Ingram Micro CEO Paul Bay On AI, Services And Cybersecurity Push: ‘Together, We Can Drive Unlimited Potential’

‘Everyone’s asking, ‘What are you doing with AI in your business?’ But the more important question is, ‘How are you monetizing AI?’ This industry is navigating uncharted territory with AI transformation, but don’t underestimate your expertise. You’re sitting right in the middle of the technology your clients are purchasing,’ says Ingram Micro CEO Paul Bay.

Ingram Micro is focusing on four major growth areas that the distributor says is shaping the technology channel: services, operational efficiency, AI and cybersecurity.

“Right now, we sit in the middle of a $5 trillion global ecosystem,” said Ingram Micro CEO Paul Bay from the stage at its One conference. “There’s no better time to be in this industry. The opportunity is unlimited because of the complexity that all of you help your customers navigate every single day.”

Bay said that many partners are finding success by focusing on expanding their service offerings while continuing to strengthen existing customer relationships, “Don’t forget about your current customers. They’re critical before you start chasing the next new opportunity.”

[Related: Ingram Micro CEO On Launching AI Agent In Xvantage Platform: ‘It’s About Transforming How Technology Partners Grow’]

The Irvine, Calif.-based distribution behemoth, which touches 90 percent of the world’s businesses, held its One conference in Washington, D.C. this week.

When it comes to operational efficiency, the CEO asked the ballroom full of MSPs if they’re embedding customer experience within their systems and whether they are using data and insights to learn about their clients’ business, and even their own.

“Everyone’s asking, ‘What are you doing with AI in your business?’ But the more important question is, ‘How are you monetizing AI?’” he said. “This industry is navigating uncharted territory with AI transformation, but don’t underestimate your expertise. You’re sitting right in the middle of the technology your clients are purchasing.”

Cybersecurity is another crucial area of growth with 95 percent of all security services being delivered through the channel, he said.

Throughout his keynote, Bay called for a mindset shift across the industry, urging partners to spend more time working on the business instead of in it.

“Ask yourself, are your best people focused on strategic work or are they tied up reacting to internal issues? That’s where transformation has to start,” he said.

And the distributor is investing in, and building, an ecosystem that helps MSPs understand, sell and deploy AI solutions globally.

“Speed means taking friction out of the process,” he said. “Scale is about freeing up resources to have better conversations with you. And service is about connecting instant supply and demand through data and insights.

“We believe our strategy is simple: We’re putting all of you at the center of what we do,” he added. “Together, we can drive unlimited potential.”

Tom Wyant, owner of Traverse City, Mich.-based MSP Wyant Technologies, had one simple statement following Bay’s keynote on AI: “I cannot wait until my AI agents can interact with Ingram’s AI agents while I'm on a beach somewhere. I just can't wait. It's all AI agents doing all the work, and I'm going to be somewhere with a margarita.”

The company also announced its global expansion of its Trust X Alliance (TXA) community from seven to eleven countries, adding new members in Italy, the Netherlands, Australia and Latin America, with goals to operate in 20 countries with 1,000 member companies by 2027.

TXA’s mission is to drive growth through collaboration, innovation and leadership among trusted MSPs in Ingram’s ecosystem worldwide.

Devaughn Bittle, vice president at Frederick, Md.-based MSP CommPutercations and a TXA member, said it’s valuable to bring in new perspectives and he’s excited to hear those perspectives from even more countries.

“Understanding how others do business helps us learn what we can apply to our own,” he told CRN. “It’s all about connections and that’s what this community is built on. The relationships we’ve formed locally and regionally are strong, but now that we’re expanding globally, we have even more opportunities ahead of us.”