Top Euro resellers join service company elite

More than 20 per cent of Europe's top 1,000 resellers can now be classed as service companies, with the number of firms known as dealers falling from 26 per cent to 19 per cent over the past two years.

The number of distributors fell from 35 per cent to 30 per cent of the market. Those respondents describing themselves as Vars dropped one percentage point to 19 per cent.

The figures, based on the latest survey results by market research firm Romtec, show a jump of nine per cent in the number of service providers since 1994.

The report said: 'This confirms the trend noted last year - a growth in the number of service-oriented organisations and a decline in the number of volume players within this elite group.'

Turnover of distributors grew significantly, according to the report.

Combined turnover of Europe's largest distributors totalled $33 billion, or about 38 per cent, of all third-party IT revenues in western Europe.

Romtec director Jinty Weldon said: 'These findings underline the significance of Europe's largest channel players. This is still a market where a smaller number of resellers are accounting for an increasing proportion of the market.'

The number of direct marketers also grew by one per cent in the past two years.