Ingram Micro Hits ‘Important Milestone’ for Partners with Xvantage
Find out what the distributor has developed and why it’s special. Plus, get news from vendor partners.
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Acting on its intent to go all-digital throughout the organization, Ingram Micro on Thursday debuted the new Xvantage platform.
The portal gives channel partners (and Ingram Micro employees and suppliers) “everything Ingram” in one interface, Sanjib Sahoo, executive vice president and chief digital officer, told Channel Futures.
“It’s an important milestone for us,” Sahoo said.
That’s in large part because Xvantage is self-learning. It’s powered by artificial intelligence. And the more it understands user behavior, the better the recommendations it will deliver.
What does that mean for partners? Find out on the next slide.
(Hint: “We expect this to change the way the partners actually experience Ingram Micro,” Sahoo said.)
Ingram Micro created Xvantage (and infused 43 years’ worth of company data) to give partners a customized experience when running their businesses, Sahoo said. In other words, Xvantage — the more it understands a partner’s inputs — will offer solutions the partner might want to consider buying or building.
“We’re taking the complexity out,” Sahoo said.
Along with that, channel partners will find a variety of support materials, including vendor content and marketing collateral. Also, expect data and analytics that “make it easier” to do business, Sahoo said, as well as market intelligence and insights. Xvantage further contains features that “take the complexity out of renewals and subscriptions.”
Oh, and Xvantage is “completely free to partners,” Sahoo said.
Ingram Micro will launch Xvantage this summer in Germany and the United States. At some point, the platform will incorporate the Ingram Micro Cloud Marketplace.
Ingram Micro developed Xvantage as it saw the need for digital transformation, not just within its own businesses, but those of its partners’ as well.
“It’s a new way to interact with us,” said Sahoo. “It is about creating that operational spirit that we work together.”
Xvantage, he added, “brings possibilities for the partners in an easy, consumable way,” thanks to the AI component.
All in all, said Sahoo, “this whole ecosystem will be a one-stop shop.”
Ingram Micro wasn’t the only company to make announcements during its Cloud Summit May 17-19. Several of its vendor partners did, too.
Let’s start with Citrix.
The company, which is going private, now offers its Desktop as a Service in Azure Marketplace and in Google Cloud Marketplace.
“It’s something the partners have been wanting and expecting, some better and more expansive integration,” Michael Fouts, vice president of Americas partner sales at Citrix, told Channel Futures from the Ingram Micro Cloud Summit.
Perhaps the biggest aspect of the news is that partners get “a clear value proposition that they can go sell and articulate to their customer base,” Fouts said.
That’s especially true when it comes to Microsoft. Often, end users aren’t sure why they should choose Citrix over Microsoft, and vice versa. The DaaS capability helps bridge that gap, according to Citrix.
Meanwhile, partners can expect more inclusion at Citrix. After swinging more toward direct-only business, Citrix has been changing its tune, “trying to get that back into the middle with partners.”
To that point, Citrix has made its commercial and SMB segments channel-only.
“I think that’s super important,” Fouts said. “It speaks to the commitment and investment that we are rebuilding for the partner community.”
Next up, Bitdefender. The cybersecurity provider now offers its solutions to partners in the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia through the Ingram Micro Cloud Marketplace.
“It’s kind of untapped world for them and us,” Richard Tallman, senior director of global cloud security and MSP at Bitdefender, told Channel Futures from the Ingram Micro Cloud Summit.
Prior to the geographic expansion, Bitdefender’s portfolio was only available to managed service providers in North America.
“This allows MSPs to utilize their [Ingram Micro Cloud] marketplace to get quotes and download immediately,” Tallman said.
Partners in Bitdefender’s new footprint will be able to add encryption, endpoint detection and response, and other services with the click of a button.
Finally, Ingram Micro Cloud has teamed with Pluralsight. Now, channel partners can access certification courses, hands-on labs, and sandbox environments that will build their employees’ cloud skills and competencies.
The offering will “help partners meet the demand for cloud skills development to solve business challenges and drive valuable outcomes,” said Ken Leonard, senior vice president of global ecosystem solutions at Pluralsight.
John Dusett, executive director of cloud services at Ingram Micro Cloud, agreed.
“With this new relationship, our channel partners can implement strategic skill development plans and help their teams build the skills needed to get the most out of their cloud investments,” he said.
Finally, Ingram Micro Cloud has teamed with Pluralsight. Now, channel partners can access certification courses, hands-on labs, and sandbox environments that will build their employees’ cloud skills and competencies.
The offering will “help partners meet the demand for cloud skills development to solve business challenges and drive valuable outcomes,” said Ken Leonard, senior vice president of global ecosystem solutions at Pluralsight.
John Dusett, executive director of cloud services at Ingram Micro Cloud, agreed.
“With this new relationship, our channel partners can implement strategic skill development plans and help their teams build the skills needed to get the most out of their cloud investments,” he said.
The Ingram Micro Cloud Summit wraps up today in Miami Beach. But just because it’s the final day doesn’t mean there isn’t more news partners should know.
For its part, Ingram Micro Cloud may have saved its best for the last keynote. We give you the full scoop on that news in the first three installments of this slideshow. Suffice it to say, the cloud distributor’s partners soon will have a much easier way to navigate everything from provisioning to education.
After that, we take a look at some announcements from some Ingram Micro Cloud vendors, all to the benefit of the channel.
The news follows on the heels of what we covered earlier this week, including Amazon Web Services’ addition of public sector opportunities to Ingram Micro Cloud Marketplace. And if you missed it, check out the 6 Takeaways from the Ingram Micro Executive Panel on Tuesday.
Click through the slideshow above to learn more.
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