Specialism: Cloud, cybersecurity and networking
Key vendors: AWS, Check Point, Cisco, CrowdStrike, Extreme Networks, F5, Juniper Networks, Palo Alto Networks, Zscaler
UK gross sales: £571.1m (+6%)
Active UK reseller/MSP base: 1,000
“There is certainly a debate to be had” about whether the term distributor is still “fit for purpose”, the European VP of this dual-branded distributor, René Klein, acknowledged (see Q&A below).
On a global basis, Westcon and Comstor generated a respective 70% and 30% of Westcon-Comstor’s $5.24bn gross sales in its last full financial year ending 29 February 2025. Counting Logicalis as a sister company, it is part of South Africa-listed IT group Datatec.
In the UK, the two brands (which focus on Cisco and cyber/cloud, respectively) posted a 6% rise in combined revenues to £571.1m in the same period, according to numbers it broke out for us.
Westcon UK&I boss John Nolan recently picked out UiPath as his biggest vendor bet for the next 18 months, revealing the new signing is already generating $1m in sales a month.
“The cloud security market is buoyant and allows us to play to our strengths”
Quickfire Q&A with Executive Vice President, Europe René Klein
What’s your top priority over the next 12 months?
To drive more distribution-led business while growing our services and other value-add offerings, ultimately enabling partner success in line with our company ethos.
What’s the most under-rated facet of your business?
Our data capabilities are well known, but I sometimes feel that unless a partner or vendor has experienced them in action – for example through our analytics-led sales programme Intelligent Demand – it can be challenging to communicate the value and transformative impact that can be achieved.
Name a vendor or technology area that’s been a hit for you in 2025
Cybersecurity in general continues to be an important growth driver for our business. The cloud security market in particular is buoyant and allows us to play to our strengths given that cloud and cybersecurity represent two of our three areas of expertise and specialisation, the other being networking.
Are you expecting to grow in this calendar year?
Yes. We will announce our H1 FY26 results – covering the six months to 31 August 2025 – at the end of October. H2 has also started strongly and we expect to continue to demonstrate robust performance across the business.
What distribution news story most grabbed your attention in 2025?
One that doesn’t involve Westcon-Comstor you mean?! I’m not sure if you’d call this a distribution story per se, but HPE’s acquisition of Juniper represents a major development for us as a distributor, given our long-standing, strategic partnership with both brands. Together, we’ve empowered partners across diverse markets through education, enablement and a comprehensive suite of value-added services and we look forward to building on this strong foundation in the future.
3 of the 4 largest companies in this report have changed ownership in the last 12 months (or are about to). What does that say about the market?
It tells me that there is an appetite for consolidation in some quarters, and that distribution businesses are rightly perceived as attractive investment propositions given the increasingly central, strategic role we play in the today’s technology ecosystem.
How do you feel that one company featured in this report took out a full-page New York Times ad in March blasting the term ‘distributor’?
There is certainly a debate to be had over whether the term ‘distribution’ is still fit for purpose in 2025. In the cloud and SaaS era, value-added specialist distributors are arguably better described as technology aggregators or solution orchestrators.
At Westcon-Comstor we empower partners and their customers to gain access to multi-vendor technology products and solutions spanning security, networking and cloud. Our specialism in specific technology sectors and expertise in data, marketplaces and education is what sets us apart. It could be argued that the word distribution doesn’t really capture these value-added offerings and represents something of a legacy term that conjures up images of lifting and shifting physical hardware. Despite this, I can’t see it being replaced any time soon as it’s quite pithy and when you hear ‘distributor’ everyone in the channel knows what you’re talking about.
On a scale of 1-10, how optimistic are you about the IT distribution market right now?
I would give a solid 8. Our role – accelerating adoption of cutting-edge technologies and driving innovation while unlocking new growth opportunities for partners and driving scale for vendors – has arguably never been more important. With sustained and growing demand for our expertise and solutions, I believe we can look to the future with confidence. This includes helping partners to navigate opportunities around generative AI and agentic AI. Of course this year we have seen the imposition of tariffs and other changes to trading conditions around the world, but distribution has an important role to play in helping partners and vendors navigate change – particularly in times of economic uncertainty. At Westcon-Comstor we are committed to fulfilling this role, utilising our international reach and expertise in operations to support partners across the technology supply chain.
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