Ingram Micro Australia to distribute Google Search Appliances

The announcement stems from a global agreement made by Ingram Micro and Google in 2007 for the company to distribute the Google Mini and Google Search Appliance (GSA) products worldwide.

Google's search appliances provide searching across more than 220 different file-formats, database formats, and content and document management systems such as Microsoft Sharepoint, Documentum, Livelink and FileNet.

Ingram Micro Australia's Enterprise Technology Group (ETG) will be responsible for distributing Google products.

David Lenz, GM Enterprise Technology Group, says the addition of Google's appliance range adds unique capability to the suite of products Ingram Micro can offer its enterprise-focused reseller partners.

"Ingram's Enterprise Technology Group provides the perfect platform for resellers looking to incorporate Google's appliances into the product range they offer their clients," he said.

"Google search appliances are often deployed in complex enterprise environments with a wide range of data sources and formats, and need to integrate data from many different enterprise products.

"We can provide our reseller partners with both in-depth expertise in the Google appliances themselves, and a wealth of experience across a wide range of commonly-deployed, enterprise solutions from our vendor partners such as Microsoft, EMC, HP, IBM, Oracle and others," added Lenz.

There are two products in Google's Enterprise Search Appliance range. The Google Mini is designed for Web site search and for small to medium-sized businesses.

The Google Search Appliance (GSA) is for the mid-market and data and e-file intense organisations such as legal firms, finance companies, health providers and government departments.

Google's "OneBox for Enterprise" feature is available on both products and retrieves information from any business application, including employee directories and calendars, CRM, ERP and BI systems.

"Google's enterprise search solutions provide fast and secure access to your relevant business-critical information, speeding up the rate at which you operate and leading to increased productivity," says Richard Suhr, Google's head of enterprise for Southeast Asia.  

"Right now, businesses want to get more out of their data and information stores, and the IT department is demanding solutions that are fast and easy to use, and working with trusted resellers helps us meet this growing demand." 

Maria Rossides, Ingram Micro product manager responsible for the Google product range, is enthusiastic about the opportunities for resellers. 

"The proliferation of corporate data and data sources presents a real challenge for the enterprise, and Google's Enterprise Search Appliances offer a great solution.

"We expect this to be a strong growth area and we're already getting enquiries from our Reseller partners who are aware of our global relationship with Google," she added.

Rossides says Ingram's Enterprise Technology Group has invested heavily to support the new product range.

"Resellers who qualify for the Google Enterprise Partner programme will receive extensive training in pre-sales, installation, customisation and post-sales support, working with members of Ingram Micro's ETG team and Google, and they will have access to a huge range of sales, marketing and technology resources," she said.

Ingram Micro has placed stock orders for Google appliances, which are expected to arrive shortly, and Rossides said she and the ETG team will start working immediately with reseller partners on opportunities.