Ingram Micro, a wholesale distributor of computer equipment, has joined forces with Nortel to distribute the company’s unified communications systems to its network of IT resellers in Australia.

According to Nortel, this distribution agreement will see Ingram Micro playing a significant role in distributing Nortel’s Software Communication System (SCS), which replicates all the functionality of a unified communications PBX on a standard server using new software.

Ingram Micro will also stock Nortel’s range of services designed to integrate with Microsoft and IBM’s unified communications (UC) platforms, including its Business Communications Manager (BCM) IP PBX’s for small-to-medium enterprise and will carry Nortel’s established range of data networking products that form the foundation for any UC deployment.

David Lenz, general manager for the enterprise technology group at Ingram Micro Australia, said: Nortel is a strategic player in the global UC market and has shown tremendous leadership both globally and in Australia with its software and hardware products in this space.

Neville James, channel director for south Asia at Nortel, said: With UC increasingly becoming an important focus for IT departments as communications and IT converge, our UC products have become more relevant to the broader IT market. That market is Ingram Micro’s strength, so this partnership is a logical fit.

Our product range will enable Ingram’s resellers to provide their clients with new options, and to increase the range of solutions they can provide, which in turn will help them grow their business. We will be working alongside Ingram Micro to support the reseller channel through in-depth technical support and training, and help resellers to take advantage of the growing UC market.