Resellers offered a hand moving to cloud
Ingram Micro UK (NYSE: IM) has revealed its participation in a new high profile industry group, the Channel Transformation Alliance, which has been created to help resellers promote and sell cloud services and other emerging technologies to businesses.
In addition to Ingram Micro, other members include HP, Microsoft, CA Technologies, Symantec, APC, Kingston, SNIA Europe, and Solution Provider Community International.
The Alliance says its philosophy is that the resellers should continue to play a leading role of trusted advisor to its clients in the cloud. As such, it aims to help educate resellers how they need to adapt their business models for selling the cloud.
This will include field-based topical and educational events, classroom style ‘boot camp’ training, web-based training, face-to-face consulting engagements, business development resources, documentation, practical business tools and best practices downloadable on a multi-lingual educational web portal at www.channeltransformation.com.
It also says it will cover new services-based compensation models for sales professionals and engineers, introduction of different key performance indicators to measure the resellers’ success. In addition, the tools also cover marketing and sales models to generate demand, increase customer lifetime value, and build an annuity contract and monthly-recurring revenue base.
“While some observers predict the demise or dis-intermediation of the IT reseller channel in the era of cloud computing and emerging technologies, the Channel Transformation Alliance believes that the reseller channel remains the primary route-to-market and that resellers will not only survive through this industry transformation, but also thrive in the era of cloud computing and IT-as-a-Service,” says Jason Beal, senior director, services and cloud computing for Ingram Micro EMEA.
“The Channel Transformation Alliance believes it is our role and duty to provide the IT reseller channel with the education, roadmaps, and best practices to make this transition and develop a business model for success with cloud computing. Together we will further enable our channel partners to clearly articulate and demonstrate the benefits of cloud computing, managed services, and emerging technologies to their customers.”
