Trend and Ingram Micro Hook Up On Licensing

In the usage-based model, solution providers are required to pay only for the number of Trend licenses that their customers use each month, which helps to improve cash flow and reduce partners' upfront investment.

The agreement is similar to the one that Trend forged in May with Tech Data, but Chee Tan, senior director of Service Provider Business at Trend Micro, Tokyo, notes that Ingram commands a larger share of both the managed services market and the distribution channel.

Tan says that Trend's security software fits well within Ingram's Seismic managed services platform, which includes a third-party hosted network operations center and help desk and is designed to allow solution providers to expand their portfolio of services to end users without incurring the associated costs.

Jodi Honore, vice president of vendor management for Ingram Micro in the U.S., says convenience is the key advantage for solution providers in the program. "The biggest benefit for VARs is the ability to source technology the way that end users want it, whether it's through an annual license or monthly recurring services," she said.

Trend chose Ingram because of the latter's ability to scale the usage-based model to the highest level, according to Tan. However, the fact that Trend now has agreements with two major distributors doesn't mean that it's looking to sign up additional ones.

"We're not focusing on quantity, but quality. At this point, we're happy with two major distributors to sign up and support, and have no plans to add more distributors," said Tan.

Tech Data was notified up front that Ingram would be joining, Tan said. "There were no surprises for anyone. They know that they have to work to make sure to maintain the lead they have in terms of time. Hopefully, this will create a healthy competition," he said.