Live Blog: Ingram Micro ONE, Day One -

The Ingram Micro One Fall 2016 conference kicks off this morning in Las Vegas. We've grabbed a front-row seat to cover all the on-stage updates. And yes, we'll be tracking the chatter in the halls. Stay tuned to this live blog -- and check back regularly -- starting around 8:30 a.m. PT/11:30 a.m. ET. Among the items we're tracking...

First, the big picture. This is Ingram's largest partner ecosystem gathering of the year. It's also especially timely, considering the distributor's $6 billion sale to a Chinese logistics giant is expected to be approved this month -- perhaps even this week? Plus, Ingram controls its own cloud services destiny -- thanks to the Odin buyout from Parallels in December 2015. So what's next? Check back regularly for updates in these areas...

Paul Bay, Executive VP and Group President, Americas

Among his key thoughts...

The company sale is moving forward steadily. He described how the U.S. Government has thoroughly vetted the deal.
The Ingram names and faces that partners know won't change once the deal is finalized, he asserted.
Change, Consolidation, Consumerism, Complexity remain the four major trends in IT, he asserted.
The Who, the What and the How are all changing. The age of business decision makers is now 27 -- down from 35. The what and the how increasingly are tied to as-a-service solutions, he added. And he challenged partners to find the intellectual property (IP) and expertise... "What is your IP that differentiates you?"
"Complexity puts you in the driver's seat to make more money."
Roughly 25 percent of Ingram's North America partners leverage the distributor's cloud services.

Derek Manky, Global Security Strategist, Fortinet

He's about to cover the past, present and future of cybersecurity...
It's been 45 years since the first computer virus.
One simple change in the fabric of the Internet can impact billions of people within seconds, he assets. And that means big challenges involving security...
Fortinet monitors 700,000 hacking attempts per minute across the Internet.
The cybersecurity threat has extended from internal user errors and opportunistic hackers (now low threat levels) toward organized and government-sponsored attacks (increasingly high threat levels).
Rise of machine to machine attacks. He predicted that a year ago -- and the result was automated IoT attacks... "We're not at the era of Terminator and Skynet... yet."
Organized crime is getting serious. An example involves Project Knight Rider, a cyber criminal gang that was getting $35 percent to $50 percent payout on their laundered funds.

Predictions for 2017

Malware will become more autonomous, becoming environmentally aware. We need a more resilient automated defense, he asserted.
Mass access to the cloud: The weakest link in the chain are mass-produced devices that are shipped with lousy code and no patch management.
IoT manufacturers will become accountable for security breaches. "They are shipping out ticking time bombs right now."
Attackers will turn up the heat on smart cities. He pointed to the recent public transit ransomware attack in San Francisco. He sees building management systems as the next big target.

Eric Kohl, VP Advanced Solutions, Networking and Security Business Unit, Ingram Micro

Kohl opened up his session recapping the 1980's film War Games -- which prompted President Reagan to sign a policy on cyber attack and cyber warfare. He connected the dots between that cold war movie and the current threat landscape.
He described how Ingram is assisting partners with the security sales cycle -- which includes training services, pre-sales services, operations enablement, financial services, post-sales services and managed services.
Kohl pointed to Ingram relationships with Fortinet and NetEnrich to assist partners with those managed security services...

Michael Hayden, CIA and NSA Veteran

Well, if you weren't scared before... Hayden described how the web is the largest ungoverned domain in human history. He walked attendees through "tectonic" changes across the globe that could threaten U.S. physical and cyber security. Among his points:

Nation states and hard power play less of a role.
Sub-state actors and even individuals are empowered.
Failed states create risk.
The U.S. is "threatened less by conquering states than we are by failing ones" -- a statement that dates back to the 2002 National Security Strategy.
They're stealing your stuff; they're corrupting your data (which decimal points in a bank account were moved) they're hurting your network and they're creating physical destruction.
The U.S. vs. other cyber-hacking states: "We steal information to keep you safe and free. We don't do it for profit."
On the Apple encryption debate: Former NSA leaders side with Apple -- not the government -- on the encryption debate because America is more secure with industry driving security, he asserted.
On the U.S. Government's role in Cyber Security: Hayden offered these views.

Renee Bergeron, senior VP, Global Cloud Channel, Ingram

Bergeron offered an update on the overall Ingram cloud strategy -- including a "have it your way" approach for partners.

Ingram Cloud Services: Here, Ingram offers referral, cloud marketplace and cloud store capabilities. The entire offering is operated by Ingram.
Software offerings like Odin Essentials, Odin Premium and Ensim allow partners to run cloud platforms on their own -- offering partners full control of the system.

Among Bergeron's assertions: Channel partners that move to cloud services:

Boost recurring revenue by roughly 1.8 times those who don't.
Lift gross profits by 1.5 times.
Experience twice the growth of non-cloud partners.
Generate 10X to 20X higher company valuations than non-cloud partners.
Ingram Micro Cloud has 10 million seats under management, and 13 other metrics to know.