Westcon CEO delights at the sheer might of NZ channel market...

Upon touching down in New Zealand, it was clear to see the glowing impression made by one of Westcon's most valued divisions on its newly appointed CEO.

A channel veteran in his own right, Dolph Westerbos’ track record in the industry is unrivalled and as for his opinion; highly valued to say the least.

“New Zealand may not be the largest country in our organisation but it continues to punch well above its weight,” says Westerbos, speaking amidst a whirlwind tour of the region.

“Six months into the job it’s great to visit the Kiwi team given their strong reputation for innovation and high performance in the industry.

“It’s certainly encouraging to see Dave Rosenberg and the team achieving great things for the company.”

New Zealand is very well seen in business according to Westerbos, who believes it speaks volumes for the country that Kiwi Wendy O’Keefe currently holds position as the company’s Executive Vice President, Asia Pacific.

But visits such as this, coupled with a rich history in channel organisations and channel leadership positions, suggests that the former Dell executive is subtly making an impact on his new company.

Arriving at Westcon HQ from Brambles and CHEP - where he served as Group President of Asia Pacific and EMEA for the supply chain and pooling solutions provider - Westerbos’ vision is clear.

“Globally speaking we focus on three to four key areas,” he says. “They include networking, security, unified communications and collaboration and for our markets outside of the US and Europe, data centers as well.

“We’re a company which focuses on being much more specialised that our competition. We go a lot deeper with our vendor relationship and this increased level of intimacy is a major factor behind our growing success.

“We may not be the largest distribution company on the planet, but we are certainly the most global with representation across 60 countries worldwide.”

Following a tough few years in general for the IT market, Westerbos is pleased to report a steady rise in profits for the distribution giant, which continues to excel during a dramatic globalisation of the market.

“Being a global company is certainly an advantage, it helps accelerate growth and drive the company forward through improved vendor relationships, on a local, regional and global level," he adds.

Cloud…

According to Westerbos, who brings over 20 years of B2B services experience to the company, cloud is driving scale across the market.

“40% of our business is now with service providers and system integrators which is an area of our business that continues to expand,” he adds.

“And as cloud and scale become more important customers are seeking global partners such as Westcon.”

Westerbos was chatting to The Channel following Westcon New Zealand’s the launch of their Cloud Managed Services platform, allowing customers to purchase Software as a Service and Infrastructure as a Service offerings through an in-market approved channel – of New Zealand resellers supported by the company.