Hockin and Reddin to drive storage for Cloud Distribution

Former Avnet and channelfusion duo tasked with heading new storage division for bullish distributor

Bullish VAD Cloud Distribution has enlisted storage channel luminaries Bruce Hockin and Grant Reddin to head up its new storage arm.

The duo have joined Cloud - which was recently crowned the UK's fourth fastest-growing private tech company - after resigning their posts at channelfusion, a storage VAD they set up last year after leaving Avnet.

Talking to CRN, Cloud Distribution director Adam Davison said his firm had harboured ambitions to break into storage for 18 months but had been waiting for the right time to pounce. Storage will now become Cloud Distribution's fourth ‘solution stack', alongside LAN & Wireless, WAN & Datacentre and Enterprise Security.

"We wanted to make sure that when we jumped into the market, it didn't dilute the momentum in our existing business," Davison said.

"An opportunity came along with Grant and Bruce. We wanted to get into storage, they had resigned from their posts and we saw an opportunity to form a new division."

Hockin (pictured above) said he and Reddin (pictured below) had taken the difficult decision to walk away from channelfusion due to a difference over strategy with its two other shareholders.

"We had a difference of opinion as to which direction to go in and decided to resign our positions in the company," he said.

"There is a huge, huge opportunity in storage and we see collaborating with Cloud Distribution as a fantastic way to get a better part of that. They have a really strong set up and as storage is net-new for them we will help diversify their go-to-market."

One other former channelfusion employee will join the new team.

Cloud Distribution Storage will initially work with vendors Talon Storage, Fusion ioControl Storage, Datacore and Maxta, the latter three of which Hockin and Reddin worked with at channelfusion. These vendors approached Cloud after learning of Hockin and Reddin's plans, Davison stressed.

More storage vendors will be added, Davison added.

"Over the last 18 months, we've been approached by a number of storage vendors and at that point it wasn't appropriate to work with them," he said. "Now we have a dedicated team, those vendors that have approached us are on our list of people to communicate with."

The new team will immediately be able to draw on Cloud's services, including its partner enablement tools, Davison added.

"From a product and services perspective we are ready to go," he said.

CRN phoned channelfusion's switchboard for comment but our calls went unreturned.