Ingram Micro has a message for MSPs: Spend less time wrestling with disconnected systems and more time growing your businesses.
The distribution giant’s latest Xvantage investments have put that goal into sharper focus. Ingram Micro recently announced growing adoption of two of its offerings:
- XI Hub: The Xvantage Integrations Hub connects Ingram Micro’s Xvantage platform with key business systems that partners already use, including Salesforce, HubSpot and ConnectWise.
- MCP Server: The Model Context Protocol Server supercharges existing AI assistants — Claude, Copilot and others — by securely connecting to live Ingram Micro data.
The company said hundreds of channel partners worldwide are using the technologies to connect AI assistants to business systems, automate workflows and access data in real time. And early results from several members of Ingram Micro’s Trust X Alliance partner community point to measurable gains. In its announcement, MSP partner Matrix Integration said the technology could save its team 1,000 to 1,500 hours this year. Meanwhile, IT Design Consulting said its integrated quoting process now generates quotes in seconds rather than hours.
Jennifer Anaya, Ingram Micro’s senior vice president of global marketing, said the investments reflect a broader evolution in distribution. The traditional distributor’s role as an aggregator remains, but it is being enhanced by technology, financing, business intelligence and other resources that can help MSPs deliver more value to customers and build stronger businesses. ChannelPro recently sat down with Anaya to discuss what the investments mean for MSPs, why a sound data strategy is essential for successful AI adoption and how Ingram Micro sees the role of distribution evolving.
ChannelPro: Why does the MCP Server matter to MSPs?
Jennifer Anaya
Anaya: The brilliance of the MCP server is that it allows MSPs to actually get the data that they need and the systems they use every day into the place that they work. And it’s done in such an intuitive way, just like you would in working with an LLM. You can ask it questions, and it will gather and pull the information that you need. The speed at which that data is conveyed is a game changer. This is literally real time. Speed is such an important factor, especially as the growth that’s happening in this industry is happening so rapidly. Also, being able to scale that data to see a bigger picture of your business and how it can help you grow is another really key benefit of this data exchange in the MCP.
ChannelPro: How does Xvantage help create more room for MSP growth?
Anaya: Xvantage is the outcome of all of us putting our heads together, the Ingram people have been there forever and the new, super smart folks. Working together, we asked, “How do we do this differently?” Xvantage is real-time exchange through customers, our associates, and our vendor partners. So, it completes the whole ecosystem. It’s really about using the technology to help us give our partners a more intuitive, faster way to get the transactions done, so we can spend more time working with them to understand what they could be doing with their businesses.
ChannelPro: What should MSPs understand about data before they pursue AI?
Anaya: Either partnering with a data expert or hiring a data expert is a really big idea. I firmly believe in just what I have witnessed over the last couple of years. If you don’t have a really solid data strategy, AI is not going to work. It’ll work here and there, but it’s not going to give you the impact that you need as a MSP, or that you’re going to need to give your clients.
ChannelPro: How is Ingram Micro changing the way it engages with partners?
Jennifer Anaya (center)
Anaya: It’s really interesting because Ingram Micro is mind-blowingly a lot of things to partners. They don’t even know everything we can do for them. What we’re now doing is using data and our technology that we’ve built over the last couple of years to understand more about how our partners want to engage with us. We are getting their feedback, but also just watching how they go through a buying cycle, and some of the things that are important to them. We want to make more of a complete solution and offer a lot more personalization for them.
ChannelPro: What does the changing role of distribution mean for MSPs?
Anaya: Distributors are going through a bit of a renaissance ourselves. Distribution has become even more important now than before with the likes of hyperscalers and these global vendors. They need to have a hook into the scale that we can provide. In the case of hyperscalers, they’re working with enterprises on a transactional basis. They are not equipped to enable and support MSPs or SMBs. And that’s what we do all day long. That value proposition of us being distribution or a big aggregator has not changed. I’d say it’s been enhanced with resources, financing and the intelligence.
Anjali Fluker is managing editor of The ChannelPro Network, where she covers news, trends and best practices for the MSP community. She specializes in telling the stories that matter to IT providers serving the SMB market. When she’s not reporting on the latest in managed services, she’s connecting with channel pros at industry events across the country.
Images: shornagraphiclab — stock.adobe.com, Ingram Micro, Anjali Fluker/ChannelPro
