Ingram Micro supports partners guiding customers through cloud and AI modernization

May 29, 2026

As organizations move toward AI-powered operations, many are discovering they are not starting with a clean slate. Legacy on-premises infrastructure, fragmented cloud environments, and security gaps often stand between customer ambition and execution. At the same time, customer expectations continue to rise, putting added pressure on managed services providers (MSPs) and consulting partners to deliver scalable, compliant solutions without adding operational burden or losing control of cost, complexity, and security.

As a global Microsoft distributor, Ingram Micro empowers partners to bridge that gap by supporting customers across key stages of their modernization journey, from exiting legacy infrastructure to adopting Azure-native solutions and building toward AI innovation. Rather than treating migration, modernization, and AI as separate motions, Ingram Micro guides partners to a structured, repeatable path forward on Azure.

With advanced specializations in Infrastructure and Database Migration, Azure Virtual Desktop, Azure VMware Solution, and AI Apps on Azure, Ingram Micro brings technical depth and access to Microsoft-backed funding programs to their engagements with partners. They empower partners to modernize infrastructure, optimize costs, prove value faster, and lower risk as they move customers from foundational cloud transformation to AI-powered workloads.

Close collaboration turns migration into modernization

Ingram Micro began by mapping Calyx’s existing infrastructure to Microsoft Azure services. This included identifying optimal machine sizes, storage tiers, and licensing strategies so the future-state environment would meet both performance and cost expectations. Rather than treating migration as a lift-and-shift exercise, the team emphasized optimization from the outset.

Through Azure Accelerate funding unlocked by its Infrastructure and Database Migration and Azure Virtual Desktop advanced specializations, Ingram Micro was able to offer the migration at no cost to Calyx IT. Additional support from the Microsoft Datacenter Optimization (DCO) initiative supported improved profitability, while Flight Academy resources helped Calyx technicians build skills and earn certifications across Azure technologies.

“Migration incentives like DCO helped us recover costs,” said Ed Grauel, President of Calyx IT. “Tracking all these ourselves would have been impossible. Having the Ingram Micro team show us the right offerings made a huge difference and turned what could have been a massive challenge into a successful project.”

The results gave Calyx’s customers more predictable costs and improved performance across their environments. The move to Azure Virtual Desktop reduced overall licensing burdens while enhancing the user experience, and Calyx was able to deliver services more efficiently while maintaining quality and compliance.

Extending the model from cloud modernization to AI adoption

As customers move workloads to Azure, many ask what comes next. Interest in AI accelerates quickly, but for most organizations, adopting AI responsibly requires more than turning on a new service. When partners need guidance, Ingram Micro is prepared to join them at this stage of the journey.

As a benefit of achieving the AI Apps on Azure advanced specialization, Ingram Micro has access to Azure Accelerate funding for AI engagements, enabling their partners to offer funded AI proofs of value (POVs) and deployments to their end customers or to become Customer Zero for AI solutions themselves.

Calyx’s experience shows how partners can modernize legacy infrastructure, reduce complexity, and build a stronger foundation on Azure. Along the way, Ingram Micro’s role remained consistent: combining technical expertise, funding access, operational support, tooling, and training to support partners looking to build capability and scale more effectively. By making modernization and AI adoption easier to repeat across customers and opportunities, Ingram Micro offers partners a stronger path from immediate business needs to longer-term innovation on Azure.