Francis Choo (Ingram Micro)
Ingram Micro is increasing focus on independent software vendors (ISVs) across Asia, as the distributor builds out a tailored go-to-market strategy through the channel.
Central to such ambitions will be the creation of a new-look ecosystem across the region, an ecosystem in which Ingram Micro will assume the status of solution aggregator to connect ISVs with partners.
“We see a huge opportunity for ISVs to be successful developing applications for specialised use cases and industries in their areas of expertise,” said Francis Choo, vice president and chief country executive of ASEAN and Hong Kong at Ingram Micro. “Our core specialty is supporting ISV’s go-to-market through our vast network of channel partners.”
Speaking to Channel Asia following Ingram Micro ISV Summit in Singapore, Choo said the first step centres on educating and enabling up-and-coming Asian ISVs with the latest technology and solutions, spanning cloud, security and Internet of Things.
“This allows ISVs to scale up their solutions and meet the demands of their customers,” Choo added. “After their solution is market-ready, we take the next step of "channelifying" their businesses by connecting the ISV’s to our reseller ecosystem, allowing them to reach an exponential number of customers than they could on their own.
“Our key role is to be the solution aggregator in the ecosystem, connecting the dots between ISVs and our channel partners.”
According to Choo, Ingram Micro is well positioned to provide technology and go-to-market support for ISVs, leveraging global solution providers to offer expertise across security, infrastructure and data management solutions.
“We also provide key security consulting, financing services, billing and customer management platform, and marketing and sales support to enable ISV growth,” Choo added. “Companies of all sizes are focusing on digital transformation, artificial intelligence and data analytics.
“Businesses in all industries are in transition, evolving the way they reach, engage, and serve their customers, manage their back-end processes, and implementing automation. ISVs that can enhance and simplify this process will be able to seize these huge opportunities.”
On the flip side, Choo acknowledged that local ISVs also face “overwhelming challenges” in the market, through development, security, deployment, maintenance, sales and marketing.
“Applications need to have continuous development, testing, integration and deployment abilities, they need to be available and secure at all times, and be able to burst when required and can scale unpredictably,” Choo observed.
“Customers need to be able to find and trust the application and count on deployment and maintenance support at all times. And in this fast growing ecosystem of ISVs, they will need to identify their unique selling point through product development or go-to-market.”
Driven by CloudBlue - a cloud commerce platform - Ingram Micro is making inroads into this new area of the channel, a channel housing ISVs and IP builders.
“We see ISV development as a key area to better serve our customers and the industry as a whole,” Choo added. “As a leading global solution aggregator, there's no better partner for ISV's to work hand-in-hand with while developing, productising, marketing, and selling their solutions.
“With our global footprint, deep connections in the world’s largest markets, and local expertise, we provide comprehensive support to local ISVs looking to reach new markets.”
For Choo, just as Ingram Micro has undergone the process of transforming from a singular-sell distributor to a solution aggregator and service provider, channel partners of all kinds are transforming as well.
“Traditional partners aren't successful just reselling boxes or hardware, they are providing more professional services and integration support to their customers along with guidance on digital transformation and the latest technology developments,” Choo cautioned.
“ISVs are not simply developing an application and sending it to market, their solutions are constantly evolving with customer needs and the need for integration with applications in all functions of business.
“There is not a clear line between which type of partner is doing what for customers any more. The most successful partners do it all, and successfully drive digital transformation from many angles.”
