Ingram Micro Focuses 2009 SMBA Invitational on Accelerating Growth and Maximizing the Value of Partnerships

Hundreds gather at Ingram Micro's SMB Alliance Invitational to share and learn more about new market opportunities, technologies and best practices

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Aug. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE: IM) today welcomed approximately two hundred of the IT industry's fastest-growing channel partners to its SMB Alliance (SMBA) Partner Invitational event in Charlotte, N.C. Established in 2002, Ingram Micro's SMB Alliance community stands out above competing signature partner communities by focusing its efforts exclusively on enabling the success of IT solution providers who sell to small and midsize businesses (SMBs) throughout North America.

With accelerating partners' growth a priority, Ingram Micro has focused its 2009 SMBA Invitational on a handful of key areas, including business management, branding and marketing, partner collaboration, sales growth, and high-opportunity technologies and initiatives such as digital signage, IMStimulus, mobility and managed services.

"Our team at Ingram Micro, and the SMBA community at large, are fired up and looking forward to the main event here in Charlotte," says Ryan Grant, director of channel programs and the executive host of the 2009 SMBA Invitational. "We've focused this year's Invitational on growth and put into play an agenda that ensures our SMBA members will walk away energized and armed with the insight, resources, partnerships and support they need to grow their business more profitably, now and in the future."

Staying true to the event's theme, "Together We Grow," the 2009 SMBA Invitational will be preceded by a full day of SMBA Peer Group meetings. Facilitated by HTG (Heartland Technology Group), these peer groups will come together to share best practices that will ultimately help each business owner run his or her company more effectively.

The three-day SMBA Invitational will also feature a number of compelling speakers, including a keynote from HP's Mike Parrottino, vice president, PSG sales and business management solution partners organization, on key SMB trends that are driving growth for the IT channel. Additional speakers include Arlin Sorenson, HTG's founder; Mark Snider, Ingram Micro Canada's vice president and general manager; and Jeff Marks, Ingram Micro U.S.'s vice president, VAR sales.

Industry experts and channel favorites, including David Russell of MANAGEtoWIN, Damon Richards of Port to Port Consulting, Gary Beecham of Intelligent Enterprise/MSP University, Justin Crotty of Ingram Micro Seismic, Paul Dippell of Service Leadership, Ryan Morris of Everything Channel, Shannon Kavanaugh of Go-To-Market Strategies, Stephen Smyth of Warrilow & Co., and Will Turner of Dancing Elephants, are also set to share their latest insights on market dynamics and discuss where and how partners can capture opportunity and grow their business faster and more profitably.

Several channel advocates from top IT manufacturers, including 3Com, Adobe, BenQ, Cisco, Citrix Systems, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Nokia, Sony Electronics, Symantec, Trend Micro and VMware, will also be in attendance to share with the group and engage one-on-one with SMBA partners.

"We've packed the agenda with timely speakers, interactive discussions, and business-building ideas and workshops, delivered by industry experts who know the business and understand what the IT channel needs to accelerate growth in a challenging economy," says Grant. "Our goal this week is to clearly demonstrate to our SMBA channel partners and sponsoring IT manufacturers the real business value and competitive advantage this community brings to the table. We are confident that by working together, our SMBA community members will grow more profitably and garner a level of value that no other distributor can deliver."

For more information about joining Ingram Micro's SMB Alliance, please contact Janice Savage at janice.savage@ingrammicro.com. There is no annual membership fee for solution providers and MSPs to join SMBAlliance.

About SMB Alliance

Ingram Micro's SMB Alliance community helps SMB-focused resellers and managed services providers enter new markets, and provides tools and knowledge to help them grow more profitably. As part of the community, Ingram Micro partners enjoy added attention from IT manufacturers and gain access to business-building resources, tools, training and support. The SMBA community members also have the opportunity to forge valuable partnerships, network with peers who have similar business models, share best practices, and tap into growth opportunities and resources not available from other distributors.

About Ingram Micro

As a vital link in the technology value chain, Ingram Micro creates sales and profitability opportunities for vendors and resellers through unique marketing programs, outsourced logistics services, technical support, financial services, and product aggregation and distribution. The company serves approximately 150 countries and is the only global broad-based IT distributor with operations in Asia. Visit www.ingrammicro.com.

SOURCE Ingram Micro Inc.

Released August 25, 2009