Technology distributor Ingram Micro launched its social networking platform for its top resellers in October 2007, and in a matter of just a few weeks, 100 out of 400 people had already set up their own profiles. These top resellers who set up their profiles are customers who see value in social networks because todays businesses want ways to communicate more efficiently and effectively. Kirk Robinson, VP of North American channel marketing at Ingram Micro, explained that his company wants to be on the cutting-edge of social networking tools, which become much more important in the business world. Ingram Micro expects the initiative to increase sales and enhance brand loyalty by opening up the lines of communication between Ingram and its consumers. Ingram Micros resellers are divided into four specialized communities, each of which has its own, company-hosted bi-annual conferences for education and networking in addition to chapter meetings. Ingram Micro pinpointed social networking as the best solution for its need to be at the front of resellers minds year-round because its consumers also sell IT solutions from other vendors. Ingram Micro launched social networking sites for each of its reseller communities and timed the launches to coincide with their fall conferences, enabling the company to introduce its new service to as many consumers as possible all at once. Social media platforms enable consumers to supply technical support to each other. Ingram Micro views its social networking platform as a foundation to improve its consumer outreach through various methods. Robinson compares social medias relevance in the business-to-business space to instant messaging, which has been an effective means of keeping the lines of business communication open.