01732 759725 08 NEWS : DISTRIBUTORS Building on its existing Cisco remanufactured equipment business, Westcon-Comstor has created a Circular Technology Solutions group to make it easier for partners to order certified, remanufactured OEM-quality equipment instead of buying unauthorised and unlicensed equipment on the secondary market. The Circular Technology Solutions group is headed up by Alastair Borissow, previously head of global sales, marketing and strategy for Cisco’s Certified Remanufactured Equipment business, Cisco Refresh. Initially, the group will focus on enhancing Westcon-Comstor’s existing Cisco Refresh business, with pro-active stocking, quick-ship turnaround, simplified procurement processes and customer-centric inventory sourcing, before extending the model to other parts of its vendor portfolio. Alastair Borissow said: “Our mission is to improve the overall customer experience around OEM-certified equipment consumption. The opportunities created are good for partners, good for profits and good for the planet.” Partners benefit from additional revenue opportunities and advantageous margins, while end users enjoy 100% certified remanufactured, OEM-quality equipment at lower cost than equivalent new products. WestconComstor.com Westcon-Comstor expands remanufactured equipment offering Plug in to Exertis set to be bigger and better Exertis is holding its third annual Plug In to Exertis channel event at Silverstone Circuit on May 16. Featuring four exhibition areas for Business, AV, Enterprise and Consumer, as well as guest speakers and a seminar programme, the event gives resellers and retailers the opportunity to find out more about the distributor’s products and services. Last year, Plug In to Exertis attracted 116 exhibitors and 1,100 attendees, including almost 700 resellers and retailers. This year, the event is expected to be even bigger, following recent Exertis acquisitions. Paul Bryan, Managing Director of Exertis UK & I, said: “We have significantly added to our vendor portfolio and expertise in a number of key areas through acquisition and integration. For instance, our enterprise business and our resellers have benefited from the Exertis Hammer integration, with more solutions in key areas such as HCI, edge computing, cybersecurity and collaboration. “Our newly named Exertis Pro AV Solutions division has benefited from the acquisitions of Stampede and Jam and can provide a true end-to-end AV solution that can also incorporate other key elements such as networking, UC and security. “For our retailers, we have added expertise and further services from Kondor to a consumer division that is already highly regarded in gaming, Smart Tech, pro audio and TV, as well as computing, gaming and mobile accessories. On top of that, we have a great computing and mobile offering, a dedicated print division and a components portfolio that has been boosted with the addition of Hypertec.” www.exertis. co.uk/plugin Helping resellers get fit for FitBit Tech Data is working with Fitbit to train its staff in Fitbit solutions, including the new Charge 3 wearable and Fitbit Pay for the Iconic and Versa models, which enables users to pay for goods from their wrist. In addition, the two companies are creating an enablement programme that gives resellers sales support on Fitbit devices and software, plus demonstration and trial period offers. Dave Brassington, Business Unit Director, Mobile & CE Endpoint Solutions at Tech Data UK, argues that Fitbits are ideal for smaller businesses that have not embraced health and well-being programmes to the same extent as larger corporates. He said: “With Fitbit, small businesses have the capability to encourage employee health and fitness and even run competitions between teams and individual staff members. We are on the cusp of a rapid acceleration, so now’s the time to start taking the message to our reseller partners and enabling them to take advantage of this growth opportunity.”
[email protected] Comstor introduces recurring billing for Cisco security Comstor has announced what it claims is the first true, end-to-end, consumption- based licence for Cisco security products, enabling service providers to meet growing customer demand for OPEX-based procurement. With a Cisco Managed Service Licence Agreement (MSLA) customers only pay for what they use, while service providers benefit from a regular recurring revenue stream over the term of the contract. Daniel Hurel, VP Comstor Security Sales Europe, said: “For the first time, our partners can sell leading Cisco security solutions on a next generation OPEX basis, where customers only pay for what they consume. Our complete integration with Cisco for monthly reporting, invoicing and payment is a market first. It is highly efficient and fair, because once a partner is signed, there is no price change, no PO needed and, this is key, none of the manual intervention you get with other models. Customers are free to move up and down product tiers and across Cisco infrastructure, cloud and orchestration services too.” Cisco MSLA is currently available for Adaptive Security Appliance virtual firewall (ASAv), Advanced Malware Protection for Endpoints (AMP4E), NGFW virtual, Stealthwatch cloud, Email Security Appliance virtual (ESAv) and Umbrella. WSA virtual offers are due in the coming months. WestconComstor.com Alastair Borrissow Daniel Hurel No let up in Exclusive’s global expansion Exclusive Group, the value-added services and technologies (VAST) group, has entered the Canadian and Israeli markets with two new acquisitions. Following its acquisition of the US-based VAD Fine Tec almost two years ago, Exclusive has extended its presence across the whole of North America by acquiring Vancouver-based cybersecurity VAD, Fine Tec Canada (a separate entity to its US namesake). Exclusive Group has also expanded its EMEA presence and gained a foothold in ‘Silicon Wadi’, with the acquisition of Israeli cybersecurity VAD SecureWave, based in Tel Aviv. www.exclusive-group.com