of the supply chain.
A sandbox environment is an essential feature for testing. While convenient to access via SHI One, it feels more like a bundled offering than a core, unique platform differentiator. Many organizations already have sandbox capabilities through cloud providers or virtualization platforms.
SHI One's strength is its integration with SHI's ecosystem: procurement, logistics, and support. This creates a simplified experience for SHI services. You also get custom API integration to connect external tools.
Our concern is the potential for vendor lock-in. Does relying heavily on SHI One make it harder to diversify suppliers or integrate deeply with tools outside SHI's preferred partners? It’s a convenience that needs to be weighed against flexibility.
SHI One is a powerful customer portal that has been turned into an IT management platform. It is powerful for organizations heavily invested in SHI for procurement and services, and those primarily using the major cloud providers (AWS, Azure, GCP).
However, based on user reviews, we'd stop short of calling it the definitive single pane of glass for all things IT. Its effectiveness for managing assets outside the SHI supply chain, integrating deeply with a wide array of third-party tools beyond the big cloud providers, and handling highly customized or legacy environments remains a bit here and there.
It's a valuable tool for organizing SHI interactions and managing core cloud/asset areas. Still, you need to carefully assess how well it integrates with your entire IT landscape before choosing it as your only IT solution.
SHI is rated a solid 4.7 out of 5 on G2. Most users praise its customer support, pricing, and overall services. However, others criticize it for being expensive and having a learning curve.
This review by Kaylah captures what it feels like to partner with SHI, really well:
Lots of Redditors also agree SHI works well:
Source: Reddit
So, what's our final take after digging into SHI?
They are a competent IT solutions partner who smartly utilizes their massive scale and network of partners. Their expertise in core areas, such as ITSM, IAM, and ITAM, and their SHI One platform are evident.
However, here are a couple of things you'll want to consider.
While helpful, the tight integration with the SHI ecosystem could lead to vendor lock-in down the road. Additionally, while they are strong with major partners like Microsoft and Cisco, you will want to carefully evaluate how deeply SHI One manages assets or systems outside the SHI procurement world.
The bottom line is that SHI shines for larger organizations already working closely with major tech vendors. If your primary goal is to streamline operations within that ecosystem through a single powerful partner, then yes, SHI brings substantial value to the table.
SHI is a comprehensive IT partner, mainly for enterprise-level companies.
If you’re looking for a simpler, more cost-effective service to procure, manage, deploy, retrieve, and dispose of IT assets for your global team, consider Workwize.
Workwize offers transparent pricing, global equipment delivery, and a simple, easy-to-use dashboard for managing the lifecycle of all your equipment.
In other words, Workwize makes more sense over SHI if you’re looking for a straightforward and easy-to-use platform for IT hardware management, especially when working with global remote teams.
Are you unsure if Workwize can meet your needs? Schedule a Workwize demo now and get answers to all your questions.