Global channel distributor and platform company Ingram Micro has launched a new program designed to enable success in the AI era.
New program brings enablement and tech solutions to partners ready for growth
The new offering is a multi-step, targeted approach that guides partners through a variety of enablement resources, covering both the technical and business aspects of enabling AI adoption in customers. Built on Ingram Micro’s Xvantage platform, the program provides the following:
- AI Maturity Assessments to evaluate businesses’ AI readiness, recognize skills gaps, and identify growth opportunities.
- AI Basecamps for foundational knowledge that enables effective AI solution delivery.
- AI Growth Tracks for solution enablement, including step-by-step enablement paths with leading vendors.
- Mission-specific Data and AI Services to support clean, relevant, and secure data strategies.
- Instant Access to Global Centers of Excellence to showcase the value of AI solutions to potential end customers.
“Ingram Micro is helping us take a focused, strategic approach to AI—not just with tools, but with real guidance we can put into action,” said Maggie McGovern, VP of sales and marketing at Matrix Integration, an Ingram Micro Trust X Alliance member. “Their AI Maturity Assessments and architecture support through Xvantage Enable AI are giving our team—and our clients—the clarity and confidence to move forward with AI in a meaningful way.”
“My focus here, and especially in building out this program for our partners, is to make AI actionable and accessible for every partner,” Ingram Micro’s Director of AI & Innovation Partnerships Joyce Hoffman told Channel Insider.
The program will utilize Xvantage’s data-driven capabilities to showcase opportunities for partners’ unique customer pain points. It requires a multi-vendor framework approach to determine the best way for partners to deliver business outcomes that their customers are likely already requesting, or will soon.
“With Xvantage Enable AI, Ingram Micro is supporting channel enablement, helping partners leverage watsonx to democratize AI and deliver responsible, scalable solutions to their customers,” said Madison Gooch, the vice president for watsonx at IBM.
Partners at all stages of AI maturity see benefits
Hoffman stresses the importance of partners viewing AI as a much broader business opportunity than any one deal won with a new type of technology.
“I always say that AI is about the lifetime value, not just selling one solution,” said Hoffman. “This is a long-term opportunity to add services and ongoing support on top of the technology and train your customer base for the future.”
Ingram Micro boasts a large, global partner base that includes MSPs at virtually every possible maturity level, especially when it comes to incorporating AI in revenue opportunities.
But for those who are already actively meeting customer demand for AI-enabled outcomes and don’t necessarily need training resources, Hoffman says the program is a way to flex those muscles while helping other partners.
“We facilitate partner-to-partner collaboration and support a lot. For our more advanced partners, this is a way to help those who are a little less mature in their AI understanding and build incremental services opportunities with other partners, not just with end customers,” Hoffman said.
For end customers, Ingram Micro will work with partners to provide post-implementation training resources and advise them on how to support the change management and business processes their customers need to utilize AI solutions.
AI continues to dominate channel conversations and customer demand
Hoffman knows that it can feel nearly impossible for partners to avoid AI in any conversation they have, and she says that in building out this program, she focused on finding real-world applications and tangible solutions to cut through the noise.
“There’s a lot of noise, and maybe even a lot of fluff, out there about AI right now, but there are also a lot of opportunities. This program is about cutting through the noise and supporting what exactly partners need at every stage of their journeys here,” said Hoffman.
Hoffman has spent over ten years at Ingram Micro, primarily in partner-facing sales roles. She said these experiences keep her focused on providing tangible solutions to partners’ needs and are the foundation of how she began to think about the AI Enable program.
Now that the offering is available in key global markets, Hoffman said she and the wider team want to see partners getting started with the assessment phase of the program to gather early data for future enhancements.
“The assessments, the first stage of this program, are going to give us insights into what the market is demanding, where skill gaps still lie, and what their end customers ultimately want,” Hoffman said. “Ingram Micro focuses on data-driven decision making, and we’ll use our data to continue addressing what partners need to succeed.”
Ingram Micro is betting big on Xvantage as the platform of the future. Revisit our conversation with Global Platform Group President Sanjib Sahoo to learn more about the strategy.