Ingram Micro VentureTech Network Celebrates 15 Years of Industry Leadership, Success and Partnership

HOLLYWOOD, FL--(Marketwired - Apr 22, 2013) - Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE: IM), the world's largest wholesale technology distributor and a global leader in IT supply-chain, mobile device lifecycle services and logistics solutions, today announced its VentureTech Network (VTN) community is celebrating 15 years as the IT industry's leading North America channel partner community.

The first IT channel partner community of its kind, VTN has a well-documented history of helping hundreds of smaller, independent "IT resellers" become high-performing regional, national and international IT service providers. The community's ongoing success has also made it a powerful catalyst for the adoption of new technology solutions and influx of high profile mergers and acquisitions taking place within the IT channel. 

Today, the community is comprised of an exclusive group of more than 330 U.S. and Canadian IT solution providers and is revered for pioneering peer-to-peer partnerships that result in profitable business growth. VTN also raises the standards of excellence when it comes to business performance, corporate giving, service delivery and vendor engagement at the highest levels.

Last year, the community achieved an all-time high for business growth and revenues booked through Ingram Micro. VTN members also raised more than $100,000 in charitable contributions and donated countless hours to organizations in need -- making 2012 the most successful year in VTN's history.

Additionally, VTN's Mastermind Groups, Special Interest Groups (SIGs), and local chapters continued to thrive and welcome new members. The new VTN Member Portal has quickly become the online hub for the VTN community and is now integrated with Ingram Micro's new IM Link professional services network, launched last week at the distributor's annual Cloud Summit.

"The business value, service advantage, training, and meaningful partnerships we've gained through VTN are truly immeasurable," says longtime VTN member Alan McDonald, president of AllConnected and co-president of VTN. "From multiple marketing campaigns to co-funded engineer trainings, strategic roadmaps and business planning, as well as many collaborative and productive peer group discussions on delivering managed and cloud services, VTN has given me and my team the ability to grow our business faster, smarter and more profitably than we could ever do alone. The VTN community is our trusted advisor and a major contributor to our ongoing success."

This year, the VTN community is building on its success and brand by taking the power of the community deeper into the members' organizations and welcoming 650 attendees to its "Focus³: Partner, Prosper, Repeat." Spring VTN Invitational taking place April 21-24 in Hollywood, Fla. The Fall VTN Invitational will be held Oct. 21-24 in Palm Springs, Calif.

"Ingram Micro's VTN community has taken an active role in transforming the way business gets done over the past 15 years in the IT channel," says Paul Bay, president, Ingram Micro North America. "VTN members and sponsors are the business elite within the IT channel and influence the IT purchasing decisions of thousands of small to mid-size organizations. They are leaders among their peers and I've challenged our executive team to find more ways to grow, strengthen and accelerate the success of our VTN members and the thousands of channel partners who have selected Ingram Micro as their go-to-market business partner."

Updates on the Ingram Micro 2013 Spring VTN Invitational will be available throughout the event on the community's Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/VTNcommunity or by following the hashtag #VTN2013. The VTN community's Facebook page will also offer event photos and highlights at http://www.facebook.com/venturetechnetwork.

Throughout the four-day premier partner event, VTN members will meet face-to-face with peers and come together to hear from subject matter experts and leaders in their field about sales and marketing best practices, as well as business and technology trends. Additionally, VTN's five Mastermind groups and special interest groups (SIGs) -- including Marketing, Sales Managers Cloud, Operational Excellence, Women in Technology and Technical Certifications -- will also hold high-impact member forums orchestrated to help channel partners profitably grow their business faster and smarter by learning from peers. 

Headlining the event is Ingram Micro's President Paul Bay and industry thought leader Robin Sharma, author and founder of Sharma Leadership International, Inc. Also taking center stage will be Kristin M. Rogers, principal of KMR@work; VTN Council Presidents Alan McDonald and Rob Bracey, as well as renowned leadership expert and bestselling author of "The Multiplier Effect" Liz Wiseman.

"The entrepreneurial spirit found within VTN is unmatched," says John Fago, senior director, channel marketing, Ingram Micro North America. "We will continue to find ways to challenge our Ingram Micro VTN community, empower them to succeed and give even greater business advantage within the IT industry over the next 15 years."

For more information on VTN, solution providers and manufacturers should contact their Ingram Micro sales or marketing representative and visit www.im-vtn.com.

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

To learn, see and hear more about Ingram Micro online, follow the company on Facebook at www.facebook.com/IngramMicro; Twitter at www.twitter.com/IngramMicroInc; and YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/ingrammicroinc.

About Ingram Micro Inc.
Ingram Micro is the world's largest wholesale technology distributor and a global leader in IT supply-chain, mobile device lifecycle services and logistics solutions. 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 and mobile solutions, technical support, financial services and product aggregation and distribution. The company is the only global broad-based IT distributor, serving approximately 160 countries on six continents with the world's most comprehensive portfolio of IT products and services. Visit www.ingrammicro.com.