Healthy 
Tatham's take on
Top Tech Trends
DataSecurity, Sustainability
Hybrid Work, Cloud Collab
Westcoast is now the UK's top technology products & services wholesaler driving the 'stockless reseller' (VARs/MSPs) renaissance. We met with ebullient MD Alex Tatham to get his take on progress, market movers and the top tech trends.
-
-
-
Westcoast Progress Report
Sales have boomed during the Covid period driven by WFH, health care and education demands
Sales were £2.8Bn in 2019; increased 25% to £3.5Bn in 2020; and we expect to hit £4Bn up 14% in 2021. Most of the sales are wholesale to our 8000 dealer customer base, £400m is direct via XMA services to government. Total employees 1600, which translates to £2.5m/employee
"We reckon Westcoast (Owner Joe Hemani, pic right) is now the largest IT distributor in the UK ahead of Exertis, TechData and Ingram" said Tatham
The BIG Issues
"We reckon the 4 big issues facing the marketr are:
- Cybersecurity
"Data is the new 'oil' that drives modern economies. Therefore data security is paramount. Most businesses underestimate the risk of hacking. It is not a question of if your data will be hacked but when". We can confirm this by just reflecting on the incidence of breaches in thev business supply market e.g. Staples, Office Depot, Best Buy & Target plus many major retailers havew all suffered. t's something that we communicate, coach and support dealers in providing solutions for their customers as part of their managed services "Software as a Service (SaaS)' solution - Sustainability
"Sustainability was not high on the agenda for Westcoast or its customers. That has changed dramatically over the past couple of years and we hope that COP26 Environment Conference in Glasgow in November will provide a clear guide on how we can measure our commitment and progress towards the 'Net Zero' carcon emissions goal" asserted Tatham.
"We see a huge move to electric vans (EV's) with our main delivery service DPD, a great example; recycling hardware services; a move towards renewable energy etc. We need guidelines to be able to set goals and measure progress. We're on board and committed within Westcoast and in support of our dealer community"
3. Cloud - "Steelcase collaboration1Most progressive MSP's have embraced Cloud Computing and offer SaaS, IaaS services to their clients as a monthly fee, which is far more acceptable and affordable to SMB's, rather than previouup front capital cost. Westcoast provides the hardware and software configuration & fulfilment ready for dealers to manage at the clients chosen site. Quite frankly, those dealers that have not embraced the Cloud are getting left behind or ousted by the progressives. Westcoast provides a truly stockless service for dealers to focus on intensifying the customer relationship"
- 4 Collaboration
- Most economic and business commentators are predicting a core 3 day/week return to the corporate office e.g. Tues, Wed & Thursday. Assuming they are correct, we believe the configuration of office infrastructure will change to facilitate the new normal 'hybrid work' practices. We see smaller spaces e.g. meeting rooms; more collaboration equipment with multiple large 'Zoom' screens to create the feel of an in person meeting. The morphing of tech with more personalised furniture will be a major feature.
Concluding remarks soon
