Whatever Happened To...?

As the year 2000 approached, companies such as Inacom, Intelligent Electronics, CompuCom and Entex Information Services would make dramatic changes to their business models. Intelligent Electronics sold its $3 billion distribution business in April 1997 to Ingram Micro for about $78 million. Inacom turned to a more controversial buyer, selling its configuration and distribution arm to Compaq Computer in February 2000. The reseller would file for bankruptcy in mid-2000 after shedding its pioneering telecommunications solutions unit to specialty distributor Westcon. MicroAge, which made its own costly distribution gamble in the form of Pinacor, would file for Chapter 11 barely a month later.

It's impossible to name one event that led to the downfall of these companies, although Compaq's decision to cut its distribution partners in May 1999 is a contender. The splintering of this channel segment stemmed from factors such as the growing influence of line-of-business managers in IT investment decisions. But CRN recently discovered that although these companies have been out of the headlines for the past two years, they are about to generate some new ones.

>>> COMPUCOM'S COMPLETE OVERHAUL
>>> MICROAGE: TRY, TRY AGAIN
>>> NEW NAME, BIGGER MISSION