The UK's top 40 IT distributors generated nearly £13bn revenues in their latest years, CRN research has found. Here we count down those ranked 40th to 26th...
"We don't call ourselves a distie… more a partner community"
37. Quattro Business Solutions (QBS Group)
UK revenues: £11.1m (+30%)
UK headcount: 12
Specialism: Microsoft business applications
UK HQ: Pontypridd
Founded in 2013, this Netherlands-based Microsoft Dynamics specialist claims to support over 800 partners in 25 countries.
Its UK arm saw revenues for its year to 31 December 2019 rise 30 per cent to £11.1m (informally, the company told us 2020 revenues stood at about £13m). Its 12 UK staff all have partner-facing roles, with operations/back office functions carried out from its Dutch HQ.
Quickfire Q&A with UK lead Will McIntee
What specialism is your firm known for, and what sets you apart from your peers?
Maniacal biz apps focus!
What's the biggest misconception about distribution?
I think it's pretty accurate… boring.. staid.. price not value focused. It's why we don't call ourselves a distie… more a partner community.
How would you summarise the health of the distribution sector in 2021?
ERP is a little behind the curve in terms of transitioning from an on-prem to a cloud-first model. 2021 is the first year where I would say for ERP it's now first choice.
What's been your biggest disappointment of the last year?
Turn it on its head - I was amazed by the resilience of our channel. Not one bad debt, not one business partner out of business… and not one partner churned from QBS.
Do you expect to grow in 2021?
25-30 per cent
At first glance, the rise of cloud must be pretty devastating for distributors if there is no physical product to ship. How have you adapted?
Created a value proposition to help build capability and capacity in the channel, provide partners with all the support they need and help build sticky, long term revenue.
How do you see the role of distribution changing in the 2020s?
It has to be way more services driven - not a transactional hub. Invest in a different value proposition.
Tell us one thing most people won't know about your company?
Our UK team has more than 180 years' experience in the world of Dynamics, ERP and CRM!
Which cloud distie was bought by a giant US giant in 2019 and now has 100 staff? Find out on next page...
