It’s been more than a year since Ingram Micro acquired the Odin Automation Essentials platform, a pre-configured, self-branded Web store and service automation platform that automates the delivery of Microsoft 1-Tier cloud service provider services.
Today, the distributor announced its first major new release of the Odin Automation Essentials tool that will feature new capabilities for hosting service providers including Azure, which has the potential to bring in higher-margin services along with a single, scalable platform.
Ingram Micro acquired the Odin Service Automation business from Parallels late in 2015 for an undisclosed amount. The distributor’s strategy behind the Odin deal is that gets access to one of the leading cloud management technologies in the marketplace.
Company cloud guru Renee Bergeron told CDN at the time Odin enables the company to realize the vision put forth years ago to build a cloud ecosystem.
The new release of Odin Automation Essentials now adds revenue-generating opportunities through bundling Microsoft cloud services, domain registration, as well as shared and virtual private server (VPS) hosting services with a provider’s own professional services.
Nimesh Davé, EVP, Global Cloud, Ingram Micro, said service providers face ongoing product and service commoditization in an increasingly competitive marketplace. The upcoming release of Odin Automation Essentials makes allows service providers to sell, deliver and administer differentiating, higher-margin cloud and hosted services within a single platform, utilizing one interface.
According to Ingram, historically, service providers spent days or weeks trying to purchase, resell and deliver cloud services while agents had to establish various contractual relationships, design provisioning and management processes, and integrate third-party billing, payment and support systems. Odin Automation Essentials eliminates all these time-consuming tasks so providers can install and deploy a comprehensive and scalable automation platform with a powerful online, integrated storefront in just a few hours.
Odin Automation Essentials includes Microsoft cloud services like Azure, Office 365, Dynamics 365, Enterprise Mobility Suite and Windows 10 Enterprise licenses ready for sale, out of the box, using existing contracts. The most popular shared hosting and VPS hosting plans are also included, empowering hosters to differentiate their offerings and bundle services for greater cross-sell potential. Other capabilities include fully automated order intake, billing and invoicing, payment processing, configuration and provisioning modules.
Key enhancements include:
- Microsoft Azure: Via Microsoft Azure, service providers can offer Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) solutions even if they do not have the capital, space and resources to own and maintain their own servers
- WebHosting Plesk Module: Using the latest stock version of Plesk Onyx and 12.5 on Windows and Linux, service providers can sell WordPress hosting plans and feature-rich web and email shared hosting services
- Cloud Infrastructure: Leveraging the latest technologies like Virtuozzo 7, service providers can offer VPS hosting-like containers and virtual machines to customers that demand dedicated server resources or need greater flexibility