Westcon, which celebrates 30 years in the IT channel, has gone from the brainchild of three founders operating from a garage to a global distributor with more than 4 000 employees in nearly 70 countries across the US, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Africa. By Staff Writer
Westcon, a subsidiary of JSE and London-listed Datatec, is celebrating 30 years of exceptional service and support in delivering results for its partners in the channel.
The company recorded $4.9 billion revenue in full year 2015 and grew by 19% organically in that year alone.
30-Years In Business
Westcon is focused on technology practices in Security, Unified Communications and Collaboration, Networking and Data Centre, as well as worldwide capabilities in Cloud, Services and Global Deployment.
The company was one of the first to sign a distribution agreement with a technology manufacturer, and became one of a number of small, early distributors that changed the way technology products were sold; today it is known as the “Channel”.
In 1998 Datatec acquired a 92.5% share in Westcon for $160 million when it decided to expand internationally and consolidate its value-added distribution businesses. In 1999 Westcon acquired Comstor, a Cisco distribution partner – a move that transformed its focus.
Today, Cisco accounts for 40% of Westcon’s business.
The capital provided by Datatec enabled Westcon to grow internationally and expand its distribution and service offerings, locations and influence around the globe.
“Over the last three decades, we’ve evolved from a startup company helping enable PC networking in and around New York City to a global powerhouse of value-added technology distribution and services,” said Dolph Westerbos, CEO of Westcon. “Westcon and Comstor have created billions in new commerce – which has grown our customers’ and vendors’
Dolph Westerbos, CEO of Westcon
businesses and improved the lives of millions of people helped by our technology solutions. It is with tremendous pride that we celebrate this milestone in the history of our company.”
From its early Networking roots, Westcon has broadened its offerings to sell and become experts in its vendors’ software and services.
It added specializations in Security, Unified Communications and Collaboration, Network and Data Center, and, and offers pre-sales consulting, implementation, technical support and education.
Westcon is currently building a channel solution for the cloud that delivers both physical products and digital services in a hybrid solution. Westcon continues to develop solutions that satisfy the changing needs of the market, deploying better tools in everything from e-commerce and CRM, to partner integration and global logistics.
