Niche distributor Vcomm wants to forge ties with larger convergence integrators following its takeover by publicly listed voice over IP (VoIP) services firm Coms.
Scott Dobson, managing director at the VegaStream, Extricom and Ingate distributor, told CRN: “We are looking to engage with larger integrators who haven’t previously taken us seriously due to our portfolio and size.
“Our core business is to VARs with £1m to £5m turnover. We now want to work with more resellers with a turnover of £5m to £10m who recognise that IP telephony is a phenomenal opportunity.”
Vcomm has already signed VoIP ADSL router vendor Billion since the deal was announced, but Dobson hinted that bigger deals were in the pipeline. “The vendor we’re hoping to sign is a de facto standard in global IP telephony,” he said.
Coms, which is listed on the Alternative Investment Market, grabbed Vcomm in a share-based deal worth £100,000 last month. Vcomm’s management will pocket a second tranche of shares next May if they meet pre-set gross profitability targets.
Dobson admitted Vcomm began searching for a buyer last autumn after an ISP partner stopped providing it with back-office support.
“The biggest value the acquisition has brought to me is to remove the headache of running a business, allowing me to focus on my core skills of selling and developing our proposition,” he said. “Coms has a back-office system so we’re handing over to them.”
Steve Davis, vice-president of sales and marketing EMEA at VegaStream, said: “Having a plc behind it will give Vcomm additional resources to position itself as a major distributor. I’m sure Vcomm will be signing up vendors that are complementary to Vegastream to give integrators a wider choice.”
Grahame Smee, managing director of distributor Cohort Technology, said: “This move gives Scott more financial stability and the ability to attract larger vendors.”
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