‘Cloud is the new norm and disruption is a reality’ – Ingram

Ingram Micro says that cloud computing has allowed brands to become global leaders, while others have failed to adapt.

The distributor said in a statement to PCR: "In a recent Gartner report, it showed that total spending on public cloud services is forecast to reach $367 billion through to 2020 WW. The same report forecasts 16 per cent growth rate in public cloud services in 2016.

"When you consider the number of brands that have failed in recent years, and those that have emerged to be global leaders through disruption, you will find cloud is at the heart of it all. Cloud is the new norm.

"It is essential that partners make the transition and start to focus on cloud-based services, whether this is formulated as a strategic dedicated team or integrated into current business operations. ‘Disruption’ is a reality and demands focus to turn risk into opportunity."

Ingram’s comments come after it announced it has expanded the reach and availability of Dropbox Business on the Ingram Micro Cloud Marketplace to UK channel partners. 

Dropbox Business offers a secure location for users to access and sync critical workloads across multiple devices. It also offers integration with hundreds of existing third-party solutions.

Through the Cloud Marketplace, channel partners will soon be able to attach Dropbox to Microsoft Office 365 via Ingram Micro’s productivity suite.

"In a fast changing, always available and connected world, the need to realise competitive advantage faster than ever before is key to success," Ingram added in a statement.

"Cloud services enable a workforce to be more productive and to collaborate in new ways on any device, wherever they are. A service such as Dropbox enables secure, easy file storage and sharing on the go, helping innovation reduce its time to market."

So what further plans does Ingram have in store for its Cloud Marketplace? 

"The focus is to continuously innovate, offering partners irrespective of their cloud maturity the tools, capability and support to realise their cloud strategy," Ingram added. "We will continue to work hard to vet and integrate leading cloud services into our ecosystem of cloud to provide partners with more cloud solutions, tailored services and enablement programmes.

"We also offer more with the cloud store, which is an integrated partner-branded marketplace for a partner’s website. As the partner grows, we can support them with more advanced platform integration that fits their needs."