Top 40 IT distributors you need to know: Part Three
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 10th to 1st...
Welcome to the final part of our countdown of the UK's top distributors, which profiles the top 10 by revenue.
Those ranked 40th to 26th are profiled here, with the 25th-11th ranked firms profiled here.
Part three of our countdown features ten distribution powerhouses with revenue of over £200m. Five boast revenues of over £1bn, with less than £350m separating the top three. Read on to find out who topped the revenue league table.
Distributors may be facing renewed questions about their role in the ecosystem, but research by CRN confirms the enduring buoyancy of the sector.
The top 40 UK IT distributors on our radar* generated collective revenues of £12.9bn in their most recent financial years on record, up 7.6 per cent year on year.
"The stated intent is to keep Cloud Distribution separate"
10. Nuvias
UK revenues: £220.7m (+11%)
UK headcount: 260
Specialism: Cybersecurity, storage, UC
Vendors include: Juniper Networks, Check Point, poly, WatchGuard, Barracuda Networks
UK HQ: Woking, Surrey
Recent acquisitions: Wick Hill (2015), Zycko (2015), Siphon (2016), Cloud Distribution (2021)
Born in 2016, the Nuvias brand brought together three UK VADs acquired in quick succession by Rigby Private Equity in the form of security specialist Wick Hill, storage ace Zycko and UC-focused Siphon. It has since expanded across EMEA and now claims to serve 5,000 resellers in 20 countries.
According to fresh numbers Nuvias shared with us, UK revenues rose 11 per cent to £220.7m in its year to 31 March 2021, with the group total hitting €475m (£408m).
Nuvias moved this month to bolster its UK cybersecurity prowess by acquiring 30th-ranked VAD Cloud Distribution. Below Nuvias CEO Simon England runs CRN through the deal.
How did you seal such a significant deal during lockdown?
It was all only done through a virtual business model, so we haven't actually met once. [Cloud Distribution CEO] Greg [Harris] did have a dinner with a [Rigby Private Equity] shareholder, Mr Rigby, but that's the only face-to-face contact we've had.
How much autonomy will Cloud Distribution enjoy?
We're taking over all shares and all shareholders are in the game. The stated intent is to keep Cloud Distribution separate as a part of the group. Basically, we are asking Cloud to keep doing what they were doing because that's the reason we're acquiring them. There's a swim lane or a segment of the market that Cloud Distribution has been going for, which we find is very relevant for ourselves too.
Why not build this capability organically?
If you look at what it takes to move a vendor from almost nothing, into the first million, there's actually a lot more hand holding needed than most larger distribution organisations can do. We have been doing some of this within Nuvias - it is not as if it's foreign to us. But the main focus of our efforts aren't in that space.
And it really has two flavours: it has the flavour of new emerging technology vendors coming into the market, but it also has the flavour of sub elements of some of the more established vendors as they acquire. And actually we believe this is something that Cloud Distribution already has. So whereas in other countries we have to be organically building this, unless we can find a very comparable fit, we can see that this is something that Cloud do very well and they've actually built a business out of it.
How will Cloud benefit from being part of a bigger, pan-European group?
We have a logistic setup for a £500m business which is at a different scale than you would expect in Cloud Distribution. So supporting, for example, transactions that Cloud is doing with UK partners into international projects becomes a lot easier together than it would have been on its own for Cloud in the past. So there's natural benefits that will come. But what we want to do initially is keep doing what we're doing.
*Brokers, sub-distributor and others not holding direct contracts with vendors were not considered for this report. We also chose to exclude those specialising in technologies outside CRN's core market. This includes distributors of mobile phones, industrial components, gaming software and office supplies. For the top ten, where possible we have isolated a UK distribution total. But the headline revenue numbers of those further down the list often contain international as well as UK sales. For hybrid reseller-distributors, we have attempted to split out just the distribution number. For hybrid manufacturer-distributors, we chose not to do this. The figures in this report are based on data from Companies House, or figures shared by the company.
Which listed distributor suffered a 29 per cent dip in annual revenues last year? Find out on next page...
Top 40 IT distributors you need to know: Part Three
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 10th to 1st...
"Results in our second half exceeded expectations"
9. Midwich
UK revenues: £224.4m (-29%)
Specialism: AV
Vendors include: Epson, Barco, LG, Smart, Samsung, poly, Logitech
HQ: Diss, Norfolk
Group headcount: 1,000-plus
Recent acquisitions: PSCo (2015), Holdan (2016) Starin Marketing (US) (2020)
After floating on the London Stock Exchange in 2016, this Diss-based audio visual distributor was on an international growth roll that saw revenues swell from £314m to £686m between 2015 and 2019.
That shuddered to a halt last year as lockdown blunted demand for on-premise AV wares. Although group revenues rose four per cent to £712m on the back of a big US acquisition, underlying sales were down 14 per cent, with UK revenues tumbling 29 per cent to £224.4m.
2020 was a year of two halves for Midwich, however, with organic revenue falling 22 per cent in 1H before regrouping somewhat in 2H to record a seven per cent slide.
"While we have experienced a slowdown in some of our sectors, we have also witnessed improved performances in others and our results in the second half of the year exceeded the Board's expectations," CEO Stephen Fenby (pictured) said.
Midwich has made 15 acquisitions since its IPO, and now claims to serve 20,000 trading accounts.
Management did not respond to our request for an interview for this feature.
Which £300m-revenue distie aims to grow 10 per cent each year? Find out on next page...
Top 40 IT distributors you need to know: Part Three
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 10th to 1st...
"Overall distribution is growing 10% year on year"
8. CMS Distribution
Revenues: £322.4m (-1%)
UK headcount: 250
Specialism: Storage
Vendors include: Acronis, Barracuda Networks, Gigabyte, Jabra, Seagate, Western Digital
UK HQ: London
Recent acquisitions: CCI Distribution (2011) Interactive Ideas (2013), Widget (2016)
Founded in 1988, this Ireland-based distributor recently expanded its direct European coverage to eight countries with the acquisition of German VAD sysob.
UK accounts show flat revenues of £322.4m for its year to 31 December 2019.
Operating in both the B2B and B2C space, CMS claims to serve over 3,000 resellers, employing 350 staff across 13 offices in the UK, Ireland, France, Netherlands, Sweden, China, the USA and Germany.
Quickfire Q&A with chief business officer Huw Jones
Which tech categories are you betting big on this year?
We are expecting significant growth in our cyber security, networking, data and information management and mobile computing categories. We are also growing in consumer electronics and gaming brands.
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What's the biggest misconception about distribution?
That it is just a ‘bank and a van'! When done correctly distribution works at a strategic level to help vendors achieve their priority goals and enable growth with channel partners
How would you summarise the health of the distribution sector in 2021?
Distribution is healthy in spite of various ‘peaks and troughs' due to the global pandemic. Cyber Security, XaaS, mobile working, gaming, consumer electronics have grown significantly in 2020. Datacenter technology was more challenging. Overall distribution is growing around 10 per cent YoY and the demand for IT technology products continues to accelerate. Those distributors with variety in their portfolio and channels will be best positioned to support vendors and partners maximising this opportunity.
What's been your biggest disappointment of the last year?
Not spending enough time together with our teams. CMS has done a great job connecting virtually, but nothing is quite like face to face time.
Do you expect to grow in 2021?
We aim to grow at least 10 per cent every year and are off to a great start in H1.
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?
Cloud is and will continue to be an important technology, but it's not the only option for consumers and business. At CMS we have developed efficient operational platforms, such as subscription billing and renewals automation that will support vendors transitioning to XaaS and subscription models. In addition, our teams are constantly surveying the technology landscape looking for innovative solutions that will help our partners build hybrid and private cloud environments.
Tell us one thing most people won't know about your company?
We are the UK's number 1 distributor of Open Source Software and NAS
Which distributor bills itself as a "true VAD, but with scale"? Find out on next page...
Top 40 IT distributors you need to know: Part Three
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 10th to 1st...
"Our billing platform, X-OD, is doing extremely well"
7. Exclusive Networks
Revenues: £339m (+13%)
UK headcount: 210
Specialism: Security
Key vendors: Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks, Nutanix, Rubrik, Extreme Networks
UK HQ: Alton, Hampshire
T his pan-global VAD owes its UK presence to the 2009 and 2011 acquisitions of Arc Technology and VADition.
Now present in over 50 countries, the Paris-based Fortinet and Palo Alto partner saw global revenues power up eight per cent to €2.6bn in its year to 31 December 2020.
Slightly dusty 2019 UK accounts show a revenue of £339m, a 13 per cent increase on the previous year.
"Quickfire Q&A with UK country manager Graham Jones
What specialism is your firm known for, and what sets you apart from your peers?
Exclusive Networks is known as a true VAD, but with scale. Our vision is a totally trusted digital world for all people and organisations.
What's the biggest misconception about distribution?
That "credit and shipping" is all we do! Support, value and a services-first ideology whilst getting the basics right is what Exclusive Networks prides itself on.
How would you summarise the health of the distribution sector in 2021?
Distributors that truly add value are in great health and growing, whilst others are having to look at their cost base.
What's been your biggest disappointment of the last year?
Distribution, more than any business, is people-centric, so not being able to get out and meet people has been the biggest disappointment.
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 launched X-OD, our billing platform, and IaaS, our data centre offering, in the last year, both of which are doing extremely well. Meanwhile, we have also just extended our warehouse.
Tell us one thing most people won't know about your company?
We operate a flat organisational structure for management as opposed to hierarchical, which makes us more agile and easy to do business with. Management is here to help, not to shout.
Which distributor is betting on Infoblox, Menlo and Crowdstrike as emerging vendors in 2021? Find out on next page...
Top 40 IT distributors you need to know: Part Three
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 10th to 1st...
"If I was a betting man, I'd put my chips on cloud and security vendors"
6. Westcon-Comstor
UK revenues: £361.5m (+0.2%)
UK headcount: 547
Specialism: Networking, UC, security
Key vendors: Cisco (Comstor); Avaya, Palo Alto Networks, Extreme Networks, F5 Networks, Check Point (Westcon)
UK HQ: Bracknell
Part of Johannesburg-listed IT group Datatec, this networking, comms and security specialist saw global revenues rise 4.6 per cent to $2.6bn in its year to 28 February 2021.
According to numbers it shared with us, the UK generated $511m (£361.5m) of the total, up from $510m a year earlier. Its Cisco-focused Comstor arm contributed $272m of the UK top line (down three per cent annually), with Westcon chipping in the remaining $239m (up four per cent).
Quickfire Q&A with Westcon UK&I MD Antony Byford
What specialism is your firm known for, and what sets you apart from your peers?
Ask any of our vendors and they'll tell you "execution". We are famous for it! We are great enablers of technology and knowhow to generate the best leads for our partners and vendors.
Which emerging vendors are you betting big on this year?
In the last year, partners have had to make sure they add cloud and security products and services to their portfolio in order to meet the unprecedented demand generated by the pandemic so if I was a betting man, I'd put my chips on cloud and security vendors - we've seen significant promise specifically with CrowdStrike, Infoblox, and Menlo. I'd also put forward 8x8, which we signed on earlier this year.
Have you made any significant vendor signings in the last 12 months?
CrowdStrike, Infoblox, Menlo, and 8x8 are the largest vendors we've onboarded in the last 12 months.
How would you summarise the health of the distribution sector in 2021?
Strong and growing! Digital distribution is at the forefront of enabling new technologies to land and expand faster than ever before. Just look at acquisitions - VCs are backing distribution more than ever.
What's been your biggest disappointment of the last year?
Not seeing people. One of the best things about being at Westcon is the people and the culture but we managed to maintain it. We're coping really well with internal digital events - I even entertained a few as a DJ. But nothing beats being with people in person.
Do you expect to grow in 2021?
Absolutely! We're only a few months into our FY and we're doing really well - I expect that we'll outperform our key vendors.
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?
This is the misconception of distribution, in fact most of our business is now digital distribution.
We've always enjoyed a large percentage of our business being software, and not shifting boxes is cost efficient as we don't have to worry about shipping tangibles. We've embraced cloud through our digital platforms and have taken on new vendors that have an interest in or are born in the cloud.
How do you see the role of distribution changing in the 2020s?
The move to cloud, software, and subscription style services have skyrocketed and we need to be ready to not only have a GTM to support the channel but programmes that attract more vendors and schemes to reward our people appropriately.
Tell us one thing most people won't know about your company?
We don't talk about it enough but we're an incredibly diverse business. We're strict with all our recruiters about having an even split of women and men from a range of backgrounds and cultures.
Who claims to be the only global distributor left providing "the full spectrum of technology supply from electronics and semiconductor all the way to datacentre and cloud."? Find out on next page...
Top 40 IT distributors you need to know: Part Three
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 10th to 1st...
"Cloud brings different demands to distribution"
5. Arrow Enterprise Computing Solutions
Revenues: £1.04bn (+4%)
UK headcount: 430
Specialism: Infrastructure, security, cloud
Key vendors include: Check Point, Citrix, Fortinet, Lenovo, IBM, NetApp, Nutanix, Palo Alto, VMWare, Pure Storage
UK HQ: Harrogate
Recent acquisitions: Sphinx (2010), Altimate (2012), Computerlinks (2013), Commtech (2017)
The UK arm of this global security, datacentre and cloud specialist generated gross billings of £1.04bn in its year to 31 December 2019, a four per cent annual rise.
Its UK offices are in Harrogate, London and Newmarket, the latter of which it inherited via its 2012 acquisition of €700m-revenue global security VAD Computerlinks.
Globally, Arrow Enterprise Computing turned over $8.17bn in 2020. The VMware, Citrix and Check Point distributor is part of NYSE-listed Arrow Electronics, a $28.7bn-revenue goliath that also distributes semi-conductors and industrial components.
Quickfire Q&A with UK country manager Dan Waters
Have you made any significant vendor signings in the last 12 months?
Fortinet, 8th Sensus, HDIV, Bitdefender, Cyren, Opswat, Secureworks, Vectra, Centrify and Snyk (DevSecOps) in the cyber security space, NVIDIA (networking and datacentre), Infinidat and Liqid in the datacentre space, and Puppet as a leading player in the DevOps space.
What specialism is your firm known for, and what sets you apart from your peers?
Arrow are a value specialist operating in a technology aggregation model - focused on delivering value for our vendor and reseller partners across datacentre, security, data & analytics and cloud specialisations. We are truly a global business that brings size, scale and reach together with deep technology expertise and a true cloud strategy leading with ArrowSphere, Arrow's own market-leading cloud brokerage platform.
What's the biggest misconception about distribution?
That distribution is just about "supply". Today's distribution model needs to be focused on delivery across a broad ecosystem working alongside cloud to help drive differentiation and value.
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?
Cloud of course brings different demands to the channel and to distribution overall. Arrow have adapted to these demands and with Arrowsphere have a cloud brokerage platform to offer real choice to our partners and a route to capitalise on driving the benefits of cloud through channel.
How do you see the role of distribution changing in the 2020s?
Distribution has to continue to evolve to develop as a technology aggregator, offering choice, value and expertise in an ever changing landscape.
Tell us one thing most people won't know about your company?
Arrow's enterprise computing solutions business is part of a bigger group within Arrow Electronics and we are the only global distributor left who provides the full spectrum of technology supply from electronics and semiconductor all the way to datacentre and cloud.
Which global distributor turned over £1.4bn in the UK last year? See next page for the answer...
Top 40 IT distributors you need to know: Part Three
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 10th to 1st...
"A large and growing proportion of our business is transacted through our cloud marketplace"
4. Ingram Micro UK
Revenues: £1.51bn (+2%) (encompasses Ingram Micro (UK), Comms-Care Group, Ingram Micro Services and Ingram Micro CFS Fulfilment)
Of which UK: £1.406bn (+2%)
UK headcount: 2,000
Specialism: Broadliner
Key vendors: Cisco, Microsoft, HP, Lenovo, Apple
UK HQ: Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire
Recent acquisitions: CCD (2009), Comms-Care (2016)
I ngram Micro is currently the world's largest IT distributor (at least until Tech Data completes its impending merger with Synnex), with 2020 revenues of $47.2bn.
The US-based broadliner is the clear number-four player in the UK, with calendar 2019 accounts for Ingram Micro (UK) Ltd showing revenue of £1.361bn. Its Comms-care channel services arm - which it acquired in 2016 - generated a further £38.6m revenue, with Ingram Micro Services Ltd and Ingram Micro CFS Fulfilment Ltd chipping in an additional £92m and £17.4m respectively, giving a grand total of £1.51bn (£1.406bn of which was generated in the UK).
Having been taken private in 2016 via its $6.1bn acquisition by Chinese conglomerate HNA, Ingram is in the process of concluding a $7.2bn sale to private equity firm Platinum Equity. Globally, its Q1 2021 revenues vaulted 23 per cent YoY to $13.4bn on the back of surging demand for hybrid working solutions.
Quickfire Q&A with UK&I MD Matt Sanderson
What specialism is your firm known for, and what sets you apart from your peers?
The ability to offer full technology lifecycle management, complemented by a complete array of vendor-agnostic services, whilst also giving our partners the opportunity to connect within the world's biggest cloud marketplace, and driving their digital transformation toward a next-generation subscription economy.
Largest warehouse?
700,000 sq. ft of warehousing across the country
Which emerging vendors are you betting big on this year?
It would be unfair of me to highlight anyone in particular. Regarding emerging technologies, AI/IoT and green energy all continue to grow at a rapid pace, and we are focused on bringing these to market in an innovative manner.
Have you made any significant vendor signings in the last 12 months?
Google, AWS and UiPath along with many other vendors across various categories.
What's the biggest misconception about distribution?
Product dominated rather than solution/services orientated. Distribution enables channel partners to be more successful through services such as pre-sales, solutions architects, cloud enablement, financing etc.
How would you summarise the health of the distribution sector in 2021?
Market data shows that product distribution has seen a strong start to the year overall, and with the increasing growth and significance of cloud and services being added into the mix, the health of the sector will only get stronger for those that can deliver such multifaceted solutions.
What's been your biggest disappointment of the last year?
Like everyone I suspect, I miss the face-to-face interaction with our partners and team.
Do you expect to grow in 2021?
Yes, we expect to see solid double-digit revenue growth.
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 already have a large and growing proportion of our business transacted through our cloud marketplace; therefore, the significant growth being witnessed continues to be a positive for us.
How do you see the role of distribution changing in the 2020s?
Distribution will continue to evolve on many fronts. It will play an ever-increasing role at the heart of the circular economy, delivering full lifecycle capability as sustainability becomes ever more important. And in the cloud, there will be continued transformation from solutions distribution to an ecosystem enabler. This means building one cloud fabric, which means more technology, more capabilities, and more services for our partners.
Tell us one thing most people won't know about your company?
We have the largest portfolio of inhouse services in IT distribution.
Which global broadliner claims over a third of its business is now software and cloud? See next page for the answer...
Top 40 IT distributors you need to know: Part Three
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 10th to 1st...
"Over a third of our business is software and cloud"
3. Tech Data
UK revenues: £2.39bn (-6%)
UK headcount (including Ireland): 1,300
Specialism: Broadliner
Key vendors: Apple, Autodesk, Cisco, Dell, EMC, HPI, HPE, IBM, Lenovo, Microsoft, VMware
HQ: Basingstoke
Recent acquisitions: Avnet (2017), Finance Technology (February 2021)
Built originally on its 1998 acquisition of Computer 2000 (and bolstered by Azlan and Avnet), Tech Data's UK arm is today a near £2.4bn-revenue juggernaut, accounts for its year to 31 January 2020 show. Its Irish business generated an additional €185m (£165m).
Tech Data was comfortably the largest UK distie following its acquisition of rival Avnet TS in 2017, but has by all accounts focused less on volume business in recent years, losing some key volume accounts (including CDW, Computacenter and Insight) to rivals such as Westcoast.
Apollo-owned, US-headquartered Tech Data is already larger than Ingram in Europe, but its impending merger with publicly listed Synnex means it will soon topple its arch-rival to become the world's largest distributor, with projected global annual revenues of $57bn.
Q&A with UK MD Dave Watts
What specialism is your firm known for, and what sets you apart from your peers?
Our innovation in terms of enablement - helping partners to understand and get skilled up in emerging technologies and solutions and equipped and then ready to transact on our StreamOne platform. We are already doing that successfully with cloud and security solutions - and more is being added every day. Add to this, our ability to transact anything As-a-Service via our InTouch platform, we have many differentiators that support our customers in the modern market.
Which emerging vendors are you betting big on this year?
I don't want to single-out vendors but the emerging areas we see with the most growth (in no particular order) are hybrid cloud, zero trust security, collaboration/smart meetings, IoT, data collection and analytics, and mixed and virtual reality.
What's the biggest misconception about distribution?
That it's all about warehousing and logistics. Doing that efficiently is still vital, of course, but distribution businesses now have to be smart as well as efficient. As well as being a supplier of products, our business is also about enablement, education, services, and aggregation. Over a third of our business is software and cloud. A core role for us is creating ecosystems that bring people together and building genuine partnership and affinity and a platform to trade on. It's about long-term strategy thinking and planning, intelligence, and automation.
How would you summarise the health of the distribution sector in 2021?
Amazingly good given the accelerated pace of change and the challenges that the last 15 months have presented. The whole channel has done itself proud, adapted brilliantly and we have every reason to be positive and optimistic as we look to 2022.
What's been your biggest disappointment of the last year?
Not being able to get back to face-to-face contact with our customers, partners, and colleagues sooner. Virtual meeting platforms are great, but we need personal interaction and contact.
Do you expect to grow in 2021?
Yes, but the growth in our partnerships and colleagues and the services we offer is just as important as any measure of business growth.
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?
On the contrary, it's been a huge opportunity that will continue to grow and expand in all directions. Tech Data has become an enabler for cloud partners and an aggregator of solutions and services for cloud providers. We must also remember that wherever apps and services reside, they still need infrastructure to run on, and wherever they are working, users will always need products to access services.
Tell us one thing most people won't know about your company?
Just one is a challenge. We can pre-configure and test any device before shipment - from a smartphone to a hyper-converged server. We currently take 90,000 devices on trade-in every month for recycling or refurbishment. We are one of the biggest providers of professional services, vendor accreditation and sales training in the channel.
Which distributor ranked second in our rundown with UK reveues of £2.5bn? Find out on next page?
Top 40 IT distributors you need to know: Part Three
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 10th to 1st...
"We've seen strong growth in the most challenging of circumstances"
2. Exertis
UK revenues: £2.529bn (+8%)
UK headcount: 1,748
Specialism: Broadliner
Key vendors: Lenovo, Vestel, Samsung, Seagate, Huawei, Dell, Microsoft, Asus, Facebook, Acer
HQ: Burnley
Recent UK acquisitions: Cohort Technology (2013), Computers Unlimited (2015), Hammer (2016), Hypertec (2018), Kondor (2018)
Built on the historic brands of Micro-P and Gem - as well as subsequent acquisitions including Hammer - Exertis' UK business turned over more than £2.5bn in its year ended 31 March 2021 - an eight per cent hike.
Although trading conditions in higher-margin B2B sectors, including pro-AV, remained "challenged", higher-volume, lower-margin consumer and WFH products flew off its shelves during the period, it said.
Globally, Exertis - or DCC Technology as it is more formally known - is a £4.6bn-revenue business following rapid expansion into the US (mainly through the 2019 acquisition of Stampede) and in mainland Europe. It is one of four divisions of Dublin-based conglomerate DCC Group, making it one of 14 firms in this list based overseas or with an overseas parent.
Quickfire Q&A with DCC Technology MD Tim Griffin
What specialism is your firm known for, and what sets you apart from your peers?
We are collection of specialists across 22 countries providing reach for vendors and simplicity and leverage for retailers, e-tailers, resellers and integrators - from your hand to the home with mobile, computing and music; AND from the datacentre to the auditorium with enterprise and ProAV.
Which emerging vendors are you betting big on this year?
Those at the Edge ...
Have you made any significant vendor signings in the last 12 months?
Significant vendor signings over the last 12 months include:
Seek Thermal
Parallels
Aftershokz
Antstream Arcade
Triangle Hi-Fi
Fitbit
Largest UK warehouse?
NDC Burnley: 450,000 sq.ft. + 63,000 sq.ft. (mezzanine level)
What's the biggest misconception about distribution?
That we simply trade and fulfil. However, we are so much more, providing genuine reach and market access, supply chain simplicity and technical skills, certifications and capabilities that our customers leverage, allowing them to focus on their customers and doing more.
How would you summarise the health of the distribution sector in 2021?
Our value has been understood through the pandemic, and leveraged by more people to do more - all the way to the front doors of homes around the world.
What's been your biggest disappointment of the last year?
Losing those near and dear and not seeing our teams and customers.
Do you expect to grow in 2021?
We do. We've seen strong growth over the last year, despite the most challenging of circumstances, so as things open up we will continue to rise to new challenges and be at the forefront of delivering the products and solutions that help our customers win.
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?
Distribution is not only about shipping. Software or XaaS are technologies that still need to reach the market: the supply chain still needs simplifying - quoting, provisioning and invoicing is complex and we have a key role to play in all of this. Similarly, cloud can be part of a complex architecture that is new to many businesses. They often need support through migration and maintenance and we can provide this very effectively.
Tell us one thing most people won't know about your company?
Exertis is part of DCC, a FTSE 100 Company, the best kept secret on the Stock Exchange.
See final page to discover who topped our revenue rankings...
Top 40 IT distributors you need to know: Part Three
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 10th to 1st...
"Going by valuations, distribution has rarely looked healthier"
1. Westcoast
UK distribution revenues: £2.723bn (+32%)
Specialism: Broadliner
Key vendors: HPI, HPE, Apple, Samsung, Lenovo, Juniper, Microsoft, Lexmark, Dynabook
UK headcount: 900
HQ: Theale, Berkshire
Recent acquisitions: Artsystems (2016), Data Select (2019), Colourgen (2019)
Largest warehouse: Andover, Hants - 368k sq ft
Westcoast is now the UK's largest IT distributor with revenues topping £2.7bn in its year to 31 December 2020 (according to numbers it shared with us).
Our headline figure excludes Westcoast's distribution operations in Ireland and mainland Europe - as well as reseller sister company XMA - but includes recent UK acquisitions that sit outside its main Westcoast Ltd distribution arm, most notably £160m-revenue smartphone distie Data Select.
Founded by Sunday Times Rich List regular Joe Hemani in 1984, Westcoast Group turned over £3.525bn in 2020, up from £2.799bn in 2019. Representing brands including HP, Apple and Samsung, it now claims to be the UK's largest privately owned IT business, and verging on being in the top ten of all UK privately owned companies.
Quickfire Q&A with Westcoast MD Alex Tatham
What specialism is your firm known for, and what sets you apart from your peers?
We specialise in being excellent and we are unrelenting in our agility and desire for partnership which sets us apart.
Have you made any significant vendor signings in the last 12 months?
Avast, Tactus, Xiaomi, Mist, Konica Minolta
What's the biggest misconception about distribution?
That its business model is irrelevant. Distribution has proved that it is adaptable, nimble and as essential as ever
How would you summarise the health of the distribution sector in 2021?
Looking at the valuations of those sold in the last year and the immense role it has played in the pandemic - it has rarely looked healthier
What's been your biggest disappointment of the last year?
That our customers bought anything from someone else!
Do you expect to grow in 2021?
Yes, +20% organic
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?
What like licensing or service contracts which distribution have long been excellent at? The largest cloud partners in Europe are all existing distributors. It's the one area we don't have availability issues!!!
How do you see the role of distribution changing in the 2020s?
Resellers need distributors for the heavy lifting as they morph into MSPs as well as outstanding processes which can applied to physical and virtual products.
Tell us one thing most people won't know about your company?
We now configure 5,000 devices every day through our config centres on behalf of customers.