“You know us as a Cisco distributor through our Comstor division. Perhaps you are not aware that our Cisco relationship began in the UK during the 1990’s. Over the years we have extended our Comstor activities around the world and now operate in Europe, the Americas and Asia/Pacific.
We have responded to your requests and used our multinational footprint to initiate global services for our customers and vendors. Our objective is to enable you to support your end users wherever they are around the world.
Today we are pleased to announce that Westcon has signed an agreement to become Cisco’s first global distributor. This is a very significant event for many reasons, some of which I’d like to outline below and others of which appear in the press release that was recently issued.
This is the first global distribution contract signed by either party. It is a “multi-year” contract—which represents the significant commitment to partnership that both parties have established. Westcon is the first Cisco worldwide distributor to execute an agreement of this type and breadth.
Westcon is an established, global player. Our unmatched ability to handle global transactions and our commitment to helping Cisco succeed in emerging markets put us in a unique position to help you be more competitive on an international or local basis. Our international expansion will continue. With each new territory we enter, the value of the Cisco/Westcon relationship is deepened.
Westcon Group’s overall “Cisco-oriented” revenue is greater than 50%. We have a tremendous record of enabling our customer base with higher than average Cisco-oriented revenue, as well as a higher services attach rate. In addition, 40% of Westcon’s staff has more than five years with the company and as individuals our Company possesses enormous Cisco-oriented intellectual capital.
Our new global agreement provides Cisco and Westcon with a single contractual vehicle from which to manage global, regional and local business activities with common terms and conditions—this means greater efficiency and shortened “time to revenue” for both Cisco and our customers.
More importantly is it allows us to effectively shield you from the complexity and liabilities of the international supply chain. As we proceed you will see Westcon continue to invest in providing a very robust global deployment and logistics capability.”