A collaboration agreement with AWS streamlines and enhances the way partners interact with AWS products and services and gives them a community of experts to turn to for help.

Ingram Micro is harnessing its collaboration with Amazon Web Services through a multiyear Strategic Collaboration Agreement that aims to help drive business for AWS partners by leveraging the distributor’s resources and expertise.

The SCA integrates Ingram Micro’s Xvantage platform with AWS Marketplace to streamline and enhance the way solution providers interact with AWS products and services.

“Our partnership with Ingram Micro has been a gamechanger for us,” said Guy Baroan, president of Elmwood Park, N.J.-based Baroan Technologies. “Having access to their vast resources allows us to stay on top of the latest AWS technologies and implementations. It’s not just about having the tools, it’s about having a community of experts to turn to when we encounter challenges.”

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With the SCA, solution providers can facilitate the purchase of AWS Marketplace products more efficiently while offering related services tailored to specific business objectives.

Baroan said the integration of Ingram Micro support systems has been instrumental in navigating the complexities of doing business with Seattle-based AWS.

“When we were transitioning to cloud solutions, especially in the early days when AWS was still relatively new, Ingram Micro’s guidance was invaluable,” he said. “They helped us understand the AWS ecosystem, manage pricing and provided the support we needed. Without their help, navigating those early challenges would have been much harder.”

The SCA focuses on two main areas: expanding professional services globally and building expertise in data and AI.

“The key components of this agreement are to scale up our migration and assessment capabilities and to deepen our specialization in data and AI solutions,” said Duncan Robinson, vice president of global partnerships at Irvine, Calif.-based Ingram Micro. “We aim to become the migration factory for AWS, particularly targeting the SMB and midmarket sectors.”

Under the SCA, Ingram Micro will enhance its ability to perform assessments and manage migrations.

“AWS often cites that 85 percent of workloads remain on-premises,” Robinson said. “In the SMB and midmarket space, this figure might be even higher. Our goal is to accelerate the migration of these workloads to the cloud.”

One of the persistent challenges in working with hyperscalers is finding and retaining qualified engineers, said Chris Ploessel, president of Aliso Viejo, Calif.-based RedNight Consulting.

“The shift from on-premises hardware to cloud infrastructure has significantly increased the demand for certified engineers,” he said. “Engineers who were comfortable with physical servers are now required to retrain for cloud technologies, and those with the right certifications are commanding higher salaries.”

To ensure that partners fully leverage the AWS partnership, Ingram Micro provides dedicated resources, including technical support and customer success teams.

“We have specialized teams focused on various aspects of our partners’ business plans,” said John Dusett, vice president of technology solutions at Ingram Micro.

“From technical resources to sales support, we aim to offer a comprehensive suite of services to help our partners succeed.”

Ingram Micro also facilitates connections between partners and AWS sales teams.

“We’re skilled at matching partners with the right AWS salespeople to ensure they’re well-positioned to capitalize on market opportunities,” Dusett said.

As the landscape of cloud services continues to evolve, solution providers will need to stay adaptable and informed.

“We recently assisted another MSP with a complex AWS migration project for a financial services client,” Ploessel said. “Ingram Micro facilitated the connection and provided the necessary expertise, demonstrating the value of their partner network.”

For his part, Baroan emphasized the role of Ingram Micro’s Trust X Alliance—a community of partners who collaborate and share best practices—in helping peers through challenges with hyperscalers such as AWS.

“Being part of the Trust X Alliance community means we don’t need to know everything ourselves,” he said. “If a client asks about a solution we’re not familiar with, we don’t hit a dead end. Instead, we tap into our network within Ingram Micro’s ecosystem. And Ingram Micro continues to be a critical resource whenever we need AWS support.”