SPECIAL NEWS REPORT Westcon bolsters UC play
Distributor Westcon Convergence has extended its portfolio with a fully rounded Microsoft Lync proposition based on a single ‘Lync in a box’ server supported by an ecosystem of Lync-focused vendors.
W
estcon first signalled its MS Lync strategy in December last
year when it rubber stamped a distribution agreement with Active Communications Europe, creator of the ACS Lync Appliance. Westcon has since geared up for a big UC launch with ACS at its core and elevated its position within Microsoft as the first pan-European distributor of its ‘Lync in a box’ programme. As a result of these efforts Westcon is close to achieving Microsoft’s Gold Communications Competency with over 30 of its staff already Lync trained.
Westcon registered more details on its Lync initiative during two webinars and early interest was high with 250 people taking part. The official launch on July 17th at Microsoft’s HQ in Reading, Berks, also proved popular with 140-plus delegates descending on the software giant’s UK home to gain first-hand insights into Westcon’s channel strategy and the components of its Lync-centric UC solution proposition.
The final piece in the vendor ecosystem fell neatly into place just days before the launch when Westcon announced details of a distribution agreement with snom. Other vendors in the
its IT-centric approach to the UC market, the need for multiple vendors within an ecosystem could potentially complicate deployments of the overall solution. But that’s not the case with Westcon, claims Koster. “Our goal was to simplify the deployment experience by creating an ecosystem that allows channel partners to engage with Westcon not only for Lync products, but also for our portfolio of pre-sales, marketing, partner enablement, training and support services,” he said.
Peter Wheeler: “We now have a full UC portfolio and will educate partners as the first EMEA distributor with a Lync offering.”
mix include Jabra, Plantronics, Audiocodes, Polycom, Acme Packet and Net. According to Peter Wheeler, Head of UC Sales, Westcon has been working hard behind the scenes but now it is time to put Lync in front of a wider audience. “We have been building our Lync solution ecosystem over the past year,” said Wheeler. “Now we are making a noise about the proposition. Our Lync Discovery event signals Westcon’s belief that the time is right for partners to get involved in a market that IDC says will grow at a CAGR of 18 per cent.”
Wheeler also cited research that indicates a 300 per
cent rise in the availability of Lync-optimised devices and 30 per cent year-on- year growth in the market for MS Lync. “Microsoft gained three per cent share against its UC competitors in the last 12 months,” noted Wheeler. “This reinforces our belief that Lync is likely to become a key player in the UC market. We now have a full UC portfolio, are raising awareness and will educate partners as the first EMEA distributor with a Lync offering.”
Lync’s silver bullet Guy Koster, European Director of Product Management and Product Marketing at Westcon
Convergence, has witnessed increasing demand for the Microsoft Lync solution and was instrumental in assembling the best-of-breed portfolio of solutions and services for the European market. He commented: “People often ask me what makes Lync different to other UC solutions. Gartner defines UC as delivering a ‘communications-enabled business process’, and Lync arguably comes closest because it sits at the core of familiar Microsoft desktop productivity applications, providing the collaboration glue that unifies them.”
While Lync represents a potential game changer in
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You cannot fail to be impressed by Lync’s inherent versatility and slickness of operation. It has been developed from the ground up as a comms and collaboration platform that integrates tightly with other MS Office applications, and according to Tony Cocks, UC Channel Development Manager for Microsoft, the voice element is ‘absolutely where it should be’.
Apart from voice Lync also offers presence, video, IM, collaboration, document sharing, audio conferencing, skills-based presence and much more, so it is perhaps surprising that less than one per cent of Microsoft’s UK partner community are certified to provide Lync as part of their portfolio. According to Wheeler this
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