Westcon-Comstor has supported its partners with specialty security and Cisco solutions for decades. We spoke with Patrick Aronson, global CMO and the head of the company’s APAC business, about how the legacy distributor continues to adapt to market demands as it works within the APAC and EMEA channels.
Specialty distributor doubles down on security in EMEA and APAC
Westcon-Comstor has a storied past in the US and worldwide, and remains laser-focused on supporting global partners in EMEA, APAC, and North Africa.
“We act global but think local, and we adjust our plans and services to local regulations and requirements without losing the global foundation,” said Aronson.
The value-added distributor focuses largely on security and related solutions, with the Comstor half of the business still a dedicated Cisco shop. Over time, the linecard has expanded, though Aronson says a majority of the revenue still comes from a core group of strategic partners.
“We offer vendors a channel through which they can scale with our partners,” Aronson said. “When we started with Palo Alto, for example, they were just a tiny startup. Now, of course, they’re a security giant. We continue to work with key vendors like Palo Alto in building the approaches they need for their partners.”
Part of that strategy, Aronson says, involves custom GTM plans for each strategic vendor, including Palo Alto and others such as Broadcom, AWS, and the Cisco business. That individualized approach to supporting both the vendor and the partner helps technology reach partners where they are and how the vendors need to land, according to Aronson.
That approach to scale is duly important as partners increasingly find themselves being asked to specialize, especially in security.
“In an era of specialization, the scale you get from distribution becomes crucial,” Aronson said. “Channel partners are forced now to specialize in security in ways they were not before, but you can’t specialize in everything. Our added value is in enabling partners to specialize with the right solutions from the right vendors.”
How global trends meet regional needs in a digital age
Legacy distributors are facing a new world: as buying habits shift and data becomes more crucial than ever, digital experiences are the new normal. To Aronson, the change in how buyers want to consume technology hasn’t changed the why behind the businesses serving customers through channel partners.
“It’s all a very exciting time, I think, to be in the channel and to be in distribution,” Aronson said. “We are celebrating our 40th anniversary, and our tagline has been ‘40 and future ready,’ because we see the opportunity in front of us.”
For Aronson, the trends have also shed light on the new value of distributors: the sheer volume of data they can access.
“We sit at the crossroads of data. Everything in a transaction, and in the lifecycle-based selling motions we see now, comes back to data, and it flows through us as the distributor,” said Aronson.
“Especially now, with AI so popular, if you want your technology to truly work, you have to have your data in order. We are going to help drive more business growth as we all focus more on insights based on our data,” Aronson added.