Company Kicks Off U.S. Pilot for Expanded xSP Initiative, Providing an Easy, Low-Cost Way for Customers and Service Providers to Reach Small- to Mid-Sized Businesses
SANTA ANA, Calif., June 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE:IM)
, the largest global wholesale provider of technology products and services, today announced the launch of its U.S. Service Provider Exchange and the kick- off of an eight-month specialized pilot program to provide Ingram Micro customers with the best way to deliver pre-packaged xSP services to small- to mid-sized businesses (SMBs).
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In 2000, Ingram Micro announced a strategy and partners for its application service provider (ASP) initiative. Since then, the initiative has expanded to become a complete xSP offering -- a more comprehensive slate of services that include ASP services such as financial and customer relationship management software applications, as well as hosting and managed services, going beyond services designed around software applications.
The pilot is open to Ingram Micro value-added resellers (VARs) and solution providers that want to become outsourced service providers, maintain a direct selling relationship with end-users that outsource services or reach service providers for business development and strategic alliances. The program also provides Ingram Micro's service provider partners with an effective market strategy to reach the information technology (IT) channel. Ingram Micro kicked off the Service Provider Exchange with a preview of services and specialized business readiness training for customers this past week at a three-day event hosted by Compaq, IBM and Intel.
"Ingram Micro's Service Provider Exchange allows us to maintain the direct relationship with our customers and simplify the process to more cost efficiently access new services to sell to our customers," said Denise Arboleda, vice president of sales at CompuLink. "We are able to expand value to our customers without the need for a large capital investment."
Ingram Micro is continuing to extend offers to selected customers interested in participating in the Service Provider Exchange, which will be capped at 50 participants during the pilot period. The pilot combines offerings from top service provider partners with participation based on the technology and consultative expertise of VARs or solution providers. Various service offerings will be market tested throughout the eight-month timeframe. Initial offerings for the pilot include:
-- Exenet: Leading Application Infrastructure Provider (AIP) and
recognized IT infrastructure visionary offering proactive managed
services, storage services, bandwidth provisioning, directory
services, database services and complete ASP EcoSystem services.
-- NetLedger: NetLedger 1 System, an integrated ASP service encompassing
accounting, payroll, online bill pay, CRM, Web store/Web site, time
and billing and employee expense report capabilities.
The criteria for partners participating in the Service Provider Exchange include availability of two-tier pricing, knowledge of the IT channel and VAR market and a solid financial position.
"Ingram Micro is creating a business development opportunity not currently in existence for the IT channel by bringing xSP solutions to our customers at the lowest cost of entry to reach the SMB market," said Pam Bryson, vice president, business development, Ingram Micro U.S. "This program also offers the xSPs a much-needed delivery channel for their services. The purpose of this pilot is to evaluate selected pre-packaged services and continue to develop additional partnerships that meet the expectations of our customers and vendor partners."
"Companies are relying upon outsourcing to lower their cost structure and create a more manageable business infrastructure," said Kevin Murai, president, Ingram Micro U.S. "Ingram Micro is able to help our customers provide low-risk outsource services while capitalizing on this trend."
As part of the program, customers will receive support from a dedicated Ingram Micro sales team trained on xSP services, specialized technical representatives available on-call, service provider marketing programs and promotions, as well as training and customer service support without the added expense or investment in high-end infrastructure costs. The new Ingram Micro Solutions Center, where customers can test and develop new xSP solutions, also will support the pilot program upon its opening this summer.
The Service Provider Exchange Program is part of Ingram Micro's expanded enterprise solutions offering, which enables solution providers to work with a single Ingram Micro business unit within the company equipped with the expertise in supporting complete enterprise solutions that encompass the broadest mix of products and services.
Enrollment and Fees
Customer qualifications for the program vary, depending on the selection of xSP services. For more information about Ingram Micro's Service Provider Exchange Program, visit the ASP section on www.ingrammicro.com/asp, or contact xSPExchange@ingrammicro.com.
About Ingram Micro Inc.
Ingram Micro Inc. is the largest global wholesale provider of technology products and supply chain management services. The company operates in 36 countries with sales of $30.7 billion for the fiscal year 2000. Ingram Micro's global regions provide the distribution of technology products and services, marketing development and supply chain management services to more than 175,000 technology solution providers and 1,700 manufacturers. The company is focused on maximizing shareowner value and achieving customer satisfaction through innovation in the IT supply chain. Visit http://www.ingrammicro.com/.
Ingram Micro and the registered Ingram Micro logo are trademarks used under license by Ingram Micro Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies.
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Source: Ingram Micro Inc.
Contact: Lisa Falcetti, ext. 234, lisa_falcetti@benjamingroup.com, or
Stefanie Lopez, ext. 232, stefanie_lopez@benjamingroup.com, both of Benjamin
Group/BSMG Worldwide, 949-260-1300, for Ingram Micro Inc.; or Jennifer
Marchetta, Media Relations of Ingram Micro Inc., 714-382-1403,
jennifer.marchetta@ingrammicro.com
Website: http://www.ingrammicro.com/asp
Website: http://www.ingrammicro.com/