Global distributor realigns enterprise sales, marketing and technical support capabilities to serve the Midmarket; recruits new manufacturers and strengthens ties with IBM and HP
LAS VEGAS, COMDEX, Nov. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE: IM), a leading IT sales, marketing and logistics company, today announced it is helping its solution provider customers and IT manufacturers capture sales growth opportunities among mid-sized businesses purchasing enterprise-level technologies, or what is commonly referred to as the 'Midmarket.'
Comprised of approximately 103,000 businesses in the United States, with employee rosters ranging anywhere from 100 to 999 employees*, the Midmarket is another "sweet spot" for technology sales and service, according to Pat Collins, senior group vice president ,sales and marketing, Ingram Micro North America.
"Much like the SMB market, our solution provider customers hold the key to unlocking the true sales potential for technology in this emerging market," continued Collins. "Together, with our solution providers and new offerings from IBM, HP, NetIQ, Red Hat and Vericept, we are delivering the technology solutions that small- to mid-size enterprises need -- primarily systems infrastructure, security, collaborative applications and storage."
As a proven go-to-market partner for enterprise players Cisco, F5 Networks, Netscreen, VMWare, HP and IBM, Ingram Micro is building on its established solution provider customer base, marketing and technical expertise to attract manufacturers interested in reaching the Midmarket. To help its partners grow their sales, the company has strengthened its enterprise sales and marketing teams and invested more resources into its technical support capabilities.
"We're seeing a couple of trends with enterprise-level technology. A growing number of manufacturers with traditional sales to large enterprises are introducing scalable, high-performance technology products for smaller enterprises," said Donna Grothjan, senior vice president, product management, Ingram Micro North America. "Alternatively, manufacturers that typically targeted small businesses have increased their products' performance and scalability to meet the needs of larger companies."
IDC's Q303 North America end-user survey identified the top three spending categories among end users surveyed as system infrastructure, collaborative applications and security. VARBusiness' 2003 Midmarket survey found that two- thirds of SME end users surveyed identified servers as a top three spending priority. The study also concluded that the average annual IT budget of a mid-sized enterprise exceeded $610,000. "This presents a sizable sales opportunity for our solution provider customers," said Collins.
To help its customers capture the Midmarket opportunity, Ingram Micro has recruited more than a dozen new manufacturers including Net IQ, PGP Corporation, Vericept and VMWare. The company also has:
* Expanded relationships with Adobe, HP (HIP program), IBM Midrange
Storage and Netscreen
* Broadened its focus on applications built on Linux and added Red Hat
Software to its line card, and
* Teamed with IBM Global Services to expand service and support offerings
through resellers servicing the Midmarket.
Manufacturers and solution providers requesting more information on Ingram Micro's Midmarket sales and marketing opportunities should contact Diane Lees at (716) 633-3600 ext. 67410 or diane.lees@ingrammicro.com.
About Ingram Micro Inc.
As a vital link in the technology value chain, Ingram Micro creates sales and profitability opportunities for vendors and resellers through unique marketing programs, outsourced logistics services, technical support, financial services, and product aggregation and distribution. The company serves 100 countries and is the only global IT distributor with operations in Asia. Ranked 76 on the Fortune 500, Ingram Micro generated $22.5 billion in revenues for fiscal year 2002. Visit www.ingrammicro.com/corp.
*According to AMI-Partners Research and VARBUSINESS' 2003 State of the Midmarket Survey.
(C) 2003 Ingram Micro Inc. All rights reserved. Ingram Micro and the registered Ingram Micro logo are trademarks used under license by Ingram Micro Inc. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
SOURCE Ingram Micro Inc.