Ingram Micro Inc. sees more opportunities to work with Microsoft following a global distribution deal for the software giant’s HoloLens 2, said Eric Hembree, an executive of the Irvine-based company.
“This is really just starting to scratch the surface of what we’re able to do with them. There’s going to be a lot more advancement around what we’re doing and how we’re changing the market dynamics for our partners and making it easier for them to get into the IoT space,” Hembree, Ingram Micro’s director of the Internet of Things, told the Business Journal on Sept. 5.
Ingram Micro, the world’s largest wholesale distributor of computer and technology products, said that it will market, sell and support the Microsoft HoloLens 2 mixed reality headset globally, starting in North America and select areas of EMEA and Asia-Pacific.
Mixed reality merges real and virtual worlds to create new environments and visualizations.
“It’s a really big opportunity, not just for Ingram but for our reseller partners to recognize incremental revenue streams,” according to Hembree.
“Speaking specifically about the U.S., we have the lion’s share of distribution rights from a commercial standpoint with Microsoft,” while there are also other distributors from a global standpoint.
He expects the distribution agreement to be implemented “before the end of the year.”
B2B Applications
The HoloLens 2 lets users “view, move, speak to and interact with 3D holograms,” a Bloomberg report earlier this year said.
Microsoft is aiming at numerous business applications for the product, such as training factory workers or helping architects design buildings.
From “construction sites to factory floors, from operating rooms to classrooms, HoloLens is changing how we work, learn, communicate and get things done,” Microsoft said when debuting the product earlier this year.
B2B uses of virtual, augmented and mixed reality goggles have grown faster than consumer adoption of the units, which to date have been primarily geared toward gamers.
A HoloLens 2 device runs $3,500, according to Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft.
Hembree said the final price points still need to be determined under the agreement.
Matt Fleckenstein, head of mixed reality marketing at Microsoft, said his company “is pleased to expand our relationship with Ingram Micro and work across the organization to bring HoloLens 2 to the global channel.”
