Video: Business unusual with Ingram Micro NZ

The leadership team at Ingram Micro New Zealand has provided some valuable insight into how reseller and service provider partners can ensure their continued success after surviving through "the most disruptive crisis in modern times.

A key message that ran through the discussion was that the IT industry is lucky enough to be on the 'right side of the ledger'.

See the full video at the end of the article

While many industries have been presented with a major crisis that will cause a lot of difficulties, NZ's tech sector has been presented with almost as many opportunities as challenges.

"The next 12 months will be about supporting customers as they transition to a greater state of readiness in case of future unforeseen events and equip for the hybrid form of working that will emerge as the small silver lining of the cloud we've all been living under," Ingram Micro New Zealand managing director Jason Langley explains.

"Ingram is expecting to see steady demand for WHF equipment, subscription-based solutions with scale up and down licensing, and hybrid on-premise and distributed cloud solutions as business seek to de-risk and guarantee access to critical infrastructure.

"As we move back toward some kind of normalcy we must not lose the focus we gained as we moved into Alert level 4. Change will be constant as will the need to be agile and adapt to opportunities as they arise.

Finance and cashflow

Begins at 11min and 6sec

Business solutions manager Amit Jamnadas explains how Ingram is planning to provide financial support for the many companies facing cash flow challenges.

He explains that the distributor's approach will involve three key pillars:

1. The option for payment deferrals

This will look much like classic retail 'buy now, pay later' financing solutions with payments starting up to 12 months after a company takes ownership of equipment, allowing them to build some cash reserves before having to make payments.

2. Cash recovery on existing assets

For those organisations who have used capital to buy equipment over the last 12 months, Ingram will look at the value of that equipment and offer a cash payout within 72 hours with a minimum of $100,000.

The company can then pay off the equipment in a lease-to-own style agreement.

3. Credit limit management

If a transaction is financed through Ingram Micro, that transaction will be kept separate to a partner's current credit limit, allowing the preservation of their credit limit.

The main advice Jamnadas offers is to "be creative with transactions and payment structures, and engage with Ingram early – the sooner we can think about it, the sooner we can get a solution for you to market.

Lifecycle management services 

Begins at 22min and 6sec

Commerce and lifecycle services general manager Adam Peden asks, "what are you doing to ensure that you are extracting the full value of products for your customers?

Peden's team provide a range of services to help you and your customers prevent wasted value across all of their IT assets.

This includes managing freight from warehousing to reverse logistics and everything in between.

In a WFH world, this could even mean sending a bespoke home office solution straight to a home from Ingram, saving hours or days of delays as it passes from hand-to-hand.

They also offer centralised management and visibility for Tech-aaS providers, tracking every piece of equipment by serial number and automatically updating that information through replacement or repair processes.

Peden assures that many of the streamlined and contactless solutions that Ingram have developed in the face of the lockdown will be here to stay to add value to any channel partners' sales and services processes.

Cloud

Begins at 33min and 40sec

Cloud general manager Barbara Kidd offers three key learnings on how to compete and profit in an -aaS economy.

1. Cross-sell

When it comes to moving from a basic cloud provider to leveraging all that cloud can offer, the first step is to understand how to create packages of wrap-around services that will add value to your customers, Kidd explains.

A simple example is adding on a backup service for those wanting Office 365.

Once you have breadth and depth of knowledge of what services will best suit customer needs, you can move into that sought after trusted advisor role.

2. Automation 

Kidd promotes Ingram's own marketplace, outlining that Ingram Micro internationally has more cloud developers than any other company in the world, with more than 120 cloud products.

However, whatever cloud marketplace you use you should be able to transact in minutes and leverage platforms of your own to be able to create an automated service that will allow you to scale as demand grows.

3. IaaS

Every customer wants public cloud now or in the near future.

The big news of Microsoft putting an Azure data center in New Zealand means that even those who want to keep everything on-shore can now be approached for conversations today.

The technical aspect IaaS provision can be daunting and so Kidd encourages partners to contact Ingram's cloud team who have the expertise to help them move to the next level as a cloud provider.

Unified communication and collaboration

Begins at 46min and 45sec

As UC business manager Danny Meadows says, "communications just became the lifeline to everybody's customers for every business out there.

If you hope to get a slice of the UC pie, Meadows offers advice for what to think about when you are planning solutions for your customers.

The ease of setup and admin of UCaaS is a huge benefit for the customer, as well as the possibility of central management for each end-user.

With good employee experience comes a better customer experience, and with better customer experience comes better retention and brand loyalty.

The automation, insights and analytics cloud communications offers can make big differences in this area.

Meadows does caution that any services provider will need to consider the security needs of customers as they move away from the relatively secure legacy solutions.

Teams for shared spaces

Begins at 1hr, 4min and 18sec

As we enter the hybrid office/WFH world, the need for well-functioning meeting spaces will become more important than ever, integrated solutions business manager James Harwood explains.

In conversation with your customer, the usual discussion points are as important as ever, like budget and existing tech stack, but considering the physical specifics, such as room size, furniture and meeting behaviours are also vital to creating a solution that is right for any customer.

In the video, Harwood provides a matrix that can help partners begin this discussion.

This starting point can help guide the conversation with a customer to reach an informed conclusion on both sides.

Conclusion

For more information about any of these sections, you can watch the full video below.

If you have any questions or are looking for guidance as you navigate into a new space or expand your current offerings, feel free to contact the Ingram Micro team.