Looking to bring its leading-edge networking technologies to a broader set
of markets, QLogic has signed a distribution deal with Ingram Micro.
Ingram Micro and QLogic believe their reseller partners currently have only a
20 percent overlap, opening up large additional bases for both companies.
The agreement comes at a time when QLogic has released several new products
considered to be on the leading edge of networking technology, including Fibre
Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), 10 Gigabit Ethernet, InfiniBand and 8Gb Fibre
Channel.
“Our products are primarily distributed through our OEMs like HP,” says Jim
Rothstein, vice president of North American sales at QLogic. “We’ve gone
through the Ingram Micro channel with some of our brands before, but this part
of the relationship is new.”
The catalyst for the deal is the new leading-edge technologies and the momentum
behind the move to unified networking and unified data center solutions,
according to QLogic executives.
“Six months ago we didn’t have 10 Gigabit Ethernet adapters,” says Steve
Zivanic, senior director of corporate marketing for QLogic. “Really, the
impetus to get this going was these brand-new technologies that we didn’t have
in this market before.
“Twenty percent of QLogic’s revenues are driven by channel sales,” he adds. “We
are looking to expand that.”
QLogic, which has catered to the enterprise and midmarket, is hoping its
partnership with Ingram Micro will help to better target the SMB space, which
has been “a gaping hole” in QLogic’s go-to-market strategy, says Rothstein.
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Computer Networking 
