Technology Reseller v36

01732 759725 08 NEWS : DISTRIBUTORS IT market intelligence company Context is predicting a better 2021 for distributors and technology resellers, after channel companies pivoted to the cloud in 2020 and distributors earned recognition for the quality of their channel offering and support. Context’s ChannelWatch 2020 report, based on a poll of 7,000 channel partners in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, shows a sharp increase in the number of resellers providing cloud technology solutions, with the percentage of those implementing cloud back-up, disaster recovery and storage solutions rising from 44% in 2019 to 70% in 2020. There was also an increase in the number of resellers selling more than three services. When asked what support they will need from distributors to be successful at selling and delivering technology as-a-service in 2021, ‘training and education’ came out on top, cited by 55% of respondents, followed by ‘marketing’ (40%), financial support (35%) and sales assistance (34%). The ChannelWatch 2020 report also highlights growing satisfaction with distributors’ performance. This rose in almost every category measured by Context, including billing and other cloud services, field support, training and certification, and lead generation. Frank Vitagliano, CEO of The Global Technology Distribution Council (GTDC), an industry consortium representing tech distributors, said: “That channel companies increased their opinion of distributors during the pandemic is no surprise to the GTDC, which tracked how members fortified their supply chains, expanded their cloud capabilities and increased the marketing and financing support provided to channel companies last year.” This strong showing came against a backdrop of double-digit sales growth in several areas, including mobile computing (28%), monitors (25%), computing accessories (28%) and AV systems (37%), driven by demand from home workers and students for laptops, monitors, computer mice, microphones, webcams and other products. Computing components (7%), software and licences (4%) and the ‘New technologies and other’ category (11%), which includes smart home products and wearables, also saw positive growth in 2020. Distributors enjoy reputation boost ahead of improved 2021 outlook Vishal Chhatralia Exertis highlights diversity as key to future growth Exertis is implementing new diversity and inclusion initiatives to foster a more innovative culture across its business and to better reflect the diversity of its customer base and technology users. To this end, it has established a diversity steering group, with representatives from every region in which the company operates, and a diversity and inclusion toolkit to help managers make a demonstrable contribution to diversity within their part of the business. Vishal Chhatralia, Exertis’ Global Chief Digital & Marketing Officer, points out that recruitment and training are two areas where the distributor is already making a difference. He said: “We have made two big strides. One is recruitment: senior roles have been recruited with a greater focus on bringing in new members from diverse backgrounds, with increases in female talent and talent from ethnic backgrounds. Second is our ‘always on’ education and communication programme, focused on the importance of diversity and what we can do as an organisation to better understand and encourage diversity in recruitment and everyday operations.” Other initiatives designed to encourage diversity include enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption packages and more flexibility in working hours and location. Chhatralia added: “In these times it will be those that are able to see and empathise with their customers’ needs who will win. We must continue to build a diverse organisation, which matches the diversity of those customers and partners who we serve.” Pax8 launches in UK following WireHive acquisition Pax8, the platform and marketplace modernising how the channel buys, sells and manages cloud products, is spearheading its entry into the European market with the establishment of a new office in the UK. This follows the cloud distributor’s recent acquisition of Bristol-based cloud hosting company and cloud migration consultancy WireHive, Partners in Europe can now use the Pax8 platform to purchase cloud products from leading vendors, supported by billing, provisioning, automation, industry-leading PSA integrations, pre- and post-sales support and education. Pax8’s vendor partners include Microsoft, Bitdefender, Pax8 Pro, SentinelOne, Dropsuite, Ironscales, Liongard, SolarWinds Passportal, TitanHQ (Private Cloud Only), Acronis and Airslate. Through its acquisition of WireHive, Pax8 is able to offer white-label professional services enabling partners to take on cloud transformation projects that might have been too complex or time-consuming to tackle alone. Former WireHive employees make up around half of Pax8 UK’s 60 employees and a big proportion of the strategic leadership team of CEO Robert Belgrave, CTO Simon Green, COO James Rossell, CRO Cole Knuth, CFO Jefferson Keith, Chief Channel Officer Phylip Morgan and Vice President of International Sales Aaron Watts. www.pax8.com JB&A acquired by Exertis Exertis, the principal trading name of DCC Technology, has strengthened its ProAV offering in North America with the acquisition of JB&A Inc., a distributor of broadcast, post-production and pro AV technologies to system integrators and B2B resellers in North America. Located in San Rafael, California, the company has vendor relationships with CATDV, Gefen, Haverford, Quantum, Newtek, SNS and Unilumin and, in its last financial year, recorded revenues of $80 million. The acquisition of JB&A, following those of Stampede and Jam in 2018 and The Music People in 2020, takes Exertis into the value-added niches of broadcast and post-production. www.exertis.com