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Ingram Micro Expands Tools for 1-Tier Microsoft CSPs, Promises IaaS Orchestration

Ingram Micro, a key distribution partner in Microsoft's Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) business model, on Thursday revealed upgrades to its platforms for both 1-Tier and 2-Tier Microsoft CSPs.

The CSP-related upgrades are part of a raft of platform upgrades being rolled out at the Ingram Micro Cloud Summit in Phoenix this week.

Microsoft's CSP program relies primarily on three types of partners using two business models. The 1-Tier CSPs, generally very large Microsoft partners, buy cloud subscriptions directly from Microsoft and resell them in bundled packages to customers. The bulk of Microsoft's CSP partners are 2-Tier CSPs, who obtain their Microsoft subscriptions from an intermediary 2-Tier Distributor, like Ingram.

Ingram plays a role in both business models, however, due to its 2015 acquisition of the Odin Service Automation platform from Parallels Holdings. Odin provides cloud marketplace technology that 1-Tier CSPs can use for storefront infrastructure, sales, billing, provisioning and management of the cloud services that they bundle for their customers.

For 1-Tier CSPs and other hosters, a new version of Odin Automation Essentials entered general availability. That version already supported the CSP's own services, many third-party cloud services and Microsoft services such as Office 365, Dynamics 365 and Enterprise Mobility + Security. The latest release adds Azure and Windows 10 Enterprise licenses to the Microsoft cloud services mix, along with the ability to provide shared and virtual private server hosting services.

For Ingram partners who are 2-Tier CSPs or who otherwise use Ingram's Cloud Marketplace, a new feature coming this quarter will allow them to conduct orchestration of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) for customers.

The Ingram Micro Cloud Orchestrator will enable automation and orchestration of the deployment and management of private, public or hybrid cloud workloads by partners on behalf of customers. Supported services include Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, IBM BlueMix and VMware.

Posted by Scott Bekker on April 20, 2017


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