B2B Tech Talk with Ingram Micro

“With IBM, the sky’s the limit.” — Chris Reid, director of vendor management & sales enablement at Braintrace.  IBM is making partners’ and their customers’ dreams come true. Chris and Braintrace Co-Founder & CIO, Carl Peterson, describe the advantages their business has gained from working with IBM.  They also discuss:  -The benefits of marketing through IBM’s Embedded Solution Agreement  -How IB...

Did you know Ingram Micro offers incredibly agile financing solutions to all of its partners? Why? Because everyone can always use more flexible payment options (especially these days).  In this episode of B2B Tech Talk, Keri chats with business development executive Tyler Gustafson and Ingram Micro partner, Richard Cooperman (Micro Decision Systems).  The group talks about:  -3 flexible financing...

You’ve probably heard the saying, “necessity is the mother of invention.”  While it might seem cliché, IBM is taking this idea seriously with their Embedded Solution Agreement (ESA) program. Kami Nazem, a security intelligence technical specialist for IBM, shares more about the ESA with Keri on this episode of B2B Tech Talk.  Plus, Kami talks about:  -Best practices for staying secure when working...

“That will never happen to me.” Famous last words, right? It’s better to plan for the worst and hope for the best. That’s what a solid business continuity plan is all about.  In this episode of B2B Tech Talk, Keri catches up with Citrix Technology Consultant Ryan Friess. Along with five elements of a successful business continuity plan, Ryan shares:  -Examples of Citrix working with partners to ke...

Which company sells the most tires to consumers? Bridgestone? Goodyear? In reality, the biggest tire sellers are companies like Ford and GM. Without tires, vehicles wouldn’t be as valuable.  In this episode of B2B Tech Talk, Alex Madrigal, business development leader at IBM, explains how IBM wants to be the Goodyear to your Ford through IBM’s Embedded Partner Program.  Alex talks about:  -How IBM...

It all started when a customer put in one product request. Now, CenterPoint Energy has a robust and fully optimized electrical infrastructure ready to take on the next three generations of technology.  How did Panduit do it? Director of Business Development, Jeff Paliga, tells Keri how comprehensive solutions are better for customers in the long run. Plus, he shares:  -How Panduit provides custome...

The future of CX for IoT solutions includes 3 essential features, according to Ingram Micro’s VP of Global Partner Engagement & IoT, Sabine Howest.  Sabine has demonstrated time and time again her outstanding leadership skills through numerous waves of technological advancements. Now, she and her team are focusing on building the next generation of IoT.  In this episode, Keri and Sabine discuss: ...

When your company hands you an unfamiliar device to work on, you probably reply “thank you,” but in the back of your mind you know there’s going to be a learning curve.  Learning curves aren’t optimal for you or your company.  And when we’re forced to work from home, it’s even more of a struggle.  In this episode of B2B Tech Talk, Keri chats with VMware’s partner sales specialist Mike Furedy and c...

Speed, ease of use, strong signal: these are all must-haves when working from home—especially when sharing internet with the rest of the family.   Mesh Wi-Fi can do all of that.  Jonathan Hawkes, product training manager for Linksys, gives us the low-down on Mesh Wi-Fi on the latest episode of B2B Tech Talk.  He also discusses:  -Signs it’s time to update your network  -How to temporarily troubles...

Federal buying season starts near the end of August and runs until September 30. This is the time when government entities need to spend their budget before the end of their fiscal year, and that’s where you—our partners—come in.  In this episode of B2B Tech Talk, Keri chats with Nick Fiorella, solution sales specialist at Ingram Micro, and Jessica Marachiello, distribution account manager at Cisc...

The healthcare industry is changing rapidly.     In this episode of B2B Tech Talk, Global Healthcare Practice Lead Chris Sullivan shares how Zebra Technologies is making the healthcare industry safer, more efficient and more accurate. Chris is a worldwide public policy advocate for the role technology plays in improving the quality, safety, and efficiency of patient care, and is an active contribu...

Looking to update your home office to increase functionality and productivity?  You’re not alone!  Fortunately, Sr. Manager at Brother, Jennifer Smith, offers several tips for upgrading your home office on this episode of B2B Tech Talk.  She discusses:   A 5-step approach for setting up the optimal home office  Factors to consider when choosing home office solutions  The convenience of having all...

There’s no denying that work is going to be different from now on. Companies will have to get used to remote workforces being the new normal. The question is how to securely provide employees the resources they need while they’re not in the office.  Ryan Friess, technology consultant (Citrix) at Ingram Micro, joins us with some answers.  Ryan explains:   The good, better and best options for remot...

Imagine a digital world where every piece of technology seamlessly communicates with all other technology.   Your morning alarm talks to your window shades, your window shades wake up your thermostat, your thermostat tells your coffee maker to get going. A truly seamless technological existence.  To tell you the truth, we’re not that far off from this being a reality. IoT solutions have had to spe...

The need for managed print services Managed Print Services is increasing due to the cost-effectiveness and overall efficiency.   In the past, MPS was not an easy sell. That’s why Ingram Micro is streamlining the sales cycle with the new MPS portal.  In this episode of B2B Tech Talk, Keri speaks with Ingram Micro Senior Program Manager, Paul Sin, about the MPS portal.  They discuss:   Why the MPS p...

Maintaining a remote workforce means a lot of hands-on responsibility, including: productivity, continuity, making resources available to your employees and security. Fortunately, there are experts to help. Listen to this episode of B2B Tech Talk to hear Fortinet’s security pros discuss maintaining security for remote workforces.  In this episode of B2B Tech Talk, Keri talks with Fortinet’s Sr. Di...

Although activity on Cisco Webex has seen a major uptick, Ingram Micro partners can still count on the online meeting platform to reliably connect remote teams working from home.  In this episode of B2B Tech Talk, Keri speaks with Systems Engineer Jeff Barnhart (Cisco) and Sr. Channel Account Specialist Collin Rauen (Ingram Micro) about how Cisco and Ingram Micro are handling increased activity fr...

Is your company digging out old computers to make sure all remote workers have one? Those machines probably haven’t been updated in a long time, leaving vulnerabilities for attackers to take advantage of.  How do you make sure your employees are operating in a secure environment?  In this episode of B2B Tech Talk, Keri speaks with Ingram Micro Tech Consultant Jacob White about implementing risk-ba...

Trust X Alliance is about community and helping each other when times get tough.  One of the services businesses can count on is CRM (customer retention management) optimization for their customers.  In this episode of B2B Tech Talk, Keri chats with Peter Wolf, the president of Azamba Consulting Group and Ingram Micro Trust X Alliance partner.  They discuss:   The benefits of implementing and cust...

Emerging technologies, such as Power over Ethernet (PoE), are pivoting to meet our business needs, including working from home.  In this episode of B2B Tech Talk, D-Link field engineer, Michael Friends, explains how PoE works and how we’ll soon be able to leverage it from home.  In this episode, we discuss:   How Power over Ethernet (PoE) works  How PoE offers value to customers  How PoE serves pe...

Remember the days of giving our friends flak for working from home? Well, we got what we asked for.  Whether you’re used to the remote life or not, it feels a little different not having a choice in the matter.  In this episode of B2B Tech Talk, Ingram Micro’s UCC Director Steve Yochum jumps on a call with Keri to discuss tips for working remotely and staying secure while doing so.  Plus, they tal...

Convenience is king when it comes to user experience. That’s why Ingram Micro teamed up with Cisco to bring our partners Meraki Voyage and Cisco Virtual Learning. We realize it’s a hassle to click through multiple pages in order to find the info you need. So, we wanted to make a point of discussing these updated platforms on B2B Tech Talk.  In this episode, Corie Moran of Ingram Micro, and Cisco V...

In the early days of information security, implementing a perimeter defense was enough to keep your company safe. But today, with so many points of access, a Zero Trust model is necessary. In this episode of B2B Tech Talk, Keri speaks with Ingram Micro tech consultant, Patrick Smith.  Keri and Patrick discuss:   Three main concepts of Zero Trust security  How Zero Trust secures customer data  The...

It’s amazing how quickly we absorb new technologies in our lives and move on from old ones. In the blink of an eye, flip phones transformed from cutting-edge gadgetry to the crude tools of Neanderthals. These days, we expect our tech to do a lot more.  So, shouldn’t we expect more from the services that go with it?  In this episode of B2B Tech Talk, host Keri Roberts talks with Peter Paldino, chan...

It used to be that video was a nice to have feature. With the implementation of the AT&T video phone, people all over the world got excited about the prospect of having video wherever they went.   Fast forward to 2020, and most millennials and Gen Z folks wouldn’t know what to do if the video portion of their day-to-day lives wasn’t.   In this episode of B2B Tech Talk, host Keri Roberts talks with...