BY RICH TEHRANI
Group Publisher

Ingram Puts Bandwidth, Structured Wiring On Offer

Ingram Micro, the leading distributor in the computer industry and more recently CTI, has expanded into two very important and related areas. Resellers will be thrilled to know that Ingram is now distributing bandwidth and structured wiring.

Bandwidth, In Bulk
How can a reseller sell bandwidth, you ask? It isn't a product. You can't store it. What kind of margins are we talking about here?

Ingram buys the bandwidth in volume and you resell it, which means a nice residual for yourself on a monthly basis -- what could be easier? Ingram calls the product rapidband and the first company to take part in the program as a bandwidth supplier is Rhythms, owner of a nationwide ever-expanding DSL network. By the end of 1999 they expect to have many of the nations biggest cities connected to their network.

Ingram has traditionally been the leader in the computer distribution market. In the last few years, they've made a huge push into the telecom market with the launch of a CTI division. Computer telephony integration was a natural extension for Ingram, and so is bandwidth. As a reseller, the fewer points of contact you have, the better. And the more services Ingram offers resellers, the more likely you are to stay loyal to Ingram -- truly a win-win scenario.

Structured Wiring -- One-Stop Shopping
Another market that Ingram is tapping is structured wiring. Why buy your equipment from one place and the structured wiring from another? Ingram is currently reselling products from Prestolite Wire, a company obsessed with the nuances of cabling. Prestolite makes a compelling argument that while most network cabling functions correctly, it doesn't function optimally. Improper cable lengths and inconsistent impedance levels at connection points drastically increase data loss and the necessity to retransmit, creating slow performance. In fact, cable is rarely checked for network throughput when it is installed -- handheld testers are inadequate for this task. Visit the Prestolite Wire Web site, at  www.prestolitewire.com, for complete details and white papers. With the advent of Broadcast.com, MP3 files, IP telephony, and video conferencing, it is imperative that today's networks function at peak efficiency and use structured wiring.

Ingram was the first computer distributor to enter the CTI market and they quickly assumed a leadership position. Structured wiring and bandwidth are natural extensions for Ingram -- and now CTI resellers can get even more of what they need in a one-stop shop.

Rich Tehrani welcomes comments at rtehrani@tmcnet.com.