Ingram Micro brings together more than 2.200 professionals at their Symposium 2013 with a proposal based on solutions

Exceeding expected expectations, The wholesaler Ingram Micro has once again demonstrated its strength and commitment to the distribution channel, concentrating more than 2.200 professionals who 10 October they met at the dome of Las Arenas in Barcelona with a common business vision.

The wholesaler Ingram Micro celebrated the 10 October its Symposium 2013 with the support of 88 top-level manufacturers and more than 2.200 professionals, around a 10% more than in the last edition, who occupied the dome and six movie theaters used for presentations at the Las Arenas center in Barcelona.

In this unique setting of what was the old bullring, The exhibition area was structured in a circle so that all professionals could learn about the manufacturers' news., with two relevant areas this year for the wholesaler: the digital signage area, with the solutions of its IMagine division, and the Mobility area.

To celebrate the 12th edition of the Ingran Micro Symposium, The wholesaler has had the collaboration of its associates, que en los casos de LG, with a 55" video wall″ in configuration 2×2 that reproduced images in super ultra high resolution (4K) and a mupi of 47 inch touch; as well as a screen Philips of 55″, managed with player Beabloo and of Advantech, They received the professionals showing the information of the event, presentations and workshops at check-in.

Besides, The venue where this event was held had four networks, con sistemas de networking POE y puntos de acceso WiFi de D-Link (to offer service to manufacturers, customers and wholesaler), which had also installed two of its full HD IP video surveillance cameras, with an integration with Beabloo to stream video of the event.

In his meeting before the specialized media, Jaime Soler and Manel Torrecillas, respectively, CEO and CMO of Ingram Micro, They assured that “both digital signage and mobility are two strategic areas for the company with great growth potential.”, in which we are investing many resources to focus on the development of solutions and the training of engineers and technicians who add value to the solution, in its integration and interaction with the rest of the systems and devices”.

Strategy around value solutions

To Soler, this strategy that the company has been developing for a long time, responds to the fact that “we are seeing a big change in the way technology is sold and the type of device that is being sold, y 2013 It has been an interesting year in this sense, that sets new challenges for the distribution channel, especially in the business environment, for which we must be prepared”.

According to the wholesaler's data, the global market is growing slightly, around the 0,4%, taking into account that “segments such as laptops have fallen more than one 30%, while smartphone lines, tablets and their accessories have grown above the 50%. A change that, besides, “it was expected”, underlines the CEO of Ingram Micro.

In light of these changes, The wholesaler's strategy responds “to covering the maximum market share with the sale of systems, devices and services that make up a professional and valuable solution – Soler points out –, with our Advanced Solutions division, in which about fifty professionals work with a prescription sale to the channel; as well as with our point of sale or IMagine divisions, since the important thing is to be specialized and know what is sold and how to do it”.

In this sense, Manel Torrecillas, points out that “a transition of the IT channel is taking place, that he lacked experience in engineering and installation of audiovisual solutions. In the IMagine division, sales are doubling because we have responded to the demand for solutions, advice and complete services, regarding the sale of the device that existed before”.

The x-ray of this strategy, as Soler points out, “It is that we have changed our product mix, analyzing the businesses that were most profitable and of value to the channel, trying, as we have pointed out, not to sell a device, but to do it with technology and services and integration with the rest of the devices to offer a solution. “All our markets have maintained growth similar to last year and gained market share”.

IMagine: digital signage solutions

One of the main areas of the Symposium 2013 of Ingram Micro has been that of digital signage, en torno a las soluciones del mayorista con su división IMagine, officially presented a few months ago as reported Digital AV Magazine, It had its own space to show proposals regarding strategic markets, as education, retail, transport, restoration,…

As Alex Rincón explained, Pro AV business manager de Ingram Micro, “We have agreements with associated companies, with more than 140 technicians in Spain for the development of these solutions. The objective is to go to the market with complete digital signage and digital signage solutions to respond to different verticals., as education, industry, retail, feeding,…”.

The proposal that was shown for retail is based on a facial recognition solution with conditional sale. Through Video Analytics software Beabloo, anonymous video sensors and webcams integrated into the screen, identifies whether it is a man or a woman. The data obtained allows segmenting the type of consumer; know what content they prefer and offer them a point of sale according to their tastes.

The IMagine division also has another solution with the Radio Analitycs software, “which allows us to detect mobile phones that are in the store and outside it, using WiFi antennas, that generates an anonymous code to know how many people are in the store; if they have been in box, due to the waiting time in that area or if it is a repetitive sale”, explains Ricon.

Another solution for the leisure environment, culture, entertainment, graphics developers, etc. is the interactive and multi-touch table created by the Catalan company Digalix, with customized development software. “It is a table of 55 inches with a type of multi-touch mesh that allows you to run your own applications in 3D, of which forty units have already been installed in Spain, one of them in the Bilbao museum”.

The solution for the food area is also based on the CMS content management software and the Beabloo player., in combination with a digital signage screen from NEC Display (in this case of 55 inches) with support Birds and in the queue management system Qmatic. “The solution -explains Alex Rincón- is based on systems integration with CMS software, with the integration of the client's database with all the codes of their products, so that when a consumer picks up a product, The screen also shows associated or cross-sell products or promotions, to which is added queue management to make your stay at the establishment comfortable. “We have created packaged solutions to help small businesses increase their sales and optimize their resources.”.

In the area for transport or industry, IMagine's proposal focuses on video wall solutions, in this case in the Hyperwall of NEC Display Solutions, “which allows you to enter several different sources and act with them, thanks to OPS software and cards, from a single viewing point, than this screen, without depending on large video matrices, but only the software, which represents enormous cost savings, mainly in critical environments, 24×7, who have to manage multiple sources continuously”.

The novelty in the educational environment has been the presentation, for the first time in Spain (although it will also be seen soon in the edition 2013 from SIMO Network), of the Smart Light Raise 60Wi interactive touch projector Smart Technologies, combined with a Nobo whiteboard 100 inches. “It is the first projector, con 3.000 lumens and ultra short distance, that allows multi-touch interaction and a projection on 100 inches”.

Another solution for the hospitality area of ​​digital signage is the one made with LaForja Systems, in which the entire portfolio of this supplier is integrated to offer tailored solutions in this market segment, mainly in hotels.

The solution is based on the creation of custom and personalized furniture, if the client requires it (color, corporate logo, etc.), to integrate into digital signage systems in hotel receptions, common areas, business area with room reservation systems from a single management point, that allow the hotel to show information about its services and additions to the client and make their experience more comfortable.

As Dani Ibáñez points out, general manager of LaForja, “one of our differentials is that the software becomes the property of the client. Besides, This content manager also manages touch screens, fruit of our experience in the transport sector, where data links with external systems are paramount”.

This entire business proposal around digital signage solutions for vertical markets “It is part of an Ingram Micro strategy that we are very satisfied with. We are growing in all proposed lines of business and expectations for next year are very good”.