Avnet is in the news – again. The distie is still at it, snapping up smaller distributors across Europe and turning itself into a larger and larger entity. But this could be a necessity for gaining a foothold in new markets, and it could actually have some perks for resellers here in North America.
The distie has made yet another acquisition – this one being the IT solutions division of Acal IT Solutions, a distributor in the U.K. that focuses on storage area networks. This will help Avnet beef up its current storage networking and enterprise content management portfolio.
Avnet says this acquisition will give it a “cross-manufacturer solutions competence.” What that means, in layman’s terms, is that it will gain access to Acal’s suppliers. Acal has a number of strategic vendor relationships, including Brocade, Motorola, Juniper and Cisco (with its MDS switching range).
Avnet wants to do more business with Cisco – by snapping up Acal, it will get its wish. This is a critical relationship for Avnet (as is the one with Juniper) as the network continues to evolve and change – particularly as unified communications becomes more prevalent.
Unified communications, or UC, is the latest buzzword in an industry full of them, though it does signify an important trend. Basically, it means we can communicate over any network, from any device or application – including everything from e-mail to IP phones to conferencing.
And it’s expected to be a huge market – IDC says it will grow to US$17.5 billion by 2011 (right now it’s at US$4.8 billion). One reason why the industry expects big things from UC is because it could add up to big cost savings for customers.
So, for distributors like Avnet, building the right supplier relationships (such as Cisco and Juniper) is crucial to getting a foot in the door. And it seems that at least for this distie, acquisitions are the way to go.
For resellers here in North America, this latest acquisition could expand the product portfolio available to those looking to get into the UC business – or simply strengthen their storage networking one.
Avnet also wrapped up the acquisition of German distie Magirus, which was announced back in July. But these aren’t likely to be the last of its acquisitions – Avnet seems intent on expanding its geographic reach, bringing new suppliers and reseller customers on board, and building out its networking business. And it’s likely on the hunt for other disties – at least in Europe – that can help it reach these goals.
If I were a European networking distie, I’d be sleeping with one eye open.
