The five 5Ps behind cloud success: How Ingram Micro Cloud supports your business

With resellers across Australia pivoting to build cloud practices that meet the needs of end-users increasingly preferring on-demand and as-a-service technology, Ingram Micro Cloud has established a proven methodology that maps the path to success.

Built on five pillars — People, Portfolio, Platform, Programs and Partner Success — the Ingram Micro Cloud approach is a game-changer that unlocks or enables access to the world’s best solutions and technologies.

1. People

In the cloud era, it’s easy to discount the value of quality people, but also perilous to do so. Every business today is a people business, and that’s why People is the first pillar of Ingram Micro Cloud’s approach.

While Ingram Micro Cloud is a global business, we offer an Australian-based, dedicated team of 60+ cloud experts with a complete set of skills and expertise spanning the cloud ecosystem. Our people know your markets, your customers and your business. Combined with our knowledge of the world’s leading IaaS, SaaS and PaaS technologies, this makes our people your trusted advisors with the proven know-how to help build and grow your cloud practice.

Our Customer Success Team consists of staff members across Australia offering a proven structure in support of your cloud journey. The CST team is dedicated to helping all authorised partners grow cloud revenue with assistance spanning everything from business plans to data and partner best practice insights. The CST team drives the effectiveness of your business through automation and the creation of strong links with the Ingram Micro Cloud platform, while managing post-sales requirements via 24/7 support.

Platform Success Managers are technology experts within the CST who work with you to fully explore and leverage the full functionality available in the Cloud Marketplace. This is an essential ‘exposure of value’ which helps you maximise the benefits of automation, which underpins the ability to expand and scale your business. As integration and technology Subject Matter Experts, Platform Success Managers consult and recommend additional offerings within Ingram Micro Cloud, including Marketplace-as-a-Service, Go-To-Market-Hub and more.

Our Modern Support Team offers  dedicated in-house partner post-sales support members with enhanced skills to ensure rapid resolution of customer issues. The Modern Support Hub has IaaS Engineers, Billing specialists and SaaS customer support agents in Sydney. Each team member has multiple vendor certifications and experience working roles including vendor support desks or within partners supporting end users.

The IaaS Team consists of highly skilled representatives across Australia are the first point of contact for your Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) support requirements. The team delivers services including helping win new customer opportunities and assistance with your Go-To-Market initiatives. Our pre-sales engineers are experts in Azure, AWS & IBM, offering technical support for pre-sales assessments, architecture, and migration services.

Finally, the local SaaS Team offers dedicated support to help grow your SaaS businesses. The team consists of experts in Microsoft Modern Workplace and Dynamics & specialist sellers for other Popular SaaS solutions like Acronis, Avepoint, Dropbox, DocuSign, Sophos, & Proofpoint 

Credit: Ingram Micro

2. Portfolio 

Business in the cloud era is global – and so is the Ingram Micro Cloud portfolio. We bring together the best software and services available anywhere, from Microsoft and AWS, through to solutions from all the major vendors and a selection of the best niche and specialist vendors such as Acronis, Avepoint, Dropbox, DocuSign, Sophos and Proofpoint. Among the selection are also home-grown solutions from Australian vendors, including Switch Connect, Dubber and CT4. The result is a comprehensive set of more than 200 compelling cloud solutions globally in a one-stop shop. Beyond the sheer scale of the portfolio available, the Ingram Micro Cloud Marketplace organises vendors and products for ease of access and solution creation for every partner, in an easy-to-use self-service platform (see point 3). The Ingram Micro Cloud portfolio includes offerings from market leading vendors in the security, business applications, communication/collaboration, and infrastructure spaces, and much more. Backed with the world’s best products, you’re equipped to help customers solve their problems with on-demand cloud solutions which reduce capital expenditure, improve business performance, and solve organisational challenges.\

3. Platforms: Ingram Micro’s fully automated Cloud Marketplace

Ingram Micro Cloud provides tailored platforms in support of your cloud growth journey. Starting with the fully automated Cloud Marketplace, our platform offers value-added vendor insight and API integrations to CRM, Professional Services Automation, e-commerce, billing systems and more. The Cloud Marketplace is smart, too, equipping interested partners with a fully white-labelled marketplace and Marketplace-as-a-Service models (depending on the maturity of your business). This lets you offer the full range of Ingram Micro Cloud solutions to your customers, under your brand. It’s the rapid, uncomplicated route to a profitable, scalable, and highly automated online reseller business.

Ingram Micro Cloud Marketplace is the premier solution which allows you to start selling new cloud services immediately.

The example below demonstrates how Ingram Micro Cloud Marketplace platforms and solutions are applied as a partner starts, then scales their business.  

Credit: Ingram Micro

4. Programs that support your business

As part of our work as a value-added distributor, Ingram Micro Cloud continually produces and executes a comprehensive range of channel programs in support of your business. Designed to enhance and accelerate your cloud ecosystem journey, these include cross-sell initiatives, demand generation, competency-building, sales growth, marketing, and more. A selection of our Programs is outlined below:

• CloudMovers Program  – Our experts help you develop strategic customer relationships and enhance profits. We offer end-to-end marketing services to help your business thrive.training, enablement & rewards program for SaaS Business.
• Cybersecurity practise builder – offers extensive tools and training to reach more customers, scale beyond current services and differentiate your cybersecurity business.
• Ingram Micro Activate - Grow your Independent Software Vendor business worldwide. Ingram Micro connects cloud vendors and ISVs with global and local markets to generate demand for new solutions, deliver automated cloud services, and manage and support users on ISVs behalf. Onboarding your solution to Ingram Micro Cloud provides access to more than 55,000 Value Added Resellers and Managed Services Partners.
• Go to Market Hub - A one-stop shop to learn about vendor products, create and execute branded marketing campaigns, and access customisable sales enablement resources and industry insights.
• Partner Marketing Services:  Our experts help you develop strategic customer relationships and enhance profits. We offer end-to-end marketing services to help your business thrive.

Other programs include specialised practice building initiatives such as the IaaS Practice Build and Security Expert for exclusive partners. Vendor specific programs are also offered, including Microsoft Accelerate, AWS illuminate and Proofpoint Allstars, providing access to targeted support and development resources required to put your business on the pathway to enhanced success.

 5. Partner Success 

Your success resonates through the channel, contributing to Ingram Micro’s performance and that of the hundreds of vendors we distribute. Partner success is therefore a crucial part of Ingram Micro’s global cloud strategy, and our top priority. Our dedicated Australia-based Customer Success Team provide a single point of contact for cloud partners and helps you increase profitability in the cloud space. We do this by ensuring partners have the focus and support to view their end-user base in a customer success framework with help from our Customer Success Team.

• Support for acquiring new customers, tactics for customer retention and upselling through business planning and data insights, and support in identifying up-sell and cross-sell opportunities.
• The Customer Success Team leverages the specialist in-house knowledge and skills of Ingram Micro Cloud’s IaaS & SaaS teams, providing you with the sales and technical resources to reach customers effectively. Our dedicated specialist vendor subject matter experts who work with the Customer Success Team and directly with you, delivering the data, support and knowledge necessary to win new customers.
• We show you how to get the most from everything Ingram Micro Cloud has to offer, including enrolment in relevant partner programs, provision of structures which support your cloud journey, contributing to business plans and sharing best practice insights designed to grow revenue.
• Within the Customer Success Team, our Platform Success Managers are technology experts who work with you maximise your use of the Cloud Marketplace, delivering optimal automation which helps expand your businesses.
• As integration and technology Subject Matter Experts, the team consults and advises on other technology offerings available from Ingram Micro Cloud (Marketplace-as-a-Service, Go-To-Market-Hub and more). The result? Targeted support which helps your business expand, meet customer requirements, and build a sustainable and profitable cloud enterprise.

Move to the cloud and thrive on the cloud with Ingram Micro Cloud’s Five Pillars

Learn more about partner services and offerings

Visit Ingram Micro Cloud Marketplace to start transacting today.

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