‘We are acquisitive and always will be’: Infinigate UKI RVP

Justin Griffiths talks M&A strategy, adapting to new technologies and betting on start-ups

Switzerland-HQ VAD Infinigate serves around 4,000 clients across the UK and considers the country its second biggest market in Europe.

While it stands below Germany and ahead of France, Justin Griffiths, the organisation’s UKI RVP, tells CRN he wants it to grow further, notably through investments.

“Nothing is off the table. We are acquisitive and always will be.

“It has to deliver net new opportunities, either through technology we do not have or a larger customer set.

“When we acquired Vuzion, we gained a service provider base.

“Overlap was less than two per cent in terms of customers, and it gave us a huge Microsoft platform opportunity.”

It also intends to pursue additional buyouts across the continent, as Griffiths explains that the goal is to become the number one cyber distributor.

“We are always looking at M&A where it makes sense, and there are areas we are considering. So watch this space,” he says.

In September, Infinigate promoted Alexandre Remy to chief strategy and M&A officer, marking a new step in its acquisition efforts.

Other significant regions include APAC and the Middle East, with the latter close to becoming one of the firm’s largest global markets, adds Griffiths.

“[The Middle East] is doing outstanding numbers and is a major contributor.

“That market grows at a phenomenal rate.”

Technological evolution leading to deeper customer conversations

To stay aligned with new and evolving technologies, the distie aims to deepen relationships with existing vendors and bring on new ones.

Over the last 12 months, it launched and expanded partnerships across EMEA with companies such as AWS, Entrust, Check Point, Thales, Cloudflare, Progress Software, Barracuda Networks, OPSWAT, Swissbit, Threema, Keepnet, Torq, WithSecure, Exabeam, Skyhigh, Yubico, Trellix, WatchGuard and Mimecast.

Infinigate also sees the AI narrative as shaping cybersecurity demand.

Because of the pace at which the technology is booming, its evolution is embedded in most organisations’ go-to-market strategy, the executive tells CRN.

This creates deeper conversations, he highlights, as customers look for business outcomes rather than standalone products.

“It is never about point product. It is about a conversation that helps drive a technology business outcome.

“For us, it is significant in terms of how technology is being consumed. It is a forever moving feast, with consumption-based technology and platform-based technology.

“We are seeing a lot of organisations trying to move from a traditional model into a hybrid, then into a fully-fledged go to market where they manage through a service provider market.

“For us, that is a huge growth opportunity and one of the fastest growing parts of our business.”

He adds that the firm “never stands still” and pays attention to what clients are using, where they want to go, and what they want to achieve.

The business considers itself well-established in some areas but sees room to strengthen capabilities in others.

Griffiths notes that the target is to build out the full stack to stay relevant and points out that the market is full of emerging start-ups on which Infinigate is placing bets.

Not all these ventures succeed, but several have paid off in recent years, particularly around platform-focused opportunities.

That forward-leaning approach, he says, is essential; without it, the business would risk going backwards.

He also identifies sovereignty and cloud repatriation as important topics moving forward.

These themes have been brought back to light amid challenging macro conditions.

This changing environment has impacted the VAD to some degree, explains Griffiths, though he says Infinigate remains strong thanks to the diversity of its account base.

“We are resilient thanks to the mix of customers we serve and the technology we sell.”