Global technology distributor Ingram Micro announced the integration of the AWS Marketplace into its own Xvantage platform. The company has also debuted a new loyalty program targeted at incentivizing partner growth, available now in the US with global expansion planned in 2025.
Ingram Micro Ultra: three-tiered, points-based program
The new loyalty program was built with scale and time in mind, as solutions providers and other resell partners often miss opportunities simply because they are unaware of deals left on the table. The platform now tracks a provider’s available and potential rewards, incentives, and resources from all vendors in one consolidated view.
“Ingram Micro Ultra is harnessing the transformative power of human ingenuity and artificial intelligence to create a more connected ecosystem and centralize all the business and technology activity and resources our customers and vendors want and need on a single screen,” said Sanjib Sahoo, EVP of Global Technology and Chief Digital Officer at Ingram Micro, in a press release. “Through continuous innovation on and within our Ingram Micro XvantageTM platform, we’re making it easier to generate and capture value, realize opportunity, simplify scale, and reward success.”
The program will also reward Ingram’s partners with a points system. Points are awarded as partners take actions within the platforms and utilize the incentives and resources available to them. Those points can then be redeemed for what the company calls “valuable rewards.”
The three program tiers are also joined by new growth tracks set to debut over the coming year. The first, set to launch in Q4 of 2024, is called Xvantage Enable and “will further educate, train, and inform channel partners about the vast opportunities and challenges surrounding AI.” Resources, including a new AI Maturity Assessment Tool, will be made available to partners and help them find and deliver on growth opportunities within the emerging world of GenAI adoption.
AWS Marketplace joins Xvantage platform through first of several hyperscaler automations
Sahoo took to the main stage at IngramONE on opening night to discuss the company’s journey with AI, and at the very end of his remarks, also dropped an announcement: the company is actively pursuing integration opportunities with hyperscaler marketplaces to “elevate partners’ buying power” and “meet customers where they are at.” The first integration with AWS is now available to US-based Ingram partners, with other markets to follow. Integrations with other hyperscalers are also planned for future release.
“Simplifying success for the channel around hyperscalers, including marketplaces, will improve the experience of our partners on multiple levels—from consolidated purchasing and billing to building, deploying, and managing custom solutions and services,” said Duncan Robinson, vice president of global partnerships at Ingram Micro. “These marketplace integrations are critical to the channel ecosystem and mark another business advantage brought to Ingram Micro customers and vendor partners by Xvantage.”
The move comes at a time when many are turning to cloud marketplaces to buy and sell cloud products, including end-user customers. Research firm Canalys projects enterprise software sales through hyperscaler cloud marketplaces—led by AWS, Microsoft and Google Cloud—will reach US$85 billion by 2028, rising from US$16 billion in 2023.
Additionally, by 2027, Canalys expects more than 50 percent of marketplace sales to flow through the channel. By moving to offer an integrated experience with these marketplaces, Ingram Micro is now facilitating its partners’ ability to take advantage of the shift in buying habits.
Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure and AWS are the three largest cloud hyperscalers. Learn more about each in our comparison of their features and use cases.