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 25th to 11th...
"We left traditional hardware distribution to other players"
24. Ignition Technology
Revenue: £35.8m (+25%)
UK headcount: 43
Specialism: Cybersecurity
Key vendors: Okta, Sailpoint, BeyondTrust, Cato, Blackberry, Digital Guardian, Corelight, C3M, Axonius, Synack
HQ: Farnborough, Hampshire
This cybersecurity VAD had grown from zero to £35m turnover in six years, with revenue in its year to 31 March 2021 swelling by a quarter.
Founded in 2015 by Peter Ledger, Phil Brown, Sean Remnant and Paul Risk, Ignition is headquartered in Farnborough, Hampshire and also has an office in Finland.
Quickfire Q&A with Ignition MD Peter Ledger
Which emerging technologies are you betting big on this year?
Cloud security, API security, analytics
Have you made any significant vendor signings in the last 12 months?
Spycloud, Synack and Siemplify.
What specialism is your firm known for, and what sets you apart from your peers?
The ability to articulate and message solution selling of new and innovative security solutions.
What's the biggest misconception about distribution?
That it's all about hardware, logistics and finance.
How would you summarise the health of the distribution sector in 2021?
Buoyant: vendors need the channel and relationships more than ever to scale.
What's been your biggest disappointment of the last year?
Not being able to get in front of staff, customers and suppliers in person.
Do you expect to grow in 2021?
Yes - 20 per cent-plus
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?
We were born in the cloud six years ago. We made a strategic decision to focus on software-based security solutions, leaving traditional hardware distribution to the existing players. We have a warehouse which we only used for our marketing collateral.
How do you see the role of distribution changing in the 2020s?
Distribution needs to evolve with the rise of cloud to address multiple consumption models whilst still adding value.
Tell us one thing most people won't know about your company?
Over 50 per cent of our team is female showing our commitment to equality in the workplace.
Which distie is forecasting £50m revenues on the back of booming demand for IT? Find out on following page...
