Exclusive Networks hits £2.2bn revenue in full-year results

The French distributor also says it's considering new vendors to help launch its consumption-based model in North America

Exclusive Networks has revealed full-year 2020 results which show an eight per cent increase in revenues to €2.6bn (£2.23bn).

CEO Jesper Trolle welcomed the top line growth and pointed to a surge in demand for cybersecurity during the pandemic.

However, the strengthening of the Euro against other currencies resulted in non-Euro sales causing "a significant drag" on sales growth, Trolle added.

He added that trading conditions likely won't normalise to pre-Covid levels until Q4 this year.

"We think there will be a gradual opening in the latter half of the year, so beginning late Q3 and then Q4 will probably be where we see a bit more normalised trading environment."

During its FY 2020, Exclusive expanded its portfolio with 17 new vendors, and grew its footprint in 10 new central and eastern European countries, via the acquisition of €300m Polish distributor Veracomp.

A US expansion

Trolle also revealed plans to expand Exclusive's subscription-based X-OD platform into North America by Q2.

"It's clear that this subscription-based model is quickly becoming one of the preferred IT consumption models," Trolle said.

"We're seeing this business growing at 5x the rate of our overall business with frankly no signs of slowing down anytime soon."

Trolle also identified a move towards DevOps and DevSecOps, in particular, as another overarching trend for this year.

To meet this demand, Trolle said the distributor is considering new partnerships with vendors who specialise in those solutions.

"As more and more companies are deploying cloud native technologies, cloud native workloads and applications, it does have an impact on their cybersecurity strategy and implementations.

"And therefore, there are new and different skill sets. And sometimes new vendors are needed to deal with that," he said.

Trolle also stated his desire for a "trusted digital world for everyone", referencing the global cybercrime economy which he said equates to the world's third largest GDP, after the US and China.

"We need a global specialist. That's never been done before. But we need some sort of preservation of local autonomy in tune with the local markets as well as global relevance," added Exclusive SVP marketing & communications, Barrie Desmond.

Read the full story on CRN's sister publication Channel Partner Insight here