Latest news with #WestconComstor
Zawya
27-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Westcon-Comstor achieves record gross sales fuelled by cybersecurity growth
DUBAI, UAE – Westcon-Comstor, a global technology provider and specialist distributor, today announced record annual gross sales of US $5.24 billion, fuelled by strong growth in cybersecurity and an acceleration in its shift to software and services. The gross sales figure for the year ended 28 February 2025 (FY25) represents a 3.3% year-on-year increase (FY24: $5.08bn). Gross profit jumped 9.4% to $441 million (FY24: $403m), with strong and consistent growth in profitability in each of Westcon-Comstor's three operating regions: Europe, Middle East and Africa (MEA) and Asia-Pacific (APAC). Gross margin rose to 22.4% (FY24: 18.2%*) on revenue of $1.97bn. Adjusted EBITDA** increased by nearly 25% to $149.9m (FY24: $120.2m), with a further improvement in adjusted EBITDA margin to 7.6% (FY24: 5.4%*). Gross sales from cybersecurity increased 19.3% year-on-year and accounted for more than half (51%) of Westcon-Comstor's gross sales in FY25. Growth was fuelled by an expansion of collaborations with cybersecurity vendors and the success of the distributor's value-added offerings for partners and vendors, spanning data, enablement and education. Hardware now accounts for just a third (32%) of gross sales as Westcon-Comstor accelerates its transition away from traditional hardware towards recurring revenues based on annual subscriptions and cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) models. Gross sales from software increased 22.2% to $2.33bn (FY24: $1.91bn), with software making up 44% of gross sales (FY24: 38%). Recurring sales, for example from software and services, now represent 66% of gross sales (FY24: 60%), as Westcon-Comstor embraces solution lifecycle selling and moves to a recurring revenue model in line with the transformation journey being pursued by its partners and vendors. FY25 also saw the distributor deepen relationships with core vendors across cybersecurity, networking and cloud, with a focus on delivering even greater value by increasing distribution-led sales. This group of nine vendors accounted for 80% of gross sales during the year at $4.20bn, with year-on-year growth of 4.9% outstripping overall gross sales growth. 'I'm thrilled to mark another year of exceptional financial and operational performance, with strong progress against our core strategic objectives and a continued relentless focus on delivering partner success,' said David Grant, CEO at Westcon-Comstor. 'Distribution is evolving and we're proud to be at the forefront of this change, enabling partners and vendors to grow through our suite of value-added services and market-leading programmes. In a changing world, we are proud to be a future-ready business that combines best-in-class data and digital platforms with deep relationships, leading market shifts and anticipating change to empower our partners and vendors to stay ahead of the curve. I'd like to pay tribute to our 3,700-plus employees around the world for their dedication and creativity. Without our people and the ambitious culture they embody, results like this wouldn't be possible.' 'FY25 was a year of strong progress for Westcon-Comstor in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region,' said Rakesh Parbhoo, Executive Vice President, Middle East and Africa at Westcon-Comstor. 'Locally we saw an increase in profitability as our data-driven strategy and unique range of value-added services continued to bear fruit. With talented people across the region, a strong vendor portfolio and expertise in high-growth technology domains, we can look ahead with confidence to FY26 and the longer-term future.' 'With strong fundamentals and positive performance across key metrics, FY25 saw us maintain the growth trajectory that has characterised our business for the best part of a decade,' said Callum McGregor, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Westcon-Comstor. 'Despite the challenging backdrop of geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty, FY26 offers opportunities for further growth thanks to our healthy sales pipeline, track record of innovation and strong relationships with partners and vendors.' *Changes to accounting treatment mean restated FY24 revenue totals have been used **Adjusted EBITDA excludes restructuring, share-based compensation expense and one-off tax items impacting EBITDA
Forbes
19-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Four Ways Enterprises Can Leverage IT For Cloud Success In 2025
David Grant is CEO at Westcon-Comstor, a global technology distributor specialising in cybersecurity, networking and cloud. Cloud technology has transformed how enterprises operate, accelerating digital transformation and unlocking new levels of scalability, flexibility and innovation. The cloud revolution shows no sign of stalling, either. Quite the opposite. According to a recent Gartner forecast, worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services will rise 21.5% to hit $723 billion this year, driven by increasing GenAI adoption. The analyst predicts that 90% of enterprises will adopt a hybrid cloud approach by 2027. Despite this growth, enterprises are facing major practical, operational and financial challenges on a micro level. From migrating workloads to optimising costs and more broadly deciding on a cloud strategy, business leaders are facing headaches on multiple fronts. Many, it seems, are turning to the IT channel for help. As a technology supply chain consisting of value-added resellers, managed service providers, system integrators and distributors, this mini-sector is playing an increasingly central role in the cloud economy. The evolution in the IT channel's relationship with cloud is the subject of my company's Mastering the Maze research report, which asked channel partners in eight countries about the challenges facing them and their customers as they look to capitalise on the benefits of cloud. Here are four key areas in which business leaders can harness the IT channel to improve cloud outcomes. The cloud skills shortage is well documented, with enterprises and SMBs alike struggling to attract and retain in-house talent. Against this backdrop, it's perhaps unsurprising that many organisations are looking to partners to provide the requisite technical expertise. The research suggests that 69% of end-user businesses prioritise specialist skills and expertise when choosing a cloud partner. Finding a reseller or MSP that fits the bill on skills can be a game-changer for the modern enterprise. A partner with genuine expertise can serve as a trusted advisor through a long-term collaboration covering all stages of your cloud journey. Many channel partners offer training, education and enablement services to customers, providing opportunities to upskill and gain deeper insights on specific products and solutions. The growing importance of cloud security in the tech ecosystem is emerging as a dominant theme of 2025. Heightened awareness can be detected in our research, which found that businesses value cloud security services above all else when selecting a channel partner. Data privacy and protection, security of cloud interfaces and Identity Access Management (IAM) emerged as the top three focus areas. Separate Westcon-Comstor research earlier this year found that Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) are planning to ramp up cloud security spending in 2025 and want channel partners to help them maximise their return on investment. 83% of security leaders intend to invest in Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) and other cloud security technologies, and 95% already engage with channel partners when procuring and deploying such solutions. The rise of hyperscaler cloud marketplaces is reshaping how enterprises procure and deploy software. From shortened procurement cycles to reductions in administration and improved transparency on pricing and spend, these platforms are offering users new levels of simplicity. After an uncharacteristically slow start, the IT channel has woken up to the marketplace opportunity and now stands ready to guide customers in getting the most out of these platforms. In fact, a recent Canalys report projected that more than 50% of hyperscaler marketplace sales will come via channel partners by 2027. This growth potential for channel partners explains why, according to our research, 71% have a positive outlook on hyperscaler marketplaces and 75% are actively using them, seeing them as an opportunity. Partners with the expertise to guide their enterprise customers through the idiosyncrasies and nuances of different marketplaces will be in demand in the coming years, as enterprises seek input and guidance. As Canalys states: 'Channel partners will become increasingly important to hyperscaler marketplace momentum, as vendors prioritise partner-led strategies and customers turn to partners to help them manage marketplace procurement.' With cloud adoption accelerating, businesses are facing complex pricing, hidden costs and fears of budget overruns. Cost management and budgeting are among the biggest challenges facing businesses as they move to the cloud. Saving money, improving visibility of cloud spending and avoiding unexpected expenses were flagged as some of the most prized FinOps outcomes. Channel partners can play a key role in helping their customers to achieve FinOps success, for example, by mastering cloud service providers' often complex pricing models. Whatever stage you are at in your cloud journey, engaging with IT channel partners offers many advantages. From upskilling through training and enablement to gaining insights on achieving FinOps success, the channel has the power to accelerate your progress. As organizations look to deploy AI solutions within their businesses, they will need to have control over their data. Many will lack well-structured controls around consolidation, architecture and governance, driving greater demand for the channel to provide data migration into the cloud and requiring additional security and network architecture considerations. That's not to say that channel partners have themselves fully mastered the cloud maze. Many are grappling with their own challenges. But with 93% of partners stating a determination to further develop their cloud capabilities, and a clear demand from customers, we are on the cusp of a paradigm shift in the channel's cloud relationship with enterprises. This new dynamic has the potential to be mutually beneficial, enabling enterprises to realise the transformative power of cloud while creating a new growth frontier for the IT channel. Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
Zawya
19-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Westcon-Comstor certified as a Great Place to Work in five MEA countries
DUBAI, UAE – Westcon-Comstor, a global technology provider and specialist distributor, today announced that it has been Certified™ by Great Place To Work® in five countries across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region. The recognition highlights Westcon-Comstor's welcoming, inclusive and people-centric culture and reaffirms its position as an employer of choice within the IT channel. Great Place To Work is the global authority on workplace culture, employee experience and the leadership behaviours proven to deliver market-leading revenue, employee retention and increased innovation. Whether a company achieves certification is based entirely on what current employees say about their experience. This is the first time that Westcon-Comstor, which employs more than 3,600 people around the world, has sought and achieved Great Place To Work certification. It is now certified in 27 countries globally, including the following five in the MEA region: Kenya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and UAE. Across the five MEA countries in which certification was achieved, an average of 83% of employees described Westcon-Comstor as a great place to work compared to a global average of 80%. Globally, the company achieved a Trust Index of 77% based on a higher-than-average response rate of 89%. The vast majority of Westcon-Comstor employees (85%) globally expressed pride in their work and the company, with an even higher proportion stating that they and their colleagues are treated fairly. Other strengths highlighted by employees include a strong sense of flexibility and autonomy, coupled with confidence in the leadership team. 'This is a proud moment for our business, one which illustrates our success in creating a truly people-centric culture across the MEA region,' said Rakesh Parbhoo, Executive Vice President, Middle East and Africa at Westcon-Comstor. 'We have strived to foster a workplace environment in which people feel valued, safe, fulfilled and able to be themselves. This recognition from Great Place to Work is a fantastic demonstration of the progress we have made.' 'We are thrilled to achieve Great Place To Work Certification in so many countries at the first time of asking', said Erna de Ruijter-Quist, Chief People Officer at Westcon-Comstor. 'We are very proud of the recognition. It is testament to the great culture which has been built over the years. We are equally clear that this is just the beginning. The real work starts now as we evaluate what our people have told us and make further improvements to our employee experience. We continually strive to make Westcon-Comstor an even better place to work and one where our people can thrive.' 'Great Place To Work Certification is a highly coveted achievement that requires consistent and intentional dedication to the overall employee experience,' said Sarah Lewis-Kulin, Vice President of Global Recognition at Great Place To Work. 'By successfully earning this recognition, it is evident that Westcon-Comstor stands out as one of the top companies to work for, providing a great workplace environment for its employees.' According to Great Place To Work research, job seekers are 4.5 times more likely to find a great boss at a Certified great workplace. Additionally, employees at Certified workplaces are 93% more likely to look forward to coming to work, and are twice as likely to be paid fairly, earn a fair share of the company's profits and have a fair chance at promotion. Find out what makes Westcon-Comstor a Great Place To Work®, and explore current career opportunities About Westcon-Comstor Westcon-Comstor is a global technology provider and specialist distributor, operating in more than 50 countries. It delivers business value and opportunity by connecting the world's leading IT vendors with a channel of technology resellers, systems integrators and service providers. It combines industry insight, technical know-how and more than 30 years of distribution experience to deliver value and accelerate vendor and partner business success. It goes to market through two lines of business: Westcon and Comstor.
