News in the Channel - issue #9

ALEX TATHAM INTERVIEW

different business to Westcoast, particularly in Germany, although they have a subsidiary in Poland, which is more like Westcoast in terms of what they do,” he says. “Our job is to make sure that we help each other; we already do some business in Germany in print and consumables, and you can see that comms is going to be big so they will be helping Westcoast with its UC strategy.”

better because people are beginning to see where the land lies in this country.”

Agility Westcoast is well placed to capitalise on this, especially due to its agility – something that other comparably sized businesses often do not have. “It's one of the things that I think makes our business different to the others,” says Alex. “At Westcoast we can bend ourselves into the shape that customers or vendors require us to and take advantage of the fast-paced change that is going on. One of the reasons that Westcoast has been successful over the 40 years it has been in business is because of its agility.” Another reason is that the business is still independently owned, and managers are given space by the board to manage their employees. “The way that I've always asked our managers to manage is manage underneath their people. I e. How can we help them to hit their targets? How can we help them do their job as opposed to beat them up until they do? I want to try and engender a place where people have got plenty of room in which to do their job and to breathe and to be entrepreneurial within that and have a go, but also feel as though they can ask for help and the managers help them when they do. That, again, feels like a different type of business to many of our competitors.” Partner of the Year There is also an appreciation of the value of service provided, not just the quality of the products. Indeed, Westcoast recently won Microsoft Partner of the Year for Devices in the Distributor/Reseller category. “That was amazing to win a global award like that,” says Alex. “We were up against these global entities. It shows what Westcoast does so well and that we're a business that counts on the world stage now. We bend ourselves into the shape that our vendors want us to bend into, but also allows the vendor to work with us to

More opportunities Westcoast is also focusing on its core

competency as a retail distribution business, and Alex will be involved in this too. “We are selected by a lot of retailers to do their fulfilment for them and a lot of vendors the other way around,” he says. “I'm certain that there will be more retail opportunities coming through particularly as we expand into other parts, particularly telephony.” Another part of the Westcoast business that is growing quickly is cloud. “Our cloud business is doing well; its a £150 million business so far and is growing like crazy, largely with Microsoft but with all software. Whether it's subscription licencing or consumption-based licencing – i.e. how much have you used per head as opposed to an annual subscription – both types will be sold via Westcoast Cloud and that will include cybersecurity.” Market trends Alex’s optimism about Westcoast is indicative of his positivity about the channel in general. After the tough times of COVID, along with supply chain issues and rising costs, there is now a feeling that the market is set for growth for the foreseeable future. “Now people are coming back to the offices, there is a hybrid environment and that's how people are going to work in the future,” he says. “There's still probably less printing going on than there was pre-COVID, but I think that has stabilised. And now we're looking for efficiencies and how do we do this better. “We’re moving the office and print environment forward and things are getting

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At Westcoast

can bend ourselves into the shape that customers or vendors require us to and take advantage of the fast-paced change that is going on.

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