Palo Alto Networks has added TD Synnex as a third UK and European distributor in an effort to swell its SMB footprint.
The broadline giant – whose brief is to “amplify” Palo’s reach to new SMB and commercial partners – will slot in alongside incumbents Exclusive Networks and Arrow ECS.
The appointment comes after TD Synnex was earlier this month awarded Palo Alto’s Global and North American Distribution Partner of the Year award.
Despite this, the duo previously had no relationship in Europe (barring a limited offer in the Czech Republic).
TD Synnex UK will greet the pact as a boon for its cybersecurity business, which counts Sophos, Cisco and SonicWall among its key vendors but was arguably suffering from a lack of marquee vendors in the network security space.
That’s despite TD Synnex ranking second in IT Channel Oxygen’s 2023 Must-Know UK Distributors rundown.
According to Canalys, Palo Alto is the world’s largest cybersecurity vendor, boasting a 9.6% global marketshare in Q2 2023. This puts it ahead of Fortinet (7%), Cisco (6.1%), Crowdstrike (3.8%) and Check Point (3.6%).
In an interview with IT Channel Oxygen in August, TD Synnex Senior Vice President for UK&I Dave Watts pinpointed cybersecurity as a growth spot for the distributor, despite signs that the market’s hypergrowth is moderating.
Having seen fiscal 2023 revenues swell 25% to $6.9bn, NASDAQ-listed giant Palo Alto expects fiscal 2024 revenue growth to hit between 18-19%.
Claudette Atkinson, senior director, Distribution EMEA & LATAM, at Palo Alto Networks, characterised the signing as a “pivotal leap in amplifying our reach to new SMB and commercial partners”.
Sam Paris, Vice President, security and networking, Europe, at TD SYNNEX added: “With Palo Alto Networks we are bringing a trusted, premium offering of enterprise-grade security products and services to the SMB channel.”
