BUSINESS PROFILE Unifi ed strength in depth
Westcon Convergence General Manager Tim Brooks looks ahead to an exciting 2012 with a portfolio of products that enable the distributor and its partner community to take advantage of the latest technology trends.
B rooks is a channel
distribution veteran having been with Crane for 16 years and Westcon
Convergence for four. Crane was the pioneer of added value distribution within the voice market and since Westcon Group bought the company for £27m in 2007, Brooks has relished the challenge of a working within a global player with a much wider portfolio of ICT suppliers. “The breadth our portfolio, which includes Avaya, Extreme Networks, Siemens Enterprise Communications, Enterasys, Polycom, Plantronics, Jabra, Juniper, Meru, Acme Packet, Sipera, and AudioCodes, means we are strongly positioned to support resellers in the supply of complex solutions which customers are now demanding,” says Brooks.
Brooks maintains that the depth and breadth of this portfolio, combined with Westcon’s scale and support proposition gives the distributor the capability of supporting partners across both SME and Enterprise markets. “The SME sector is very important to us and we have seen an upturn in this space recently, SMEs are still investing in technology and we are also winning customers with our ‘totalSupport’ programme designed to provide a full wrap of support services for SME partners,” he says. “Within the Enterprise market we work across UC, Contact Centre, Data Networking and Wireless LAN, as well as enabling technologies such as Session Border Controllers. We’re also developing a proposition around MS Lync solutions where we can provide a lot of the peripheral and enabling products.
“MS Lync is being driven to Microsoft channel partners who can sell email,
develop the skills they need to remain competitive in the market.”
Brooks also believes Westcon’s financial strength and global capabilities are critical in helping resellers in today’s unpredictable market. “Westcon has a strong balance sheet and we’re cash positive which means we have not wound back our credit limit. If a dealer has a large deal and the customer wants a staged payment process we can defend and protect the partner’s cash flow which can be crucial to a reseller in tough trading times. We invest heavily to provide resellers with dedicated teams of experts that understand their business goals and objectives and help achieve them.”
Tim Brooks
Instant Messaging and software solutions but if you want to voice enable it there are elements outside of network licencing. Resellers also have to consider border and security questions and that’s where we come in. We are working alongside vendors such as Sipera, Polycom and AudioCodes to develop a best-of-breed portfolio of products and solutions that support a MS Lync deployment,” says Brooks.
Growth forecast Brooks foresees more growth in collaborative solutions in 2012 and says his team is ready to help resellers grasp these opportunities. “We anticipate a continuation of the growth of collaboration and video
solutions in 2012. Both large and small organisations are investing in solutions that unify multiple technologies to enhance productivity and responsiveness. Also, the rise of consumerisation within the business environment has resulted in the ‘Bring Your Own Device’ (BYOD) culture with devices such as iPhones and iPads as well as a host of Android- based smart devices entering into the workplace at a relentless pace. This is driving the requirement for fast, reliable wireless connectivity and as a result we are seeing a rise in the need for secure Wireless LAN solutions. Partnering with Westcon, provides resellers with a strategic and trusted advisor, enabling them to navigate new technologies and
Kcom’s Accelerate Channel Partner Programme now available 32 COMMS DEALER JANUARY 2012
With an in depth knowledge of complex technologies Westcon has developed a wide range of partner enablement programmes, designed to help partners in these growth areas. Brooks comments, “At the heart of this is our award winning Westcon Academy, which runs a programme of sales, pre-sales and technical training courses. We have also partnered with The SIP School to help reseller teams successfully sell and deploy SIP-based solutions.”
“In a recent customer survey, some 91 per cent of our customers said they were extremely satisfied or satisfied with the service they received from Westcon. Most highly rated was our logistics capabilities, which is not surprising, as this is clearly at the heart of distribution, but our longevity in business and breadth in portfolio were also highlighted. We have a highly developed channel support model and consistency with this will be the measure of our success in a changing market.” n
Register now:
channelpartners@kcom.com www.comms-dealer.com
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