Viadex pursues global goal with Singapore digs

HP, Cisco and EMC partner opens fourth global office as it targets £50m mark

Reseller Viadex has launched its fourth international office with a new facility in Singapore, as it bids to serve and expand its global client base.

Speaking to CRN, Viadex's sales director Dan Hayden-Hammond said the firm has been built on a global strategy, which is at odds with many vendors' regionalised plans.

"We have seen vendors still run their businesses as if they are in the 90s," he said. "They haven't managed to change their processes to fulfil the needs of global clients and the marketplace today is a much smaller place than it has ever been."

"At the moment there is a historical fashion in terms of how vendors work, so the likes of NetApp and HP are very regionalised. As an end user, if you want to buy HP in the UK, the vendor will say 'go and buy it from a reseller in that region'. Most customers don't want to follow that model; they want to buy the technology that is the same and the same price, anywhere in the world where their office is.

"Fourteen years ago we spotted that as an opportunity and most of our customers now sit in the [international] mid-market space."

The HP, Cisco and EMC partner has offices in Cape Town, Gibraltar and its headquarters in Surrey, as well as the new facility in Singapore, which will house between five and 10 staff. The firm employs 46 staff around the world.

Hayden-Hammond said the Singaporean facility will service existing customers, which include online gambling and gaming firms, which have a presence in Asia, as well as attract new Asian customers.

The firm is also planning to open a new office in Dubai at the beginning of next year, and the next "natural place" for expansion would be North America, Hayden-Hammond said.

Dino Cooper, Viadex managing director, said this global reach of the firm is reflected in customer wins.

"We have made a substantial financial investment into expanding our overseas operations over the past 12 months, and I am delighted to say that our model is being rapidly adopted by our clients as well as attracting net new business," he said.

For its last financial year ending 30 June, Viadex's global revenues were £27m, and Hayden-Hammond said the company is targeting £34m for its current year. He added that the company is aiming to get to £50m in revenues in the next three years.