New Ingram Micro SMB 500 Examines Success of the Top-Performing, SMB-Focused IT Channel Partners in the U.S.

SANTA ANA, CA--(Marketwire - Sep 20, 2012) - Demonstrating its commitment to SMB success and partner enablement, Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE: IM) today unveiled the Ingram Micro SMB 500. Launched at the distributor's 2012 "Turn the Tables" Fall SMB Invitational in Rancho Mirage, Calif., the program is a live case study featuring 500 of Ingram Micro's fastest growing U.S. channel partners who are focused on servicing the nation's smallest businesses with 250 or less employees. 

Developed in collaboration with Ingram Micro's Business Intelligence Center (BIC) and U.S. SMB Business Unit, as well as channel research services firm The 2112 Group, the Ingram Micro SMB 500 identifies many of the IT industry's fastest growing SMB VARs and managed service providers (MSPs) in the U.S., while also measuring and reporting the key channel success factors and performance drivers within this group.

Findings from the Ingram Micro SMB 500 will be shared regularly through a series of quarterly research reports, white papers and articles published to the popular Channelnomics blog. Additional perspective will also be gathered, analyzed and shared through focus groups conducted with and on the behalf of the partners and vendors.

The 2012 Ingram Micro SMB 500 list was derived from the more than 20,000 U.S. solution providers and MSPs who work with Ingram Micro's SMB Business Unit. The top 500 SMB-focused channel partners demonstrated a consistent, average three-year growth rate of more than 200 percent. The biggest mover and shaker on the list grew its business by more than 3,000 percent during the period of June 2009 to June 2012. The list also takes into account select criteria such as company size, overall technology category revenue growth and innovation with SMB business engagements. 

"SMB is a top priority at Ingram Micro and an area of the business for constant investment," says Kirk Robinson, vice president and general manager, Commercial Markets Division, Ingram Micro U.S. "Everything we do around SMB ensures that our partners succeed faster, grow more profitably and have the resources available to them to build strong, high-growth technology businesses for the future."

"Until now, the IT industry has relied on a numbers game within SMB -- thousands of solution providers serving a market of tens of millions," explains Robinson. "Now with Ingram Micro's SMB 500, we're able to better segment this giant marketplace, define rules of engagement and carve out sales engagement strategies that better support the growth needs of our vendor and reseller partners, as well as the business needs of the SMBs they support."

"The channel is in a constant and accelerating pace of change -- especially for those partners focused on SMB," says Lawrence M. Walsh, president and CEO of The 2112 Group. "The reports and insights derived from the Ingram Micro SMB 500 will show partners exactly what they are up against, where opportunity is knocking and where they can place their bets for future growth." 

"We've only scratched the surface with SMB," says Paul Bay, executive vice president, Ingram Micro North America. "The Ingram Micro SMB 500 celebrates the success of our fast-growth SMB partners and allows us to leverage our BIC together with The 2112 Group to collect valuable quantitative and qualitative field research that the entire IT industry can benefit from." 

The complete listing of the Ingram Micro SMB 500 can be found at www.im-smb.com/smb500 and www.channelnomics.com/smb500.

Channel partners interested in learning more about the Ingram Micro SMB 500 can visit www.im-smb.com or contact The 2112 Group at info@the2112group.com. Additional information about Ingram Micro's SMB initiative can be found at http://www.im-smb.com/smb-alliance.html.

More information about Ingram Micro is available at www.ingrammicro.com and http://ingrammicroinc.wordpress.com.

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About Ingram Micro Inc.
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, technical and financial support, managed and cloud-based services, and product aggregation and distribution. The company is the only global broad-based IT distributor, serving more than 145 countries on six continents with the world's most comprehensive portfolio of IT products and services. Visit www.ingrammicro.com.