Monday Morning Impact – September 7

New Study: US IT Industry Adds More than 70,000 New Jobs

America’s information technology industry added 70,500 new jobs in the first half of 2015, employing nearly five million people at mid-year, according to an analysis of labor data released by CompTIA, an IT industry association.

The U.S. IT industry has now generated job gains in 14 of the 18 months between January 2014 and June 2015.

“With steady job growth the IT industry continues to outperform many other sectors of the U.S. economy,” said Tim Herbert, senior vice president, research and market intelligence at CompTIA. “The continuing trends of ‘everything-as-a-service,’ ‘software-defined everything’ and the proliferation of devices and applications requiring integration and support have spurred hiring by a wide range of IT companies.”

IT services posted the largest gains during the first half of the year at 2.4 percent. Software came in second with an increase of 1.5 percent. Tech manufacturing grew slightly under 1 percent, mirroring the growth rate for the telecommunications and internet services sector at 0.9 percent.

CompTIA’s mid-year analysis of IT industry and IT occupation employment trends draws on data from several sources, including the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Channel Impact
While many sectors in the business world continue to struggle, IT is posting at least modest gains, which should be validating for partners who are considering the addition of new talent, and good news for people in search of new opportunities.

Ingram Micro Expands Federal Advantage Program, Earns Dell Federal Business

Ingram Micro Inc. has announced upgrades to its Federal Advantage Program as part of an effort to simplify and shorten the sales cycle for channel partners. As part of the same announcement, the California-based distributor disclosed that it is now a Dell Federal authorized distribution partner.

To support and accelerate its Dell Federal business, Ingram Micro established a dedicated team of more than 30 Ingram Micro / Dell-focused sales, marketing, and engineering specialists. Mutual Dell channel partners also have access to Ingram Micro’s program managers for assistance when necessary. Additional resources to support configuration, professional services and training are also available.

“Expanding our relationship with Ingram Micro to include the Federal market further enables our mutual channel partners to take advantage of the busy buying season,” said Frank Vitagliano, vice president of global partner strategy and programs at Dell.

Ingram Micro’s Federal channel partners also gain access to a robust GSA Schedule and GSA order desk supported by Promark; a wide variety of engineering, sales and professional services including DPAS order processing, RFP support, contract management services, UID tagging, VDI and wireless assessment services, as well as asset management / disposal, secure supply chain certifications and trade compliance cataloguing.

Channel Impact
Federal sales is an area that can be both lucrative and complex, given by the array of requirements mandated by the government’s procurement policies. Programs and resources designed to help partners successfully conduct business in this area typically go a long way in strengthening partner sales and, by extension, partner loyalty.

Intel Security Appoints New Channel Leadership

Intel Security announced the appointment of Richard Steranka to lead the worldwide channels at the company, formerly known as McAfee.

Steranka joins Intel Security from Avaya where he transformed the Avaya Connect Partner program from a volume-based to a value-based incentive structure. Most recently he led Avaya’s go-to-market strategy.

“Security is perhaps the most rapidly evolving field within IT, with new threats and technologies coming to market every day,” he said. “Staying relevant and on the offense is imperative so that our partners can not only reach their own profitability goals, but also better protect our mutual customers from next-generation cyber threats.”

Prior to joining Avaya, Steranka held numerous leadership positions at Cisco in sales, channels, marketing and operations.

Steranka will report to Scott Lovett, senior vice president of Global Sales.

Channel Impact
Steranka has a long-standing reputation for optimizing value-based incentive programs. As security products and services continue to gain market importance, this expertise will become particularly useful in Steranka’s new role.