In this CPTV interview, Ingram Micro executive director Patrick O’Dell outlined how the distributor can help MSPs with their funding, governance and staffing resources.
O’Dell said funding is available for MSPs looking to serve the SMB market but many are not taking advantage of the opportunities.
“I think our partners are struggling to really capitalize on the full potential of the funding options that are available,” he said. “We make it really easy to access those dollars. So we're accelerating that transition to the cloud and as a result, the AI transition. Funding in itself can be a full-time job. You think about the complexities of the nuances of accessing those dollars.
“We want to make it super easy for our partners to know where they can get dollars, when can they access the dollars, and how they can get their hands on it to move faster.”
He said another way Ingram Micro can help partners is managing workloads across clouds, and helping them make the most of funding they can get from hyperscalers.
“The opportunity with AI is massive, but as you're accessing those dollars to move faster to the cloud, the next step is governing those workloads,” O’Dell said. “And Ingram Micro is really good at assisting our partners in building a practice to make sure they're governing those workloads moving forward.”
His final advice to MSPs is “Don't go it alone. There are way too many available resources through distribution, and Ingram specifically, that they should be leveraging to go and win this SMB race and the opportunity in front of them right now. Staffing is a concern. These staffing resources that you need to have to really win. This battle can be expensive. They [employees] can be hard to find. They can be hard to keep. Ingram Micro has the bench that is behind you the whole way.
“A partner can pick how they'd like us to show up throughout this journey. They want us in the background, great. They want us front and center as that Fortune 100 gorilla in the room to really go in on value, great. We've got resources in place. The scale that is required right now to accommodate that SMB base is tough to keep up with.”
There's much more in the video at the top of the page.