Distributor Ingram Micro (IM) has kicked off three new services and programs to help channel partners selling into the state and local government and education (SLED) markets maximize IT sales opportunities.

Ingram rolled out the new offerings at its 2013 Fall SLED Invitational conference, held Nov. 13–15 in Hollywood, Fla. The event included some 350 attendees along with representatives from Adobe (ADBE), Cisco Systems (CSCO), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Microsoft (MSFT), Panasonic and Samsung. Ingram Commercial Markets and Global Accounts senior vice president Kirk Robinson and Microsoft U.S. Education vice president Margo Day were the featured speakers, along with public sector experts and decision-makers.

The distributor’s new SLED services and programs lineup includes a configurator, a special enablement program and a bolstered network for public sector solution providers:

“The Public Sector is a complex market that is full of opportunity for those channel partners who are willing to roll up their sleeves and get involved,” said Michael Humke, Ingram U.S. Vertical Markets and Healthcare executive director, who hosted the event. “Our role at Ingram Micro is to give them the resources, solutions, support and insight to get to ‘yes’ faster with their customers, identify new opportunities, and ultimately help our channel partners close more deals. All three of these offerings will help our channel partners simplify success and drive stronger revenues and greater profitability.”

In particular for the education market, Humke said Ingram is “working with our vendors, including independent software vendors (ISVs), to assist our channel partners in offering the right tools and technology needed to support teacher training, curriculum development and meet the increasing demands around mobile device management (MDM) and school security.”