The new division will provide specialist support to vendors and partners in the growing cloud and collaboration space. It will be led Antony Byford.
The cloud and collaboration team will have responsibility for vendor management and local execution, with vendors including 8x8, Avaya, Jabra, Microsoft, Mitel, Poly, Ringcentral and Spectralink already on board.
The team is comprised of sales personnel, business development managers, marketing, and pre- and post-sales support. The division will initially focus on the UK and Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy.
Westcon-Comstor said the overarching aim of the division is to support partners both from a commercial and a marketing perspective, creating cross-vendor upsell opportunities to stimulate growth.
Keith Jackson, VP of international channels, 8x8, said, “8x8 spent a lot of time looking for a true value-added distribution partner that could help us not only expand our footprint in the UK, but also help us with our expansion into Europe. We're truly excited about the dedicated focus of Westcon-Comstor’s new cloud and collaboration division and excited to see how it grows.”
René Klein, executive vice president, Westcon Europe, explained, “With the economy shifting to subscription models, and our vendors to recurring revenues, it became clear that we needed to change the way we work in this space.
“Cloud technology is in high demand, even more so thanks to the hybrid work evolution. By reinventing how we work with this particular vendor community, we’ll improve our support to partners and ensure their success.”
Antony Byford, VP, cloud and collaboration, Westcon-Comstor, added, “The vendor landscape is complex, but we can help our partners succeed through integrations and synergies, helping them navigate ecosystems. 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.”