Aimed at VARs in the SMB (small and midsize business) space, OfficePac taps the IMSN (Ingram Micro Services Network) to deliver warranty extensions, upgrades and out-of-warranty services to customers.

Resellers said high-margin, easy-to-sell service packages like OfficePac are an easy way of achieving extra business and a more complete solution.

"Basically, it's something else we can sell and make a little margin on without too much effort," said Michael Chang, General Manager of Miracle Computer, an all-purpose VAR serving the SMB market.

"It's just more of a complete offering. They do more and in more locations than we could ever reach. It's a way to make us competitive and to reach beyond the local area."

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The IMSN delivers service through a network of VARs that provide on-site work regardless of the banner under which the service was sold.

Competitor Tech Data Corp. partners with OnForce, a service matchmaker, to provide a similar service for its TechSelect VARs.

OfficePac includes 24/7 service and warranty programs for workstations and servers, desktops, notebooks, white boxes, and peripherals, including printers, faxes and scanners.

The package also includes warranty monitoring and e-mail alerts to solution providers when particular accounts are up for renewal.

Bernie Bourgeois, president of CompuVision Systems Inc., also an Ingram VAR, said part of the package's attractiveness is the way it increases a VAR's reach.

"OfficePac acts as an extension of our IT services arm and makes providing on-site customer care and remote diagnostics fast and affordable," he said.

"Adding an extended warranty to a system or upgrading an existing warranty contract is a simple sale that not only adds dollars to your profits, but gives customers peace of mind and increases the value you provide."

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Although Miracle Computer typically focuses on its local San Jose, Calif., area for sales, the company often finds itself selling solutions to companies with a far-flung presence and need for service on a nationwide basis, Chang said.

"They want a single point of sale, they don't want three different calls to make," he said. "A program like this allows me to keep that customer and keep them happy with a more complete solution."

For VARs, the key is to make it a simple sale, he said.

"It's a high margin, usually about 20 points," he said, "but it's still not a big piece of pie. If you sell a $10,000 piece of hardware and a $500 service contract, you've made $100. That's great if it's easy money, but it has to be easy to sell."