SCO and Ingram Micro Leverage Successful Federal Government Relationship to Enhance State and Local Market Presence
RESTON, Va., March 18 /PRNewswire/ -- SCO (NASDAQ:SCOC)
, the world's leading supplier of UNIX server operating systems, together with Ingram Micro (NYSE:IM)
, the world's largest distributor of technology products and services, announced today expansion of their relationship. Under the agreement, Ingram Micro will distribute to federal, state, and local government markets SCO's full-range of UNIX server, Internet, and Windows to UNIX connectivity products -- all of which support The Internet Way of Computing. Previously, the successful Ingram Micro and SCO relationship was focused primarily on commercial and special federal government market opportunities. SCO will aggressively leverage this success to enhance existing state and local government market support through Ingram Micro's Partnership America.
A program that assists government resellers, VARs, and system integrators, Partnership America allows Ingram Micro and SCO to work closely with resellers providing an array of services that streamline the procurement process. These services include bid pricing; proposal support; contract management and processing support; state and local programs; state Term Schedule support; dedicated government account managers; technology refreshment; credit services; and configuration support.
For example, the California Multiple Award Schedule (CMAS) and similar state initiatives establish acquisition processes for information technology (IT) vendors. Through Partnership America, SCO and Ingram Micro will work closely with individual local governments to actively track and comply with these unique buying regulations.
This continues an extremely successful relationship between SCO and Ingram Micro. Approximately 60% of SCO's sales are made through the distribution model, with more than a three-fold increase in government sales through distribution partners for fiscal 1996.
"SCO solutions have been in big demand by our government reseller customers, especially with more of a focus on the Internet in the last two years," said Curt Cornell, director of Ingram Micro's government division. "By combining SCO's best-of-breed products with the market recognition of our Partnership America program, resellers can now be more competitive in the bidding process for government business. We are very pleased SCO has joined Partnership America and look forward to bringing their full line of Internet-enabled UNIX technologies to our resellers and their customers."
According to G2 Research, state and local government IT spending is expected to reach approximately $36.4 billion in 1997 -- eclipsing U.S. federal government IT spending. "State and local governments in 1997 are increasingly adopting commercial business practices and relying heavily on partnerships with vendors. Companies that can work in partnership with other vendors and customers to leverage experience and subject matter expertise will realize great success," stated Michele Walsh-Grisham, vice president, G2 Research Inc. By participating in Partnership America, SCO will continue the
successful growth in the federal sector and facilitate rapid market penetration into quickly expanding state and local markets.
"SCO is well known for its successful channel strategy. Overwhelming demand for SCO products that support The Internet Way of Computing by reseller and integration partners requires us to work with the largest and most respected distributors," said Jim Beaupre, vice president for SCO's Government Systems Group. "Ingram Micro has a diverse product mix, staff solely committed to government markets and local-level ties with resellers, system integrators, and government representatives. This allows Ingram Micro to successfully work hand-in-hand with SCO and our resellers to integrate the best available technologies to create complete solutions for customers. SCO and Ingram Micro have been widely successful in government IT markets for years. Participation in Partnership America is a logical progression," added Beaupre.
"After participating in state and local CIO roundtables sponsored through Partnership America, we have a greater understanding of the issues and concerns facing IT managers," said Mike Buchko, general manager for SCO's Government Systems Group. "I'm confident that Partnership America provides a framework for SCO and our resellers to be responsive to these concerns," added Buchko.
Most of SCO's recent federal projects were based on solutions that support The Internet Way of Computing. For example, the US. Senate is implementing an Internet-based system for tracking legislation. Senate staffers and constituents can log-on via the Web, search issues or concerns using key words, identify legislation related to particular issues, view research and other data associated with the legislation, and track Senate action on the topic. SCO is working to assist resellers in developing similar solutions tailored to non-federal government customers.
"As a reseller, my primary concern is to provide best-value solutions to my customers. By working closely with distribution partners, SCO ensures that their resellers are receiving the best products, pricing, and support," said Paul Collins. vice president for BTG, Inc., a government market reseller. "Ingram Micro has also been very focused on meeting the needs of their resellers. One of Partnership America's great strengths is that it allows resellers to bid for contracts electronically. Electronic commerce is going to play an ever increasing role in how governments procure technology," he added.
About Ingram Micro
Ingram Micro Inc., headquartered in Santa Ana, CA, is the world's largest wholesale distributor of technology products and services, with 1996 sales of $12 billion. The company operates in 19 countries and distributes more than 36,000 products to over 100,000 resellers in 120 countries.
About SCO
SCO is the world's leading supplier of UNIX server operating systems, and a leading provider of client-integration software that integrates Windows PCs and other clients with UNIX servers from all major vendors. SCO is committed to bringing The Internet Way of Computing to business-critical environments of all sizes. SCO Business Critical Servers run the critical, day-to-day operations of large branch organizations in retail, finance, telecom, and government, as well as corporate departments and small to medium-sized businesses of every kind. SCO sells and supports its products through a worldwide network of distributors, resellers, systems integrators, and OEMs. For more information, see SCO's WWW home page at: http://www.sco.com/.
NOTE: SCO, The Santa Cruz Operation, and The Internet Way of computing are trademarks or registered trademarks of The Santa Cruz Operation. Inc. in the USA and other countries. UNIX is a registered trademark of the Open Group in the United States and other countries. Ingram Micro is a registered trademark of Ingram Micro Inc., Santa Ana, CA. All other brand or product names are or may be trademarks of, and used to identify products of services of, their respective owners.
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Source: The Santa Cruz Operation Inc.
CONTACT: Michael Binko of Stackig Public Relations, 703-761-2517, or
mbinko@stackig.com, for SCO