RBR changes identity ahead of flotation

RBR Networks, the largest Cisco supplier in the UK, has renamed itself Comstor, in line with the US Cisco distributor also owned by Datatec, as it gears up to float on the US Nasdaq exchange.

RBR Networks, the largest Cisco supplier in the UK, has renamed itself Comstor, in line with the US Cisco distributor also owned by Datatec, as it gears up to float on the US Nasdaq exchange.

Rory Sweet, managing director of RBR, is winding down his involvement with the distributor, according to a source. "Rory has been working on a project of his own for some time, although he will stay on the RBR board for the immediate future," the source said. Sweet was not available for comment.

Paul Cunningham, marketing director at RBR, said Datatec needed a global brand for its Cisco distribution business, and the name Comstor is more recognisable to US investors. "This is setting the stage for the next phase of RBR's development," he said.

Although it will be business as usual as far as UK resellers are concerned, RBR plans to increase its investment in electronic trading systems and build on the professional services division it launched last month.

"We believe we have built the best front end to Cisco's NPMR (Internet trading system), and we want to directly tie that into our customers' systems," Cunningham said.

Although Cisco does intend to make its network design and procurement tools available to users (CRN, 1 March), Cunningham said resellers need not worry that these tools will make them redundant. "These tools are very good at testing known product configurations, but they can't take random, real-life networks to come up with the optimal design."

RBR is unlikely to expand into managed network services in the same way as its sister company Westcon.

"Although the conflict would not be insurmountable, a lot of our customers are managed network service providers and we wouldn't want to move onto their turf. It doesn't fit with our core business," Cunningham explained.

Cunningham said any funds raised from stock market flotation will be used to further expand RBR's business in Europe and Asia. Datatec's distribution business, Westcon, contains two trading companies, Westcon and Comstor, and will float on Nasdaq under the name Westcon.