Channel partner events, IT distribution, Networking

Ingram Micro Fall ONE Preview: 10 Things to Watch

Credit: Aria Resort & Casino

More than 2,000 channel partners and vendors are set to attend Ingram Micro Fall ONE 2016 in Las Vegas starting Nov. 29. But what exactly should VARs and MSPs expect from the conference? Here are 10 clues, speculation and anticipated moves before the conference arrives...

1. Security Takes Center Stage: Expect Ingram, Fortinet and General Michael Hayden (former CIA and NSA director) to explain the evolving threat landscape and the implications for channel partners. Across the street, cloud-driven security will also be a central theme at Amazon re:Invent 2016. Hmmm... Can anyone in the house please mitigate DDoS attacks?

Renee Bergeron
Renee Bergeron

2. Ingram Micro Cloud: Sure, Office 365 has been the low-hanging fruit for many Ingram Micro Cloud partners. But Renee Bergeron, senior VP of Ingram's global cloud channel, will make the case that partners can generate even more cash flow from additional cloud services. Ingram has been activating its cloud services across the globe. I'm curious to see if we hear more Odin updates as well... Although Ingram pioneered the early cloud distribution market, Bergeron has to demonstrate continued innovations amid potential competition from upstarts (example: Pax8), aggregators (example: Excel Micro) and more traditional distributors.

3. Microsoft Office 365 Discounts: Gavin Gamber, VP of channel sales and alliances at ConnectWise, will drive home a new Office 365 discount program for ConnectWise's customers in the U.S. The twist: I think partners need to embrace ConnectWise CloudConsole to get the 20 percent Office 365 discount for their customers.

4. Partner Communities: Keep a close eye on the Ingram Micro Trust X Alliance and SMB Alliance. Both communities will likely share momentum updates from their members.

5. Unified Communications: Ingram acquired NETXUSA in March 2016 to wrap its arms around unified communications solutions. Ingram brings the infrastructure, networking and more to the conversation. NETXUSA brings provisioning software, endpoint solutions and more to automate UC in a number of ways. But are partners starting to cash in? We'll check.

6. Blending Security, Storage: A lengthy list of security and backup companies will attend the conference. But the lines between cybersecurity and business continuity are blurring. Will anybody completely erase that line? We'll be checking at the conference.

7. Get Juiced: The Cisco Solution Showcase Booth will display real-world applications and Cisco business solutions. And a Juicery. Say what? Stop by for details.

8. Starbucks Double Shot: Can't find me wandering the trade show floor? That likely means I'm blogging over at the Aria Starbucks. If that gets too crowded, there's another Starbucks in the mall right behind the Aria resort check-in area. Just sayin'.

Ingram’s Alaine Monie

9. Ingram Micro Buyout: CEO Alain Monié delivers his keynote on Wednesday, Nov. 30. Sure, Monié would love to tell the crowd that Tianjin Tianhai’s $6 billion buyout of Ingram Micro has been finalized. But I'm not sure that will happen. The buyout may not be finalized until later in December. Expect at least a few quick words about that pending deal before Monié moves on to address global business trends that are reshaping Ingram and its partner ecosystem.

10. More Ingram ONE Coverage: We'll be blogging live from Ingram Micro Fall ONE throughout the conference. For the latest coverage visit here. Thanks to those who have confirmed meetings with ChannelE2E.

Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri is co-founder & editorial director of MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E, the two leading news & analysis sites for managed service providers in the cybersecurity market.