Apple partner Jigsaw24 plots expansion into Germany
Jigsaw24’s enterprise director tells CPI why Apple is a better channel partner than ever and which European market it will expand into this year
UK reseller Jigsaw24 has ambitions to expand into Germany this year, two years after transforming the company from a mail order catalogue business to one of the UK's top Apple partner.
Enterprise director Tim Bodill (pictured) told CPI that the change was precipitated by Apple launching its Authorised Enterprise Reseller programme in 2018.
"When Apple introduced this, we as a business set about transforming ourselves to become an end-to-end IT service provider," he said.
"I think this move will be very soon, because the demand is there for it.
"We've got a couple of customers that have got businesses in Germany, and also Turkey, so it would entirely be a customer driven move."
Bodill said Jigsaw24's Germany debut could come through M&A or greenfield expansion.
"I think we will certainly not be afraid of exploring acquisition. But organic growth is most definitely something that we think we're able to deliver. As a tactical short-term move, finding ourselves offices that we can transact from is on the table."
Before mulling an international expansion, Bodill has been on a recruitment drive to fill the UK business with more experience. Last year, Jigsaw24's headcount grew from 235 to 280.
Formerly a sales director at Phoenix IT Services and Daisy, Bodill has brought several of his former colleagues over to the Nottingham-based firm.
And as part of the business transformation, Bodill has also expanded Jigsaw24's vendor base to support its core Apple portfolio.
"Our job of being an IT service provider now really means that we need to do some networking. So we're busily building our relationship with Cisco Meraki, and we also need to be able to offer some Microsoft products too, so we're building a base of Microsoft Azure with our customers."
Jigsaw24 is one of just three Apple Authorised Enterprise Resellers in the UK - the others being Computacenter and CDW.
"So we're in good company and I think that's a great statement about the place that Jigsaw24 plays in. The other two are very well known, highly regarded and highly respected businesses"
However he said Jigsaw24's previous reputation in the channel as a catalogue "Misco-like" business means that it has "gone under the radar".
"At industry events in the past, what's really struck us is that Apple doesn't get mentioned. They are by their own proclamation a consumer electronics business."
"However, on the back of the accreditation, there is an additional commitment in terms of resource from Apple."
"I would say genuinely, it feels like they're really trying to engage with the channel better. And they're really trying to do that for the right reasons, which is that more and more people are adopting Apple infrastructure and Apple products into their environment. And they want to make sure that they get the right experience. And to be fair, they do genuinely follow through on that."
Jigsaw24 has a 27-year relationship with Apple. It turned over £118m (€135.69m) in 2019, a figure Bodill expects that to rise to £130m for this financial year. Despite its efforts to work with new vendors, Apple still accounts for 70 per cent of revenues.
Although Jigsaw24 is not as well known as Computacenter and CDW in the channel, Bodill said that the firm's long ties with Apple means that it is better placed than the competition to meet customer expectations for Apple.
"Genuinely the experience of delivering Apple is different. I'm not just talking about the technicalities of rolling out an Apple device versus rolling out a Wintel device, it's also about the emotional side of it.
"You know, we all enjoy a trip to an Apple store, it's a feel-good experience. There is something about the brand. So I would differentiate Jigsaw on the basis of our reputation and that we deliver Apple in a way that goes along with the premium feel of the brand.
"It's a case of premium product, premium expectations."