16 September 2014

CRN says "Cloud Distribution outgrows offices"

Cloud Distribution has moved into new digs in Reading to accommodate its growth.

The security and networking distributor, which recently ranked fourth in the Tech Track 100 index, has set up shop in Reading's Green Park, one junction closer to London than its old base in Theale.

Cloud director Adam Davison said the VAD had taken on nine new staff in 2014 so far and is looking to expand further.

"We outgrew where we were and were bursting at the seams," he said. "We're now in Reading's Silicon Valley and will be keeping company with people such as Cisco, Huawei and Symantec."
The new base features Cloud's first-ever permanent training facilities and will soon also house a demonstration suite.

At the same time, Cloud has launched a partner enablement portal and a refreshed website, which Davison claimed marks it out from the competition.

"A lot of distributors' websites are really an advertisement for their vendors and I think a lot of that space is paid for out of vendor marketing funds," he said. "With ours, partners can immediately see the tools that will facilitate them taking new products to market as well as understanding very clearly the solutions from our vendors."

All these changes are designed to support Cloud as it morphs from its roots as a Meraki distributor to one focusing on a portfolio of vendors straddling the areas of security, enterprise mobility, LAN and WAN, Davison added.

http://www.channelweb.co.uk/crn-uk/news/2370465/cloud-distribution-outgrows-offices

Get Reading posts Cloud Distribution Business Profile

'Cloud Distribution is all about spotting new, innovative and potentially disruptive security and networking technologies and bringing them to the UK market'

The business: Cloud Distribution, 450 Brook Drive, Green Park, Reading, (01635) 800 410. www.cloud-distribution.com, greg@cloud-distribution.com.

The boss: Greg Harris, sales director, co-founded Cloud Distribution with business partner Scott Dobson in 2009.

What is your business about? “Cloud Distribution is all about spotting new, innovative and potentially disruptive security and networking technologies and bringing them to the UK market.
“We have carefully selected technology companies that we wish to represent and we market through a well-selected and well-qualified group of re-sellers who work with the end-customer [businesses] to create and deploy the required IT solution.”

What products/services do you offer? “Our talented and committed pool of re-seller partners play a pivotal role in Cloud Distribution’s success and our business is geared towards providing products and services that help them build their own profitable businesses.
“First, the technology companies that we represent are grouped into four specific categories. This helps our re-sellers address specific technology challenges that their customers are facing. A good example is the cyber security group of products which includes a range of software to help business fight the increasing occurrence of hacking and data loss that we read about on an almost daily basis.
“Second, we have created an easy-to-use online portal which is designed to help our re-sellers at every stage of the sales cycle.”

How and when did you start you business? “I started the business at the end of 2009 with my partner, Scott Dobson. After 10 years working for Nokia, I took voluntary redundancy and was planning to spend the summer watching cricket. That didn’t pan out so well because shortly after that, over a beer in the local pub, Scott and I came up with the idea of forming our own company – and Cloud Distribution was born.”

How many staff do you employ? “We employ 19 people at our new offices in Green Park. Our team continues to grow with nine new faces joining the company this year alone across all business areas.”

Who are your customers? “The ultimate end-customers of the technology we represent are businesses of all sizes. However we don’t usually have a direct relationship with them because we partner with our network of re-sellers who effectively ‘own’ that customer relationship.”

What sets you apart from the competition? “Unlike other distributors, we opt to work with newer, innovative technology brands that might not be market-leaders today – but through our due diligence selection process we know they have the potential to be market-leaders tomorrow. We work closely with our re-seller community and have created tools to equip them with the things they need to generate a solid sales pipeline, close deals and make money.”

How has the recession affected business? “Since we started our business in 2009, it has gone from strength to strength. In fact we were just placed fourth in an annual Sunday Times listing of the UK’s 100 fastest growing private technology businesses. We know we are very fortunate as the uncertainty has not been this kind to everyone.”

How do you feel about the future? “We are immensely positive about the future. We have just moved to a bigger office in Green Park, we’re hiring across all areas and we’ve launched a new partner portal to support our re-sellers.”

http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/business/business-profile-cloud-distribution-7779836

Channel Pro says "Cloud Distribution steps up partner engagement"

Cloud Distribution celebrates growth, new premises and increased focus on partner services

Cloud Distribution has outlined an active 2014 with a move to bigger offices, new hires across all business units and the launch of both a partner enablement portal, and a new refreshed website.

The privately-owned distributor was ranked number 4 in the 14th annual Sunday Times Hiscox Tech Track 100 league last week, after growing the business 180 percent over the past three years.

Launched in 2009, Cloud Distribution has built upon its initial Cisco Meraki business with the addition of a number of new and disruptive technologies to its portfolio. Its current line-up includes A10 Networks, Aerohive, Cloud4Wi, Exinda, Lacoon, Lastline, Maas360, Peplink, Talon, Watchdox and Watchful.

Says Scott Dobson, founder and managing director of Cloud Distribution: “Our vendor portfolio is solid and our four technology solution stacks are proving a great success. 2013 was a tremendous year for Cloud Distribution and with the efforts we’re putting into building an A-class community of partners, I’m confident 2014 is going to be our best year yet.”

The distributor’s new portal provides access to free partner-enablement tools and services, from building qualified pipeline, generating marketing campaigns providing immediate lease quotes, registering deals, to access to professional support and maintenance services. This includes: Cloud Clarity VAR launch packs to facilitate a fast go-to-market strategy and Cloud Inside educational webinars; Cloud Altitude virtual marketing services and campaign-builder tool; Cloud Cover support and training and Cloud Capital leasing and Crowd and Cloud Club networking and incentive initiatives.

Cloud Distribution also now has a fully-staffed first line support team, which includes a white labelled maintenance and support service, as part of its Cloud Cover Professional services division.

The distributor says it expects to launch phase two of the portal in a number of weeks, where partners which will be able to create their own marketing campaigns – e-shots, webinars etc. – using customisable templates, and access a library of content, including videos and whitepapers. There will also be centralised deal registration, and more sales and technical training.

Meanwhile, the firm recently moved into new premises in Green Park, near Reading to cater for its 22 employees, and allow for future expansion. It also says interest in and uptake of its education and training services has also grown rapidly, and as a result, the new office includes a dedicated conference suite to ensure its partners are up-to-speed with the latest technology developments.


http://www.channelpro.co.uk/news/8686/cloud-distribution-steps-up-partner-engagement

Cloud Distribution continues strong business momentum

Security and networking next-generation value added distributor (VAD) Cloud Distribution is celebrating unprecedented business success in the first half of 2014 with a move to bigger offices in the heart of Reading’s ‘Silicon Valley’, Green Park, the launch of a partner enablement portal, new hires across all business units and the completion of a new refreshed website.

Scott Dobson, managing director of Cloud Distribution said, “Our vendor portfolio is solid and our four technology solution stacks are proving a great success. 2013 was a tremendous year for Cloud Distribution and with the efforts we’re putting into building an A-class community of partners, I’m confident 2014 is going to be our best year yet.”

Key developments include:

A New Home – From September the Cloud Distribution team will be based at brand-new offices in Green Park, the premier business park near Reading and home to many of the world’s leading technology brands. The catalyst for the relocation to bigger premises is a significant increase in staff numbers over recent months, and to allow for future expansion. Interest in and uptake of Cloud Distribution’s education and training services has also grown rapidly and the new office boasts a dedicated conference suite to ensure its partners are fully up-to-speed with the latest technology developments.

Cloud Distribution also now boasts a fully-staffed 1st line support team, which includes a partner branded (white labelled) maintenance and support service, as part of its Cloud Cover Professional services division.

Cloud Confidential Partner Enablement Portal – Cloud has created a single sign-on, easy to use portal that gives access to its free, partner-enablement tools and services designed to support every stage of the sales cycle from building qualified pipeline, generating marketing campaigns providing immediate lease quotes, registering deals, as well as access to professional support and maintenance services.. The content is broken into four easy to identify categories:

• Educate – Cloud Clarity (VAR launch packs to facilitate a fast go-to-market strategy) and Cloud Inside (educational webinars)
• Enable – Cloud Altitude (virtual marketing services including a unique campaign-builder tool)
• Delivery – Cloud Cover (support and training) and Cloud Capital (leasing)
• Reward - Cloud Crowd and Cloud Club – (high-level networking and incentive initiatives)

New Faces – The team at Cloud Distribution continues to grow in all areas of the business with nine new faces joining the company this year alone across all business areas including business development, dedicated sales specialists, pre-sales support, professional services and project management. Key hires in 2014 include new sales specialists dedicated to helping Cloud’s partners land deals jointly with its vendors and last month a new major account manager was appointed to support sales in the north of England, a significant growth region for the company.

New Website www.cloud-distribution.com - Cloud Distribution’s fully-featured website went live in early September and has extensive content aimed at helping its partners get under the skin of the next-generation solutions it is selling. It has been designed to address the needs of Cloud Distribution’s partners, helping them to understand the business value these innovative – and unique - solutions bring to their end-users.

David Silsby, sales and marketing director at Network Utilities said: “In my six years at Network Utilities, I have worked with more than a handful of distributors who often use the ‘value add’ tag to describe what they do. However, since working with Cloud Distribution I feel that we have engaged with a distributor who really understands the meaning of ‘value add’ and has significantly added value to my business as a reseller/integrator. We have been very impressed by the positive involvement in our business development activities and how the Cloud team really gets stuck in with our marketing campaigns and helping to build our pipeline.”

-END-

About Cloud Distribution
Cloud Distribution is a value-added distributor of disruptive next-generation security and networking solutions that VARs can take to market quickly and easily. It currently distributes A10 Networks, Aerohive, Cisco Meraki, Cloud4Wi, Exinda, Lacoon, Lastline, Maas360, Peplink, Talon, Watchdox and Watchful. Its portfolio of disruptive security and networking solutions helps resellers to differentiate themselves from the competition and create new markets to sell in. The company was founded in 2009 by senior executives with a wealth of experience in the security, networking and optimisation space. Its philosophy is to take innovative, cutting-edge vendors into the UK market by recruiting and working together with skilled, reputable, market making partners. For further information please visit www.cloud-distribution.com or follow us on Twitter @cloudtweeters.

Media Contact:
Lesley Booth / Michael Bartley
C8 Consulting Ltd
lesley@c8consulting.co.uk / michael@c8consulting.co.uk
+44 1189 001136 / + 44 1189 001133


http://www.sourcewire.com/news/84367/cloud-distribution-continues-strong-business-momentum#.VBf-Fv10zIU

08 September 2014

CRN says "Cloud Distribution shoots to fourth in Tech Track 100"

Cloud Distribution has soared to fourth in the annual Sunday Times Tech Track 100 league table.

The Berkshire-based company, a distributor focused on cloud-friendly vendors, hit sales of £9.6m for 2013/14, with a three-year average sales growth of 181 per cent.

Co-founder and sales director Greg Harris said the firm's success is down to a focus on the company's message and "an understanding of what we do well and how we do it".

"We focus on a fairly select and well-qualified number of vendors and we go to market through a well-selected and well-qualified group of resellers, and we do that through a group of well-selected group of employees," he said.

"It's not being attracted by the next shiny ball, it's about staying true to what we do," he said.

Harris also commented that Cloud "has developed a range of services under the banner of Cloud Cover, and we are going to extend that so it covers all and every vendor we bring to the market".

Cloud Distribution has enjoyed a particularly profitable partnership with its largest vendor Meraki, boosted by its acquisition by Cisco in 2012.

But Harris does not believe that Cloud's success has been merely a result of this partnership with Meraki.

"While Meraki is an important vendor to us, it is not our only vendor and we are not solely reliant on it. Look at our portfolio of vendors and we have 12 vendors across our portfolio and occupy market positions that Meraki don't," Harris said.

http://www.channelweb.co.uk/crn-uk/news/2363923/cloud-distribution-shoots-to-fourth-in-tech-track-100

Cloud Distribution lands 4th in prestigious Sunday Times Hiscox Tech Track 100!

Flies the flag for IT distribution in listing of UK’s 100 fastest growing private tech firms

Reading, UK, 8th September 2014 – Security and networking next-generation value added distributor (VAD) Cloud Distribution has been placed at number 4 in the 14th annual Sunday Times Hiscox Tech Track 100 league. The Hiscox Tech Track 100 ranks Britain’s private technology, media and telecoms (TMT) companies with the fastest-growing sales over three years and is closely followed by the UK’s business and investment community.

Steve Langan, Managing Director of Hiscox UK and Europe, the title sponsor of the league table, commented, “It takes a number of qualities to be recognised as a Tech Track 100 business. Having well defined company values, a focus on nurturing talent and achieving customer satisfaction, and an eye on future-proofing your business are all important attributes. Many former Tech Track 100 companies have gone on to become stand-out successes, and this year’s listing is equally exciting.”

Greg Harris, co-founder and Sales Director of Cloud Distribution said, “We are thrilled to be included in the Hiscox Tech Track 100 league. Our success is testament to the dedication and determination of the Cloud Distribution team and demonstrates that we are fulfilling a real need in the security and networking market.”
Tech Track 100 is compiled by Fast Track and published in The Sunday Times each September.

A typical Tech Track 100 company:
• is generally owned and run by entrepreneurs
• has between 20 and 200 staff
• has average 3 year sales growth ranging from 40% pa to 280% pa
• has sales ranging from £5m - £50m
• around 40% of the companies have venture capital backing

-END-

About Cloud Distribution

Cloud Distribution is a value-added distributor of disruptive next-generation security and networking solutions that VARs can take to market quickly and easily. It currently distributes A10 Networks, Aerohive, Cisco Meraki, Cloud4Wi, Exinda, Lacoon, Lastline, Maas360, Peplink, Talon, Watchdox and Watchful. Its portfolio of disruptive security and networking solutions helps resellers to differentiate themselves from the competition and create new markets to sell in. The company was founded in 2009 by senior executives with a wealth of experience in the security, networking and optimisation space. Its philosophy is to take innovative, cutting-edge vendors into the UK market by recruiting and working together with skilled, reputable, market making partners. For further information please visit www.cloud-distribution.com or follow us on Twitter @cloudtweeters.

Media Contact:
Lesley Booth / Michael Bartley
C8 Consulting Ltd
lesley@c8consulting.co.uk / michael@c8consulting.co.uk
+44 1189 001136 / + 44 1189 001133


http://www.sourcewire.com/news/84281/cloud-distribution-lands-th-in-prestigious-sunday-times-hiscox-tech#.VA2Czf10zIU

The Sunday Times lists Cloud Distribution 4th in the Tech Track 100!

http://www.fasttrack.co.uk/fasttrack/leagues/tech100leaguetable.asp?siteID=3&searchName=&yr=2014&sort=num&area1=99