Ingram offers Vaio to UK channel

Sony signs Ingram to help its push into the corporate market.

Ingram Micro is bringing Sony Information Technology Group's (ITG's) Vaio range of notebooks to its UK resellers in a distribution agreement targeting small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and corporate users. The firm will offer the same Vaio product portfolio as Computer 2000 and Micro Peripherals.

Matthew Sanderson, head of the category personal system group at Ingram, said the broadband distributor will increase Sony's reach into the corporate and SME arena through its reseller base. "Sony's market share is very strong through retail and mail order, and it is looking to move into corporates through the channel," he said.

Sanderson added that the deal shows that Ingram is responding to the growing demand for mobile computing products by enhancing its range of handheld devices, which were launched in 1998.

"To address this rising demand, and the opportunities it brings our partners, it is vital we offer them as diverse and innovative a range of handheld solutions as possible," he said.

Gavin Berwitz, sales manager at Sony reseller Kelway UK, said: "These laptops have a good spec. Customers like them because of their highly mobile nature."

Ingram will implement a Sony sales and marketing campaign in the corporate marketplace through its resellers to build on Sony's retail and mail order notebooks sales.

Paul Molyneux, general manager at Sony ITG, said the firm is stepping up its efforts. "This is a crucial time for us as we become a contender in the corporate notebook market. We have restructured to target this market and have introduced a value-added service for IT issues and hardware servicing. We are looking to Ingram to deliver this," he said.

Meanwhile, Sony has launched a US programme which will offer Vaio notebook PCs through a build-to-order model in conjunction with distributor Tech Data.