Ingram splits networking division
Broadline distributor moves to improve support for partners
Broadline distributor Ingram Micro has split its Networking Products Division in a bid to improve the support it offers to its networking partners.
The company, which set up the unit in October 2000, claims that the division has posted double-digit sales growth. Ingram said it is now moving the business unit to its next phase by dividing it into two.
The Access Networking Group will support the small to medium sized enterprise sector by focusing on connectivity, remote access and communication devices, and the Enterprise Networking Group will address larger businesses such as internet service providers and telcos.
Michael Kaack, general manager of European networking services at Ingram, said the move is an important next step to provide resellers with a better service. "Each group focuses on a different market and customer segment and consists of highly skilled professionals with expertise in certain markets," he explained.
Eddy Alejos, technical director at reseller Dynax, said he would have to wait and see before he decided if this development was good for resellers.
"It will be OK as long as we do not get bounced from desk to desk when we buy more than one product. A big problem with some distributors is they pass you to different desks for different products and you end up with two orders instead of one," he said.
Ingram said the Enterprise Networking Group will initially focus on the high-end Cisco product offering following last month's announcement that the distributor has been named a Cisco Distribution Partner (CDP).
Becoming a CDP means Ingram is one of only four distributors in the UK with a direct buying relationship with Cisco and, as a result, its customer base now includes Cisco Authorised Distributors.
Alejos said the unit splitting was not a surprise. "Cisco was selling through Ingram about four years ago. It was a serious blow when it lost the business, and now they have to make a good job of it," he said.