Distributor Westcon-Comstor has responded to market disruption with a new Cloud & Collaboration business.

Westcon-Comstor’s Anthony Byford

The new division will provide specialist support to vendors and partners in the growing cloud and collaboration space. Former Westcon-Comstor UK&I MD Antony Byford will lead the business.

Research from Cavell Group indicates that by 2024, the total market value of cloud communications will exceed £1.9 billion ($2.2 billion US) in the UK alone. This growth, said Westcon-Comstor, is behind the launch of its new cloud & collaboration division.

The aim of the division is to support partners commercially and from a marketing perspective, “creating cross-vendor upsell opportunities to stimulate growth.”

The Cloud & Collaboration team will be responsible for vendor management and local execution. Companies such as 8×8, Avaya, Jabra, Microsoft, Mitel, Poly, Ringcentral and Spectralink are already on board.

The team comprises sales personnel, business development managers, marketing and pre/post-sales support. They will initially focus on the UK&I, Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy.

Complex Vendor Landscape

René Klein is EVP, Westcon Europe at Weston-Comstor. He said with the economy shifting to subscription models, and vendors to recurring revenues, the firm needed to change the way it works.

Westcon-Comstor’s René Klein

“Cloud technology is in high demand, even more so thanks to the hybrid work evolution,” he said. “By reinventing how we work with this particular vendor community, we’ll improve our support to partners and ensure their success.”

Byford noted that the vendor landscape is complex. However, the distributor can help partners “succeed through integrations and synergies, helping them navigate ecosystems.”

He said: “Partners need support operating within this new model. They’re hungry for the skills needed to take these new offers to market. They now need to manage their businesses differently thanks to the introduction of cloud billing systems and automation. Vendors need the channel community to help support their accelerated drive to these models and Westcon-Comstor is here to facilitate this. That’s the rationale for the new division — and I’m thrilled to be at the helm to lead it.”

Keith Jackson, VP international channels at 8×8, said the vendor spent time looking for a distributor that could help it expand its footprint in the UK, and in Europe.

He says he’s “excited about the dedicated focus of Westcon-Comstor’s new Cloud & Collaboration division.”