Mitel appoints Westcon-Comstor as part of go-to-market review

Mitel has started to share the decisions made in its go-to-market review with the telco firm opting to appoint Westcon-Comstor as an EMEA and South Pacific distributor.

The firm has been reviewing its go-to-market strategy over the past few months as it looks to shift more focus to the cloud, with that process seen as an essential part of right-sizing the channel after the firm integrated the partner activities from the acquired ShoreTel at the start of the second quarter.

Mitel indicated earlier this year that it was looking to streamline distribution across EMEA as it looked to consolidate around a smaller number of disties that can hold increased inventory, manage certifications and user training and offer technical support and professional services.

But the changes were not just confined to distribution with resellers also coming under the microscope. The appointment of Westcon-Comstor is part of a process of delivering more consistent global support but Richard Roberts,  vice president, UKISA sales at Mitel, said that it would not have been added to the distie roster if there was not enough opportunity for other partners.

The rationalisation and optimisation of partners has seen a lot of the former direct reseller arrangements now being pushed through distribution and Roberts said that the process had not been about cutting the number of relationships.

"We have been looking at go-to-market in its entirety and if we are going to achieve what we want to achieve then we have seen that with partners and distribution it is not about shedding people but by refining the go-to-market," he said.

After an evaluation process that took the last few months Westcon-Comstor stood out as a global player that deserved to be added to the roster.

"We want to ensure that partners and customers have the best possible support and there is more available for them globally," added Roberts commenting that Westcon-Comstor could, "deliver a rich set of services consistently."

The effort to ensure that it is delivering the best options for the channel means that the vendor will keep one eye on monitoring its partner relationships.

"You are duty bound as a vendor to always review services that are offered to partners and take the opportunity where those can be enhanced. But it needs to be done in a considered and controlled fashion," said Roberts.

For Westcon-Comstor the relationship will see the channel player offering the full range of the vendor's comms and collaboration portfolio as a sole pan-international distributor.

Along with handling products, including the UC and collaboration suites, as an authorised training partner Westcon will be able to provide additional services to resellers looking to get certified.

“Our business has always been focused on helping partners develop profitable business through a combination of global supply chain capabilities and channel support across our core technology specializations. Our services and support and digital distribution expertise will enable partners to succeed in both today’s market and the future as we transition to an increasingly software-driven world with new procurement and consumption models," said David Grant, COO at Westcon International.