Ingram eyes SMEs with partner programme

Ingram Micro is to establish technical services and accreditation directories for resellers as part of a host of services aimed at small companies.

Ingram Micro is to establish technical services and accreditation directories for resellers as part of a host of services aimed at small companies.

The distributor will set up electronic storefronts free for selected partners that sell to small businesses and promote its SME resellers to users, under the VentureTech Partners and Associates scheme next year.

The distributor launched its Venture-Tech Network programme last year to crack the SME market. Backed by 3Com, Compaq, Hewlett Packard, IBM and Microsoft, the scheme has two levels: partner and associate. In the UK, 80 partners receive closed vendor leads, credit revisions, discounts, exclusive promotions and special products, while about 1,200 associates receive business and marketing information.

Darren Seward, UK small business manager at Ingram, said the services will be introduced in the spring. The directories will make it easier for resellers to find engineers for contract work without having to employ them full-time, he said. "It is expensive for a reseller to have lots of technical people on its books, so we will have a pool of technicians that they can use. It will be a matchmaker programme," said Seward.