Ingram Micro Bets Big on AI for Channel Partners

AI demand is accelerating across the channel, but many partners are still struggling to turn the hype into real revenue.

Ingram Micro is positioning itself at the center of that shift, expanding its AI enablement programs and investing in platform-driven innovation to help MSPs and solution providers operationalize AI. Through new training pathways, patented technologies, and its Xvantage platform, the distributor aims to reduce friction, speed up deal cycles, and provide partners with a clearer path to monetizing AI.

Channel Insider spoke with Ingram Micro executives about how the company is aligning education, infrastructure, and automation to help partners move from experimentation to scalable AI services.

Ingram Micro’s Enable AI program targets partner readiness

Ingram Micro’s partner enablement programming has grown in recent years to include guidance for channel partners looking to integrate AI into their workflows, help customers embrace AI technologies, and, generally, get ahead of the massive shift many believe is underway across the channel.

In June 2025, the company launched its Enable AI program to provide partners with a guided educational pathway to AI adoption. 

The program includes readiness assessments tied to data, security, and other key facets, along with additional sales and technical resources.

The program promises to support everyone from the partner just starting to think about AI to those already building holistic AI services into their portfolios.

“We’re really just trying to meet our partners where they are and guide them through the process wherever they find themselves in this moment,” VP of Technology Solutions Cheryl Rang told Channel Insider. 

Partners still need proof of real AI business outcomes

To Rang, it’s crucial for partners to see the value in AI-enabled workflows and products before they can efficiently bring them to market.

“Until you see successful cases and a practical application of the technology, it’s really hard to see the realm of possibility with AI,” Rang said.

Partners are being inundated with new product features, the explosion of AI use in the consumer market, and boards pushing their organizations to adopt AI quickly. 

At the same time, those partners are still struggling with how best to support customer demand for AI while maintaining security postures and compliance standards, and working to better understand the business needs that technology adoption can support.

“There can be a lot of fluff and noise in the market around AI. Our partners need to understand, ‘what is the business outcome I can go after with the customer,’ and that’s what we want to enable them to do,” Executive Director of Lifecycle Services, US GTM, Patrick O’Dell told us.

O’Dell added that AI demand is also fueling a resurgence of interest in cloud migration, data cleanliness, and other related products and services that partners can bring to customers in a more holistic AI conversation.

Ingram Micro wants to help partners close those deals faster and ensure they remain in the transaction and deployment as customers seek new buying experiences and a quicker time-to-market.

Ingram Micro patents highlight platform-driven AI strategy

Ingram Micro also announced in March that it had been awarded two patents, one for its dynamic SKU capabilities and one for its email-to-order system powered by generative AI.

The company has invested heavily in building the Xvantage platform and training and deploying its own AI models to address what it views as a central pain point for partners and customers: friction in the ordering system that takes software and hardware from the vendor to the end user.

“This goes to the foundational vision, which I think people are seeing, that we are trying to create a B2B operating system,” President of Ingram Micro’s Global Platform Group, Sanjib Sahoo, told Channel Insider.

To Sahoo, the patents are a recognition that Ingram’s Xvantage platform is uniquely addressing the needs of its channel partners and their end customers.

“These patents are two of the more than 35 we have filed, because we are solving all these problems that pertain to not just the technology B2B industry, but many industries,” Sahoo added.

WATCH MORE: Revisit our interview with Sanjob Sahoo from Ingram Micro ONE 2025 to learn why he compares AI to training a puppy, and how he views partner enablement and long-term channel growth.

AI demand creates long-term growth opportunity for partners

Ingram Micro and its partner ecosystem are far from the only ones focused on capturing AI demand, but the company believes it can prepare its partners for long-term success, not just quick wins in 2026.

“The partners that help customers get ready for AI today will own the most strategic relationships tomorrow,” O’Dell said. 

To Sahoo, the technology that underpins Xvantage will need to keep pace with market shifts. With several other patents pending and a commitment to continued innovation, he sees a prime opportunity for Ingram Micro to cement its position as a platform-first company.

“We are building something proprietary that is changing and solving the problems not only for the channel, but for B2B as a whole,” Sahoo said.