UK IT Channel News | IT Channel Oxygen
  • News
  • Topics
    • Vendor
    • Distributor
    • Partner
    • Indepth
    • Sustainability
    • M&A
    • People Moves
    • AI
    • Tech trends
  • About Us
  • Partner with us
  • KOcycle Zone
Members
Must-Know Distributors
Oxygen 250
No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Topics
    • Vendor
    • Distributor
    • Partner
    • Indepth
    • Sustainability
    • M&A
    • People Moves
    • AI
    • Tech trends
  • About Us
  • Partner with us
  • KOcycle Zone
No Result
View All Result
UK IT Channel News | IT Channel Oxygen
No Result
View All Result
Home Big Interview

Why did Exclusive Networks sign NetApp? Tomlin reveals all

Cybersecurity VAD had been looking to sign a tier-one data management vendor for several months

Doug Woodburn by Doug Woodburn
5 November 2024
in Big Interview, Distributor, Indepth
Rob Tomlin and Paul Eccleston, Exclusive Networks

Rob Tomlin and Paul Eccleston, Exclusive Networks

Share on LinkedinShare on Twitter

Exclusive Networks will use new vendor ally NetApp to spearhead a major push into the data management and cyber resilience space, UK&I MD Rob Tomlin has revealed.

NetApp today announced it has added Exclusive as a third UK&I distributor, alongside incumbents TD Synnex and Arrow.

Talking to IT Channel Oxygen, Tomlin said Exclusive had been looking to sign a “tier-one” data management vendor for several months.

“With the growth of AI, if customers haven’t got their data in order, it’s very hard to implement a really strong cybersecurity solution – and we are the biggest pure-play cyber distributor,” he explained.

“So about four or five months ago, we decided to sign a tier-one, major data management vendor.”

Exclusive will put NetApp at the centre of an ecosystem of non-competitive data management and cyber resilience vendors, with further signings imminent, Tomlin indicated. Rubrik and Thales are among its existing vendors that play in this space.

“There are many vendors out there that you and I haven’t even heard of who are going to be big AI vendors, AI data vendors, AI security vendors, that will be acquired, or will become unicorns,” he said.

“We want to be in that fast-growth area,” he said.

“We’re all in with NetApp”

Signing a vendor traditionally associated more with storage than cybersecurity does not represent any change in strategy for Paris-headquartered Exclusive, Tomlin maintained.

“It’s an adjacency, and we’re all in with them – we don’t have a competitive technology,” Tomlin said.

“What we really like about it is the ability for us to provide that end-to-end, cradle-to-grave service wrap. It just feels very similar to everything else we do.”

NetApp HQ
By LPS.1 – Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33140312

Tomlin characterised NYSE-listed NetApp, which saw Q1 revenues rise 8% year on year to $1.54bn, as “the most secure storage vendor”.

“That’s the reason we chose them, and we would not have chosen a spinning disc, storage-only company. NetApp position themselves as, and absolutely are, a data management and cyber resilience company. They didn’t used to be, but they are today,” he explained.

“The end-user customers, and VARs that will be taking that stack of data security solutions to market, are the same end users and VARs we sell to today, and that we support 24/7 with our support services. But they’re typically not buying NetApp. They’re buying another vendor, and in our opinion they would be better served with NetApp.”

Tomlin’s tips

Data management and cyber resilience is one of four push areas for Exclusive’s UK&I business heading into 2025, according to Tomlin – who joined the distributor from Dell in March.

It is also focusing on retaining and developing its staff culture, as well as growing its footprint with SMB-focused VARs and MSSPs.

“We want to extend the experience we offer into more MSSPs,” Tomlin said of the latter priority.

“That area of the market is very fast growth – customers really want cybersecurity solutions delivered as an outcome. Our vendors really need us to do more there, so we want to do that better,” he added.

Exclusive Networks IPO
Trolle pictured as Exclusive IPOd

In its Q3 results statement last night, Exclusive CEO Jesper Trolle said he saw the year “ending on a positive note”, despite noting that deals have slipped due to “lengthening decision-making processes”.

The Euronext Paris-listed VAD saw Q3 gross sales vault 9% year on year to €1.33bn, although growth in EMEA – which generates nearly three-quarters of sales – slowed to 2%.

Despite acknowledging that the arrival of last week’s budget has “definitely delayed some opportunities getting closed out”, Tomlin shared his CEO’s cheery outlook for the months ahead.

“We are we are optimistic about the end of the year and what 2025 will bring,” he concluded.

Doug Woodburn
Website |  + postsBio

Doug Woodburn is editor of IT Channel Oxygen

  • Doug Woodburn
    https://itchanneloxygen.com/author/itchanneloxygen-com/
    ‘How’s this not been done before?’ – channel talent pros unite to tackle common challenges
  • Doug Woodburn
    https://itchanneloxygen.com/author/itchanneloxygen-com/
    ‘The excitement is palpable’ – HP reveals dual channel ploy for refurbished PCs
  • Doug Woodburn
    https://itchanneloxygen.com/author/itchanneloxygen-com/
    ‘We redesigned the whole business’ – LIMA CEO on services reinvention
  • Doug Woodburn
    https://itchanneloxygen.com/author/itchanneloxygen-com/
    Westcon-Comstor’s Klein on AWS Marketplace share, ‘Z-Strike’ success, and future of distribution
Tags: Exclusive NetworksfeaturedmemberNetApp
Previous Post

NetApp signs Exclusive Networks in UK&I

Next Post

‘We want to do it sympathetically’ – Trustmarque COO on nearshoring move

Related Posts

Klaus Schlichtherle, Infinigate
Distributor

Infinigate outgrows its 11 major peers, reaffirms €5bn target

29 May 2025
Neil Sawyer, HP
Sustainability

‘The excitement is palpable’ – HP reveals dual channel ploy for refurbished PCs

28 May 2025
Westcon Comstor HQ
Distributor

Cyber generates more than half Westcon-Comstor’s sales for first time

27 May 2025
v
Big Interview

‘We redesigned the whole business’ – LIMA CEO on services reinvention

27 May 2025
Rene Klein, Westcon-Comstor
Big Interview

Westcon-Comstor’s Klein on AWS Marketplace share, ‘Z-Strike’ success, and future of distribution

23 May 2025
6 powerful opinions from Oxygen Influencer podcasts
Careers & Skills

6 powerful opinions from Oxygen Influencer podcasts

16 May 2025
Network Group, Michael Morgan
Business

Network Group targets wider C-Suite amid plans to double members

15 May 2025
Matt Sanderson, Ingram Micro
People Moves

Ingram Micro hands UK leader Sanderson EMEA role

14 May 2025
Next Post
Stuart Daley, Trustmarque

‘We want to do it sympathetically’ – Trustmarque COO on nearshoring move

Follow Us

IT Channel Oxygen keeps you informed on the UK IT channel and its sustainable transformation. Learn more

  • About
  • Our Team
  • Partner with us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • News
  • Cookie Policy (UK)

© 2025 IT Channel Oxygen

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}
No Result
View All Result
  • Oxygen 250
  • Must-Know Distributors
  • Member area
  • KOcycle Zone
  • Big Interview
  • News
  • Indepth
  • About
  • Partner with us

© 2025 IT Channel Oxygen