strategic moves
In January this year Westcon achieved the first Microsoft Gold Communications Competency for Microsoft Lync, building on its recently created Lync business which is also developing rapidly. “We are seeing a great deal of opportunity in our customer base,” said Grant. “UC resellers in the UK are moving to Microsoft competencies, and the Microsoft community are interested in adding Lync to their Microsoft applications. Microsoft partners
understand MS licences and they know how the Microsoft machine works. But if one of their customers talks to them about integration into a legacy base or connection into the PSTN then they often have limited experience. This is where we can help. Many existing UC partners have already got some experience and competence on Microsoft integration from Active Directory and Exchange, so for them it’s just another step to get further certification on Microsoft products. There are opportunities in both directions.”
Another big component in the mix is video. “This is a big opportunity for us whether it’s Avaya with Radvision, Lync or Polycom,” added Grant. “We have a significant relationship with Polycom in the UK, and Polycom is also part of the Lync ecosystem. Resellers have an opportunity to talk to their customers about another dimension that can be added to their communications strategy, and at the same time reduce the travel and cost with an enhanced method of communications. This market has largely been driven by tablet- based video conferencing which is also driving a
number of conversations on infrastructures, refresh and applications sales.”
Grant is also looking to expand the portfolio of apps supplied through a traditional delivery mechanism or cloud- based, enabling Westcon’s reseller community to talk to customers about a broader solution. “We have recently formed a relationship with Virsae, a New Zealand-based software company that provides hosted solutions on the Avaya platform,” noted Grant. “This will help resellers look at capacity planning and identify areas of bottlenecks within their customer base. We see this as an opportunity to white label a hosted solution, add value to the service offering and substantiate the charging for services. This platform means partners can engage with end users about network or equipment upgrades and expansions based on facts and analysis.”
Westcon invested heavily in its new Crawley-based European headquarters, and the move has brought about a culture change within the business. “The relocation has prompted a more collaborative way of working and now we all have Lync, video and headsets,” explained Grant. “It’s a fantastic office in a great location, close to Gatwick which makes it accessible by road and air for UK and overseas customers.
“All of the meeting rooms have video conferencing and we now all use the technology that we sell. But the most exciting element of the new office is the Customer Experience Centre that will be available for partners
To advertise in
contact The Sales Team on 01895 454411
www.comms-dealer.com
and their customers to use from around September.
“We have seen a growth in multi-vendor solutions and the demo centre provides customers with an opportunity to demo the entire portfolio that we have in our line card. With more complex solutions there are a lot of questions around proof of concept and integrations and at the briefing centre you can see it integrate with other vendors. We will use the new facility for customers and partners for both informal and formal workshops and training.”
Although Westcon is a global distributor it operates each of its countries fairly autonomously. “In each of our markets we are able to provide the technical focus and the customer intimacy that you would associate with a local specialist distributor, but we have the balance sheet strength, systems and processes that you would associate with a large global company,” Grant added. “The culture that we adopt at Westcon is all about the people and our staff turnover is low. They are by far our strongest asset and we firmly believe in recruiting and retaining some of the best people in the industry. We have just signed off eight heads, some new positions and some replacements for the UK business so this demonstrates growth in the UK operation. Westcon’s staff work with our partners to ensure our strategies and objectives are aligned, and we are 100 per cent committed to achieving our goals. Business is all about relationships and we strive to build, develop and maintain them on both a commercial and social level.”
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COMMS DEALER JULY 2013 23
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