The Failed Ingram Micro Pitch Examined

The biggest failure of ISC West 2012 was the Ingram Micro Pavilon. The massive, empty, confusing exhibition hall was widely disparaged. But why did Ingram do it and what where they trying to accomplish? In this note, we examine the Ingram Micro Pavilon pitch, breaking down the flaws and issues they face in entering the physical security market.

Ingram Micro marketed their Pavilon as being "New" and "Different". Here's the heart of their pitch:

"Only Ingram Micro brings fresh vendors and technology to ISC West... You wanted something more than the usual security manufacturers and products you see from year to year... Meet leading Ingram Micro IT vendors... No matter what your experience level in IP is ... Ingram Micro will give you the training and opportunity to do more for your customers."

See the pitch from the Ingram full page SDM ad and image below:

At some level, Ingram did deliver some new and different things:

• New: The IT vendors like Trendnet and Sonicwall were likely new to ISC West.
• Different: Table top setups are different from the show floor but certainly far less attractive to most everyone.

Overall, Ingram's core proposition seems to be bringing in IT vendors. However, we doubt that this will be a successful strategy. 'New' companies like Trendnet and Sonicwall are of minimial value to security integrators while retreads, like IBM, showcased at the Pavilon, failed already in physical security (with big booths in the center of the show floor).

Lastly, the pitch about 'no matter what your experience level in IP' is bizarre. There are many existing distributors who have deep relationships with the trunk slammer crowd. How does Ingram, or any IT distributor, expect to make headway in this segment?