Tag: ingram

Gamma Communications teams up with Ingram Micro

Gamma Communications has announced a new strategic relationship with Ingram Micro to offer its UK partners Operator Connect for Microsoft Teams.

Operator Connect, a new operator-managed programme from Microsoft Teams Phone, has been designed to enable seamless and integrated calling. There are only a few providers of the programme in the UK.

The pair want to provide partners with a new opportunity in the business voice market. Additionally, Gamma will become the first provider to offer Operator Connect for Microsoft Teams to Ingram Micro’s partners in the UK.

Supply chain shortages still not improving

Ingram executive director John Tonthat has warned that the supply chain crisis was still not improving.

Distributor’s forecasting for 2023 with its largest vendors including Cisco, HP, Dell and IBM “all show products that push back well into the back-half of 2023”.

He said that while client device shortages were improving the datacentre with compute, storage and networking products was still a mess.

Addressing the gathered throngs at the GreenPages’ Cloudscape 2022 conference, Tonthat said that across the three tiers of compute, network and storage- network is particularly hampered by supply chain through Q4 of next year.

 

Ingram teams up with Robotic Process Automation (RPA) firm UiPath

Ingram Micro has expanded its relationship with Robotic Process Automation (RPA) outfit UiPath

The move means UiPath’s entire RPA and software portfolio is now available to Ingram Micro’s worldwide channel partners.

For those who came in late, RPA is designed to help organisations increase efficiency, workflow determinism, operation accuracy and regulatory compliance by automating manual tasks. Software-powered robots establish end-to-end automation across the organisation while keeping costs low.

Ingram Micro vice president Sabine Howest said the segment has become one of the organisation’s fastest-growing global practices.

Ingram partners with Google

Ingram Micro Cloud UK has announced a new partnership with Google Cloud.

Google Workspace is billed as a secure, easy to use business collaboration and productivity platform that incorporates a wide range of programs – including Gmail, Docs and Drive.

Ingram Micro Cloud UK said the addition brings greater choice to its partners and resellers and reinforces its commitment to delivering “the most robust ecosystem to build successful cloud businesses”.

Scott Murphy, Cloud Director at Ingram Micro Cloud UK said Google and Ingram were focused on providing resellers with the portfolio breadth they require to grow, with Ingram Micro Cloud being a key player in ensuring they reach their full market potential.

Ingram Micro UK appoints Lomas as UK sales director

Ingram Micro UK has appointed Gary Lomas as its new UK sales director and he will take care of sales across Ingram Micro UK and Comms-care, its UK channel-only services specialist arm.
Lomas has 30 years sales experience under his belt and has a proven track record of developing trust-based, long standing relationships with customers, vendors and partners at all levels, the company said. He previously spent 13 years at Logicalis UK and his earlier career included roles at Ultima Business Solutions and Computacenter.

Lomas said: “I am absolutely delighted to be joining an innovative company that is right at the heart of digital transformation across the globe. Our customers and partners have never needed to demonstrate their value and relevance to their customers more than they do now. The impressive Ingram Micro and Comms-care portfolio of Products, Solutions and Services, and our talented people puts us in a really strong position to help us develop and grow business for our existing and future partners,”

 

Ingram says it will fight Apple cartel fine

Ingram has said that it will ‘vigorously contest’ its €62.9 million fine for teaming up with Apple to fix prices in France.

The French competition watchdog – L’Autorité de la Concurrence – growled and issued its largest ever fine, against Apple, Tech Data and Ingram Micro, amounting to €1.24 billion in total.

Ingram Micro has rejected allegations by an antitrust authority that it fixed Apple product prices in the French market, describing them as “absolutely false”.

The watchdog claims Apple and its distributors acted like a “cartel”, illegally preventing Apple Premium Resellers (APRs) from competing on price against Apple’s own stores and subjecting the French channel to “unfair and unfavourable commercial conditions”.

Tech Data and Ingram Micro hit by Apple’s fine

France’s competition watchdog has fined Apple, Tech Data and Ingram Micro for running an illegal cartel in France, fixing prices, and “sterilising” the French channel.

Apple and distributors Tech Data and Ingram Micro have been hit by a fine worth more than €1.24 billion by an antitrust authority for allegedly fixing prices in the French market.

In the largest fine the watchdog has ever levied, L’Autorité de la Concurrence claims Apple illegally prevented its Apple Premium Resellers from competing on price, subjecting the French channel to “unfair and unfavourable commercial conditions”.

Ingram Micro adds ITagree to cloudy offerings

Ingram Micro added ITagree to its UK Cloud Marketplace, which will provide partners with comprehensive legal agreements tailored to their unique business needs.

The cloud solution provides all the legal agreements that MSPs use with their customers, helping to manage client expectations and reduce the overall time spent addressing their issues.

Ingram Micro expands AWS for UK and Irish resellers

Ingram Micro has expanded its US AWS partnership to resellers in the UK and Ireland.

Ingram has been offering Amazon Web Services on its Cloud Marketplace in the US for seven years but the distributor recently extended the countries it delivers AWS to include Canada, the Middle East and Spain.

It is part of Ingram’s cunning plan to get its partners to flog Infrastructure as a Service.

Ingram’s cloud guy heads to Symantec

Ingram Micro’s  UK&I director of cloud and software, Apay Obang-Oyway,  is set to leave the company.

Apparently, he is getting ready to join Ingram vendor partner Symantec in a northern European channel role next month.

Matthew Sanderson, Ingram Micro UK&I managing director, said: “Apay will be leaving us to pursue new opportunities, and we thank him for his dedication and hard work over many years. During his tenure, Apay has helped build our highly successful cloud business and leaves us with a market-leading position, along with an experienced and strong team in which we have every confidence that it will continue to take the business forward under new leadership.”

Sanderson added that Scott Murphy, Ingram’s director of cloud and advanced solutions, would now head up a combined enterprise and cloud unit.

“Customers are increasingly turning to the cloud as a strategy for business growth and as our partners look ahead to the next two years. Many see the cloud as beneficial for either growing their business or using it as a strategic asset to react more quickly to market shifts, deliver new products and services faster and get ahead of the competition”, he said.

“Under Scott’s leadership, we will continue to enable our partners to tackle a full range of critical IT issues via the cloud, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and enterprise solutions, with the goal of becoming the number one strategic enterprise distributor.”

Microsoft carries out partner review

Stefan_Lochner_-_Last_Judgement_-_circa_1435Software King of the World, Microsoft, is auditing its partners and sorting out the sheep from the goatees.

Request for proposals (RFPs) were sent out to existing and new distributors last Friday covering much of the software Microsoft puts through distribution especially its full packaged products (FPP), OEM Windows, OEM server and electronic software delivery (ESD) products.

At the moment, Vole uses Tech Data, Ingram, Westcoast, Exertis and Entatech but now it is thought that Microsoft wants its distributors to reflect its recent move into hardware and changes to its business model.

VIP and Ci Distribution have received an invite to bid which could suggest a widening of the distribution channel, or that some big names might be culled.

Ingram and Tech Data recently lost out in a similar review Microsoft completed for its hardware accessories business, which includes mice and keyboards. In that case there were seven distributors were invited to bid for this franchise but only Exertis and Westcoast were successful.

Avnet and Ingram see sales fall

avnettsJust as Ingram is about to be bought, HNA and Avnet gears up to sell TS unit to Tech Data, both outfits are seeing their sales slide.

It is no big news, both Avnet and Ingram Micro have seen several quarters of sales doom as they start their M&A activity.

Ingram’s Q3, which ended 1 October, net profits jumped 21 per cent annually to $78.5m (£64.4m) on sales which were down three per cent over the same period to $10.2 billion.  Ingram is becoming part of the Chinese giant HNA. It did not hold a Q3 earnings call or provide a financial outlook for that reason.

Tts CEO Alain Monié did say the third quarter had been seen “robust improvement in gross and operating margins.”

“We see further stabilisation in market demand across most of the globe and our teams continue to leverage our investments in productivity and services to deliver improved bottom-line results and growth in a number of areas as we benefit from the broadest solutions portfolio and widest geographic reach in the industry,” he added.

Avnet is trying to sell its Technology Solutions arm to Tech Data. For the combined business, including TS, net profit fell 47.1 per cent annually to $68.8m, on sales which slumped 13 per cent over the same period to $6bn.

This means that TS performed “below expectations”, with sales falling 21.2 per cent annually to $1.87bn.

CEO William Ameilo said Avnet’s future without TS looks bright.

“In summary, the sale of TS allows us to focus on electronic components business, to which we just added unique capability with the acquisition of Premier Farnell while providing significant capital to strengthen our balance sheet and fund future growth,” he said.

Ingram Micro goes very very quiet

ingram-mico-hqIngram Micro UK & Ireland has signed up to be the newest distributor for Quiet’s power supplies, PC cases and cooling solutions.

Ingram said the addition of Quiet’s products to its portfolio will allow resellers to offer customers a wider range of peripherals, while developing their own new and innovative product ranges promote growth.

Taj Pandya, head of commercial management at Ingram Micro, UK and Ireland said:“We are extremely excited to be able to deliver new technologies and opportunities to our channel partners and we are thrilled that be quiet! has trusted us with the distribution of their premium products that embrace an exceptional level of precision and quality.”

“We hope the inclusion of this new vendor will appeal to our customer base and will permit Ingram’s further expansion into new categories.”

Ingram Micro was one of the first to sign up for Microsoft’s Surface as a Service programme, which will allow new services and hardware to its customers based around Redmond’s Surface Tablet.

 

Ingram’s UK boss recalled to US

661e3ccceba42ef30c43ba6432095197Ingram’s UK boss Brent McCarty has been recalled to the US to lead distributor’s global sales efforts.

Ingram Micro ANZ managing director Matt Sanderson will head up its UK division from July. Apparently McCarty, who was Ingram’s satrap for the UK and Ireland kingdoms, is being transitioned into a global sales role.

Sanderson was Ingram Micro UK’s managing director between 2009 until 2012, when he became vice president and MD in Australia and New Zealand. He headed to Sydney to take the job and now he is back.

McCarty has been in charge since January 2013. During his time he has integrated the mobility division in to the wider company. He also shuttered the Verwood office and oversaw several acquisitions. The recently announced takeover of Comms-care was one of his.

EVP and global group president Gerhard Schulz said: “We congratulate both Matt and Brent in their new roles and look forward to the continued development of Ingram Micro UK under Matt’s leadership.

“We cannot thank Brent enough for his commitment and believe his prior experience has fully prepared him to head up our global sales initiative.”

Ingram Micro teams up with Dropbox

ingram-mico-hqIngram Micro has announced an expanded distribution agreement with file sharing and collaboration outfit Dropbox.

The move will see it extending availability to channel partners across Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

The scheme has been operating over the pond in the US and Canada. Ingram Micro said that the expanded agreement will make it the ‘premier distributor’ of Dropbox in the new regions.

Renee Bergeron, vice president, Global Cloud, Ingram Micro said that Dropbox is one of the most widely adopted collaboration platforms on the market, with unique business-focused capabilities that we expect will deliver significant value to our cloud portfolio and global partner community.

“Dropbox and Ingram Micro’s strengthened relationship reaffirms our joint commitment to meet the growing demands of channel partners and their customers for secure and controlled file sharing and collaboration environments. Through this expanded agreement, we will leverage our combined technical capabilities and expertise to build a value-added solution for strategic customer segments and vertical markets.”

Dropbox has been pushing into the enterprise market lately and Ingram Micro says that its channel partners will have greater cross-sell opportunities by attaching Dropbox to Microsoft Office 365 via Ingram Micro’s productivity suite.