Ingram talks up UC ambitions

Distribution titan looks to boost comms business with ShoreTel addition and appointment of UC head Annette Reynolds

Ingram Micro claims it will go "from strength to strength in the UC and voice space" following the official launch of its new ShoreTel partnership.

The telephony vendor revealed in August that it was to excise Avnet from its UK distribution line-up, after extending its north American deal with Ingram into this country. Other incumbent UK disties Cohort Technology and ScanSource Communications remain in place.

Ingram and ShoreTel's UK partnership took effect from Friday, and is backed by the recent appointment of unified communications business manager Annette Reynolds, who joins the distributor from Servassure, having previously held comms-focused roles at Crane, Sphinx and Arrow.

Ingram Micro value director Jon Bunyard said: "The addition of ShoreTel to our stable of vendors increases our UC offering and represents an excellent communications value proposition to our customers. We have built a dedicated team, led by industry expert Annette Reynolds, to support the growth of this area which we foresee taking us from strength to strength in the UC and voice space."

The ShoreTel agreement covers the vendor's entire portfolio and Ingram will be offering resellers bespoke recruitment bundles covering areas such as training, leads, marketing and demo equipment.

Darren Pattie, EMEA channel distribution director at ShoreTel, added: "Linking with Ingram Micro in the UK represents a great move for ShoreTel and strengthens our existing relationship in other regions. My team are looking forward to working closely with Annette and Jon in the value division and have confidence in the expertise resident at Ingram Micro."