Colva IT wants to compete with likes of Insight and Kelway

Recently formed VAR wants to be a 'true contender in the marketplace'

Recently formed reseller Colva IT claims it is "punching above its weight", and wants to compete against the big players in the market, "like Insight and Kelway".

Formed in 2012, the Southampton-based VAR partners with HP, Dell and Cisco and is focused around servers and storage.

The firm was founded by Ashley Fernandes (pictured), who has a 100-per-cent stake. He said his previous experience in the channel puts him in a good position to launch Colva.

"I previously worked at various different resellers: Vohkus, the medium one; a smaller reseller called Decorus; and Genisys, the big beast at the time," he said.

"I learned a lot of different things from each one of them, and pieced them together and realised the market has changed a lot over that time frame and thought 'what does the customer really want? What can I achieve for the customer to make things work for everyone?' So back in 2012, I decided to start Colva on the back of those kinds of things."

Colva has eight staff currently but Fernandes said the firm is moving into a new, bigger office in central Southampton next month to accommodate its fast growth.

He said he is "looking to recruit heavily next year", and take on an extra 10 to 15 staff with this relocation.

Colva's target customers sit in the corporate space, which means the company is competing against bigger players, Fernandes said.

"Our target market generally is around 500 to 1,000 [employees] - corporate, touching on enterprise. That's because of the way we work - our services and accreditation suits that kind of market. For the size and age we are, we are punching above our weight a bit.

"We are the new boys on the block but we are making a name for ourselves in that corporate space," he added.

Fernandes would not say what Colva's revenues were, but said it has been tripling its sales year-on-year.

"My plan over the next three-to-five years is to become a true contender in the marketplace - to fight against the big boys like Insight and Kelway. And to get on to your CRN Top VARs list in the top 50. It's a bit of a challenge but from what we have done already, it's easily achievable."