SoftwareOne taps Bytes vet as UK country leader

Ed Bell brings nearly two decades of experience in the channel

SoftwareOne has hired Ed Bell as its new UK country leader “to help drive continued success and growth” in the region.

Bell joins from Bytes, the third largest company on CRN’s Top VARs list.

He started his career in 2009 at the VAR as a partner team account manager.

Over the years, he climbed up the corporate ladder, assuming roles such as partner team sales manager, sales manager, and finally divisional director, a position he occupied for nearly six years.

Prior to working for the Surrey-based company, he entered the IT world in 2007 as an account manager at Microsoft infrastructure and licensing services company Teksys.

Bell took to LinkedIn to announce his departure from Bytes.

“After an incredible 16.5 years, the time has come to close the chapter on my career at Bytes Software Services,” he wrote.

“I now feel ready and excited to get going with the next chapter in my career.”

Regarding his new appointment, the tech vet explained that as a customer-centric organisation that places strong emphasis on developing its people, SoftwareOne's values are closely aligned with his own.

“I look forward to applying my skills and experience to help drive continued success and growth,” he added.

This announcement comes just over a year after Greg Smith was named UK GM, succeeding Hayley Mooney, who spent six years and a half at the company.

This new appointment also follows the recent merger between SoftwareOne and Crayon, which was completed in July.

The combined organisation now counts 13,000 employees across more than 70 countries.

In H1 FY25, the unified group’s revenues stood at CHF 487.7m (£454.6m), a 4.9 per cent year-on-year decrease from H1 FY24.

The company expects FY25 revenues to come in flat against last year on a like-for-like constant currency basis.

As of 2025, SoftwareOne ranks number 77 in CRN’s Top VARs list.