INGRAM MICRO LAUNCHES INTERNET-BUSINESS HEADSTART PROGRAM
Initiative Designed To Help Resellers Capitalize On Internet Messaging And Commerce Boom

SANTA ANA, Calif., Dec. 11, 1997
Ingram Micro Inc., the world's leading wholesale distributor of technology products and services, today announced its Internet-Business Headstart Program, a cooperative effort designed to recruit value-added resellers (VARs) and Internet service providers (ISPs) for Sun Microsystems' reseller program and to help them deploy business-critical Internet messaging and commerce solutions for their customers.

The Internet-Business Headstart Program, intended to recruit Sun VARs, brings Ingram Micro together with an important alliance of leading Internet messaging, Internet commerce and telecommunications companies -- all prepared to arm Sun-authorized resellers with the tools and expertise they need to meet customer needs in Internet and messaging commerce on a case-by-case basis. Ingram Micro will also offer a series of sales incentives, special training offers and an end-user demand creation campaign for qualified Sun resellers.

"More than 80 percent of leading electronic commerce vendors develop products for the Sun platform, and this will make it easy for a VAR or ISP who is not involved in Internet commerce or messaging to get all of the training and support they need," said Bill Cate, director of U.S. channel marketing at Sun.

The Internet-Business Headstart Program complements Sun's family of workstations and servers, including the new Sun Enterprise 450 workgroup server, which delivers the scalability and reliability of enterprise systems with the affordability and ease of use of PC server systems.

Timing Is Everything
"Internet commerce and messaging are exploding in the corporate enterprise," said David Ochser, director of product marketing for Ingram Micro's Sun-dedicated Open Systems Division. "Our Headstart Program is ideal to help a VAR or an ISP step up to the plate and get involved providing solutions on the Sun platform. This market is key for Ingram Micro and for Sun Microsystems, and there is plenty of opportunity for resellers to take advantage of the business."

Katherine Webster, group manager of market development for electronic commerce at Sun, said, "ISPs are a very important growth market for Sun, and this program will help them quickly implement electronic commerce. We're pleased Ingram Micro is providing a total solution to VARs and ISPs for this rapidly emerging market."

Allies
Ingram Micro selected its first group of allies for the Internet-Business Headstart Program to provide resellers with a well-rounded base of experience and strength in the industry to meet the most challenging requirements of breaking into Internet messaging and commerce. These allies include:

• Sun Microsystems, whose Internet Mail Server 3.1, Global Business Edition, is a leading highly scalable e-mail server that delivers Internet interoperability and reliable mail delivery at a lower total cost of ownership.
• Software.com, which provides scalable, reliable Internet messaging software, including Post.Office and InterMail.
• INTERSHOP Communications, which delivers leading electronic commerce software solutions, such as INTERSHOP Online, INTERSHOP Mall and INTERSHOP Corporate.
• iCat, which allows companies to create, deliver and host Internet and intranet catalogs, with its flagship iCat Electronic Commerce Suite.
• MCI Telecommunications, which will provide Internet connectivity for VARs through Ingram Micro's netValue program.

Reseller Incentives
Many of the VARs and ISPs that Ingram Micro intends to recruit will not have prior experience providing Sun solutions. Toward this end, the Headstart program will help new VARs and ISPs become Sun-authorized and competency-certified. The program will also give participants access to Sun demonstration equipment and discounts on software vendors' training. Ingram Micro will outsource a demand-creation program, providing qualified end-user leads to resellers.

About Ingram Micro
Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE: IM), headquartered in Santa Ana, Calif., is a leading provider of assembly and integration services, with 1996 sales of $12 billion. The company operates in 24 countries and distributes more than 145,000 products to more than 100,000 resellers in 120 countries.

Contact:

Cindy Vergets Ragland
Ingram Micro Inc.
Media Relations
(714) 566-1000 ext. 23364