At the Ingram Micro Cloud Summit, the distributor unveiled a cloud marketplace — which aims to help VARs and MSPs source and manage a range of cloud and SaaS solutions for end-customers. The move reinforces Ingram Micro‘s strategy to become the distribution industry’s leading cloud aggregator. Also at the conference, held in Phoenix, Ingram unveiled eight new cloud and managed services partners — including BMC Software, Cisco Systems, N-able Technologies, Siemens Enterprise Communications, SherWeb, Symantec, Trend Micro and VMware.
According to an Ingram Micro prepared statement:
“Ingram Micro will demonstrate its highly anticipated Cloud Marketplace, a transactional, online marketplace where solution providers can shop, procure, provision and obtain invoices for their cloud services directly from Ingram Micro.”
Within the next hour or so, sources say, Ingram will show how VARs can source Intermedia‘s hosted Exchange service from the Ingram Micro Cloud Marketplace. Talkin’ Cloud expects additional details later today.
More Details, Please
Of course, plenty of questions remain — and we’ll be sure to pursue the answers in the days ahead. Among the questions on my mind:
- Can VARs and MSPs give end-customers a single invoice that has the channel partner’s brand front-and-center?
- What are the revenue share models and recurring revenue opportunities for channel partners that use the Ingram Micro Cloud Marketplace?
- What are the service level agreements (SLAs) and what risks do partners potentially face if any of the Ingram services go dark?
- Which services will Ingram host in its data centers, and which services will be sourced from third-party data centers and service providers?
Like I said: Plenty of questions.
On the Go
Still, Ingram seems to be banging the cloud drum loudest in the distribution market. Most of the major distributors are promoting cloud education and/or introducing a few cloud applications for their partners. But Renee Bergeron, Ingram Micro’s VP of Managed Services and Cloud Computing, seems to be consistent in her messaging. Each month, she provides a new wrinkle to the cloud aggregator strategy.
And right now, Bergeron is addressing more than 250 channel partners at the Ingram Micro Cloud Summit in Phoenix, Ariz. TalkinCloud will be back with updates throughout the day.
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Interested to know whether all of your questions have been answered…
Mike: Thanks for the note and for reading TalkinCloud. Are you here at the conference? I’m meeting with Ingram VP Renee Bergeron later today but here are some answers I’ve received so far. My original questions are below, with answers in CAPS.
1. Can VARs and MSPs give end-customers a single invoice that has the channel partner’s brand front-and-center? YES. INGRAM SAYS THAT CAPABILITY WILL ARRIVE IN Q4.
2. What are the revenue share models and recurring revenue opportunities for channel partners that use the Ingram Micro Cloud Marketplace? VARS WILL BE FREE TO SET THEIR OWN END-CUSTOMER PRICING
3. What are the service level agreements (SLAs) and what risks do partners potentially face if any of the Ingram services go dark? BERGERON ANSWERED THIS QUESTION YESTERDAY BUT I NEED FURTHER CLARIFICATION.
4. Which services will Ingram host in its data centers, and which services will be sourced from third-party data centers and service providers? SOUNDS LIKE MOST SERVICES WILL BE IN THIRD-PARTY DATA CENTERS, BUT THE ACTUAL PROCUREMENT HAPPENS IN A PCI-COMPLIANT DATA CENTER, BERGERON SAID.
-jp
In Q3, Ingram will roll-out the ingrammicrocloud.com transactional marketplace to a limited subset of partners. This release will provide functionality to aggregate a customer invoice on behalf of a reseller, with the partner’s brand on the invoice, and all vendor services aggregated on the single invoice.
In Q4, it will be rolled out to all Ingram Micro partners.
Partners will indeed be able to set their own customer pricing and capture this information in ingrammicrocloud.com. This information will be used to generate the customer invoice on behalf of the partner.
Hey Renee,
Thanks for the additional insights above. And thanks for your time at Ingram Micro Cloud Summit.
-jp