Exclusive Networks acquires Ignition Technology in emerging tech push

Acquisition will nurture new disruptive vendors as they emerge from late-stage start up mode, Exclusive claims

Exclusive Networks has acquired emerging tech distributor Ignition Technology as it looks to double down on vendor start-up investments.

With revenues of £28.68m for its year ending 30 April 2020, Exclusive bills Ignition Technology as a specialist security distributor focusing on emerging vendors.

The firm currently partners with 16 vendors, according to its website, including Cato Networks, Beyond Trust, Digital Guardian, Okta, Ironscales and BlackBerry.

Based in Farnborough, the specialist distributor currently operates across seven European countries across the Benelux, Nordics and the UK. Exclusive claims it aims to establish Ignition's offering globally as a springboard for new vendors over the coming months.

The acquisition will create a "dedicated operation" focused on younger vendors looking to break into the global market, claims Exclusive.

Exclusive Networks CEO Jesper Trolle said: "This is an exciting and premeditated plan designed to double-down on our services for start-up vendors in an innovative and disruptive way, with a dedicated and distinct value proposition.

"We have a strong pedigree and reputation in bringing new and disruptive cybersecurity technologies to market, helping emerging vendors grow and scale from market challengers to market leaders. These vendors have different needs and expectations depending on where they are in their growth journey. With Ignition we are enhancing our value for emerging vendors, creating a focused, defined and dedicated proposition. By creating a separate entity, we can provide a global launchpad for these emerging start-ups whilst maintaining our key focus on the specific needs of our core established and scale-out vendors."

Peter Ledger, co-founder and MD of Ignition and the son of Neil Ledger who sold VADition to Exclusive Networks in 2011, said the acquisition will be a huge opportunity for its vendor partners.

"Transitioning through the stages of start up to scale-out has always been a dilemma for vendors wanting the focus of a local specialist but needing scale, and for those specialists to be able to benefit from the hard work and investment put into the early stages.

"No global player has managed this previously and this is a bold and creative way of addressing this need. Our model depends on hyper-care, customer acquisition and evangelism. We now have a symbiotic partnership with Exclusive who ‘wrote the book' on launching and developing new and emerging vendors internationally. No wonder they're reimagining how global specialism may work and it's great to be part of this ambition."

The acquisition is the third from Exclusive in less than a year, having acquired €300m-revenue Polish distributor Veracomp in September 2020 and UK-based cloud player Nuaware in November.

Exclusive isn't the only distributor that has been looking to boost its emerging technologies business as of late. UK-based competitor Nuvias bought Cloud Distribution in May and, like Exclusive, is now looking to scale that business out internationally.