Ingram Micro Adds to Its Cloud Portfolio via SoftCom Buy

Ingram Micro has acquired SoftCom, a cloud marketplace and global service provider, in a move to enhance the distribution giant’s cloud services and aggregation platform, and boost its cloud services portfolio for the small and midsized business (SMB) IT channel.

Toronto-based SoftCom’s offerings include domain name management, Web hosting and cloud infrastructure services, and other SMB-focused solutions. The company also operates myhosting.com and mail2web brands.

“Ingram has been committed to cloud computing for several years,” said Renee Bergeron, vice president of managed services and cloud computing at Ingram Micro, Santa Ana, Calif. “What attracted us to SoftCom is its expertise and market-leading skill sets when it comes to cloud marketplace and e-commerce in the cloud.”

Ingram Micro plans to leverage SoftCom’s expertise in cloud marketplace and e-commerce in the cloud to help the distributor “accelerate the development of functionality on the Ingrammicrocloud.com” platform, the company’s reseller portal for cloud services, said Bergeron.

Resellers access this portal to place orders, and provision and manage the cloud services they get through Ingram Micro on behalf of their customers. SoftCom will help Ingram Micro “take it to a whole new level,” said Bergeron. “This is a tool that makes it easier for them to transact in the cloud.”

A second key benefit of the acquisition is SoftCom’s product portfolio, which fits the needs of Ingram Micro’s customer base. SoftCom’s products are well-positioned for its SMB market, Bergeron said.

“SoftCom is a service provider of a number of solutions that we don’t offer today to our channel partners,” said Bergeron. “We’ll be adding them to our portfolio and taking them to market with solutions such as domain name management, Web design and Web hosting.”

Ingram Micro’s reseller partners need these products to service their end customers, said Bergeron.

“SoftCom’s expertise and proven track record in cloud services will enhance our cloud offerings road map and aggregation platform,” Alain Monie, Ingram Micro president and CEO, said in a statement. “Today, we deliver more than 150 solutions from over 50 leading cloud vendors, and with this acquisition, we believe we will further improve the way our global partners and customers sell, service and procure cloud-based solutions.”

SoftCom will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Ingram Micro. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Gina Roos, a Channel Insider contributing writer, specializes in technology and the channel.