Ingram Micro's VentureTech Network Partner Program's New Name: Trust X Alliance

Ingram Micro's partner program has a new name and is looking at additional service offerings in hopes of gaining more recognition among end-user customers.

VentureTech Network, or VTN, has become the Trust X Alliance, a more forward-looking name intended to convey the skill sets and capabilities of its solution-provider members, the distributor said at its spring One conference in Orlando. Ingram introduced the VTN name in January 1998, and the program today has 310 members across the United States, Canada and Great Britain.

"VentureTech was just not the name that was going to work for us," said Guy Baroan, president of Baroan Technologies of Elmwood Park, N.J., and a member of the VTN marketing committee. "Being part of this community is going to mean something, and it does, and now we have a message."

[Related: Ingram Micro VTN To Open UK Branch, Bring VAR Members International Partners]

Ingram Micro is also considering offering Trust X Alliance members additional assistance with back-office functions, credit-card processing, online recruiting and testing required by customers, according to Peter Belyea, president of CXTec and Teracai of Syracuse, N.Y., and co-president of the Trust X Alliance.

Specifically, Ingram Micro is considering rolling out services around financial consulting, payroll services, certification testing and criminal background checks, which Belyea said are required by many industries and practices. Belyea said he expects that Ingram Micro will make a final decision by the fall on which additional services to offer.

When speaking to VTN members as part of the rebranding effort, Baroan said the two words most frequently used to describe the community were trust and alliance. The other common words used by VTN members to describe themselves -- exclusive, extensive, exceptional and experienced -- all contain "X" as their second letter, which was put together with the other keywords to form the Trust X Alliance.

Trust X Alliance members are being encouraged to put the logo on their business cards and websites to increase the community's visibility to end users.

"The one piece that was missing was our end customers," Baroan said.

Unlike other names for distributor partner communities such as Varnex (for Synnex) and TechSelect (for Tech Data), the Ingram Micro moniker isn't contained anywhere within the name of its new partner community.

The distributor is also looking to make sure its members are fully engaged: VTN added a requirement in December 2013 that its members attend at least one VTN meeting and Ingram Micro event in 2014.

Of VTN's roughly 240 U.S.-based solution providers, 40 of the noncompliant members have committed to boosting their attendance at Ingram Micro events in 2015, according to Jason Gorjan, vice president of Central Microsystems, near Montreal. An additional 16 U.S.-based members withdrew from VTN, Gorjan said.

Early reviews have been favorable.

Damon Miller, a partner-relations specialist at San Jose, Calif.-based Nevtec, said he liked both the more modern sound of Trust X Alliance as well as how the logo will pop on business cards and websites. Miller said he felt the VTN name was more generic, and that he believes the Trust X Alliance brand will resonate better will younger startups.

Chris Clements, CEO of Atlanta-based Metis Corp., is new to the partner program and said he is glad to hear Ingram Micro is making additional investments in it. Metis has worked primarily in the public sector, and Clements said he's hoping to leverage the Trust X Alliance to bolster his capabilities in other verticals.

PUBLISHED MAY 4, 2015