Business Unit Will Further Drive Company's Mission to Lead the E-Business Revolution with Comprehensive Product and Service Offerings for NSPs and Converged VARs
SANTA ANA, Calif., Feb. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE:IM)
, the world's largest wholesale provider of technology products and services, today announced the formation of the Converging Technologies Group (CTG), an expanded business unit that will provide sales and support services to computer telephony resellers and Network Service Providers (NSPs). A leader in providing e-business solutions for resellers, Ingram Micro will help unify voice and data sales and services into integrated solutions to better meet marketplace needs in the growing Internet economy.
"As voice and data technologies converge, resellers and NSPs alike must provide their customers with integrated product offerings," said Sally Stanton, general manager of the Converging Technologies Group at Ingram Micro. "The marketplace is demanding that the channel provide the products and service expertise for the network and the entire desktop."
Since 1996, Ingram Micro has supported converged VARs (Value-Added Resellers) with its Telephony Integration Division (TID), which will operate as the new Converging Technologies Group. The company will add a team dedicated to providing products and services that meet the special needs and requirements of NSPs, who offer network and Internet access to business and consumer users.
The converged market, estimated at $10 billion annually in North America, includes applications such as unified messaging, video conferencing, interactive voice response, call center solutions and communications servers.
To support integrated voice and data services to converged VARs and NSPs, the Converging Technologies Group will provide comprehensive product and service offerings, educational and financial support programs and dedicated field and inside sales support. Customers can also take advantage of the company's extensive configuration capabilities, as well as its product fulfillment expertise. In addition, Ingram Micro has established a pre- and post-sale technical support team, certified in network design and other specialized converged application services, to assist resellers and NSP customers.
"Many of our key vendors are providing products in the converged segment, and we believe the emergence of converged communications will be a high growth area for resellers of all kinds, either as a converged VAR or an NSP," Stanton added. "Business customers are beginning to look to the next level of technology offerings for unified communications, and we are providing a single source for them."
About Ingram Micro Inc.
Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE:IM)
, headquartered in Santa Ana, Calif., is the world's largest wholesale provider of technology products and services, and a leader of assembly and integration services with sales of $26.5 billion for the past four reported quarters. The company and its subsidiaries operate in 34 countries and distribute more than 225,000 products to more than 140,000 resellers in 130 countries.
Source: Ingram Micro Inc.
Contact: Lisa Landry 714-245-7500 ext. 225,
lisa_landry@benjamingroup.com, or Carrie Brooks, 714-245-7500 ext. 223,
carrie_brooks@benjamingroup.com, both of Benjamin Group/BSMG, for Ingram
Micro
Website: http://www.ingrammicro.com/