Top Vars 2020 Intros.Indd
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Top In association with ARs V 2020 Welcome to Top VARs 2020 Although uncertain times lie ahead, the UK’s top 100 resellers, MSPs and front-line channel partners turned over £17bn in their latest financial years on record, Doug Woodburn discovers This year’s report has a feel of the calm Together, they now turn over before the storm about it. £16.96bn – that’s more than the GDP As a group, the UK’s largest 100 of Botswana and equal to what the resellers and MSPs had a fairly serene government has spent on PPE and and uneventful time of it in their most other COVID-related goods and recent financial years, posting collective services since April. Combined revenues of nearly £17bn – an 8.5 per headcount of over 42,000 means cent annual jump. Profits were also they employ more staff than the roughly flat, depending on how you population of ancient Egyptian city look at it (see p13). Thebes in its pomp. Top VARs charts not current financial When it comes to the rankings, this performance, but the fortunes of these year’s supplement contains more sub- 100 firms in their latest financial years plots than a presidential election. on record – most of which ended The race for top spot has heated before the pandemic hit the industry up, with Softcat just £60m shy of like a force 10 gale. Computacenter’s UK top line (we opted This centuplicate of front-line this year to rank both on their gross channel partners has, however, held up invoiced income, rather than revenue, remarkably well this year. for reasons explained in the profiles). Although as we explore on p9, The international takeover of Top interim results released during the ❝Together, our Top VARs continues, meanwhile, with 30 pandemic have been decidedly mixed, of the top 100 now under overseas Canalys chief executive Steve Brazier VARs now turn ownership, up from 19 in 2017. This recently declared 2020 to be the includes 12 US-based outfits (up from European channel’s “most profitable over £16.96bn seven in 2017). year ever”. This pattern, it must be said, The pandemic has taken its toll on – that’s more holds in the opposite direction, with some more than others. than the GDP of Computacenter CEO Mike Norris Managed print specialists have seen recently unveiling plans to replicate the volumes fall to as low as 45 per cent of Botswana and firm’s European presence on the other normal levels (see Q&A with Apogee, side of the Atlantic. p20). Those with a retail presence, equal to what This year’s report sees the arrival of meanwhile, have also felt the full force several new entrants, not least 99th- of COVID, with 34th-ranked Apple the government ranked Solutionize Global, a Dell partner Compu b (which also owns has spent on PPE partner that has its sights on £100m 73rd-ranked Stormfront) recently revenues after growing a dizzying 536 entering a rescue process in its native and other COVID- per cent in its latest year. Ireland. In a further twist, almost 20 firms Fortunately, most resellers and MSPs related goods and in this report have taken advantage of have been able to weather the storm, services since April a three-month extension granted by with booming demand for remote the government and not filed any new working technology combining with numbers on Companies House since reduced travel and office overheads to last year’s report. bolster their balance sheets. When I signed off last year’s Top VARs’ leader with the words “bring on The hot 100 the 2020s”, a global pandemic wasn’t The pandemic has undoubtedly quite what I had in mind. cemented the critical role played by the But with the brand of the channel 100 resellers, MSPs and other front-line enhanced by recent events, and a channel partners profiled in this report, vaccine now on its way, there is still from £1bn-revenue-plus juggernauts good reason to be optimistic for the Computacenter and Softcat to the decade ahead. £40m-revenue cybersecurity, print, AV, comms and enterprise software ■ Doug Woodburn is group editor, specialists that tail the rankings. channel at CRN www.channelweb.co.uk 2 Channelling support This year has highlighted the resourcefulness and ingenuity of those working in the channel and it indicates a bright future in the year ahead, says Comms-care’s Simon Day The Top VARs report has been an enabling partners to do more and important date in the diary for the become more relevant and agile. A true channel for several years and I suspect channel partner for services. this year it will be more eagerly anticipated than it has been in previous Access all areas years, as channel firms want to learn It is interesting but not surprising to more about how the largest resellers see acquisitions still prominent in have fared in 2020. the channel and looking at some of It is fantastic to see that the Top 100 the larger ones, they appear heavily have grown revenues by 8.5 per cent focused on quickly gaining access to and a huge congratulations to those new services and markets rather than businesses that have maintained great a simplistic numbers strategy. It would sales performances in what could be appear those in the market are focused described as a challenging year to more on the answers they can provide navigate. as an organisation rather than simply 2020 has not just been a year knocking out the competition. I think for celebrating positive financial this is a strategy many businesses can performance. Speaking on behalf benefit from. Maintaining relevance of Comms-care, we have all been quickly may be the difference between humbled and proud of our industry those who weather the storm in with so many VARs helping the nation ❝ anticipation of the sunshine and those continue to communicate, providing From the resellers who fear it. critical services and keeping people 2021 will offer a raft of challenges working – often without financial in these pages, and without the positive bump that benefit. we hear of acts many partners had in 2020 in sales of From the resellers in these pages, remote working technology, I expect we hear of acts such as a senior such as a senior most to take a cautious approach. Not vice president calling every one of only on the P/L but also managing the thousands of employees to check in vice president emotional rollercoaster that many of with them personally, partners being calling every one our teams have endured. How ethically instrumental in creating the Nightingale business have performed throughout hospitals and enabling employees with of thousands of 2020 may be a key component of who capacity to dedicate it to charitable customers work with in 2021 – at least organisations. The world called on employees to I hope so. the channel and it most certainly Where there is change, inevitable answered! check in with opportunity often follows and I expect While we cannot be sure of the true them, and partners 2021 to be no different. Do I expect economic impact of 2020 with many massive change to the Top 10 in 2021? concerned about sector sustainability, being instrumental No. Do I think 2021 could be the year ever-changing world politics and a for more new entries to the Top 100 more transitional workforce, one in creating the and competition between the rankings? thing is certain: the channel will be Nightingale Absolutely. essential to help customers evolve to a ‘new world’, whatever that may look hospitals. The ■ Simon Day is services director at like. This will be not only be through Comms-care transforming infrastructures and world called on technology but also how we leverage the channel and innovation to make their business more reactive to market changes and ensure it most certainly we are all easier to do business with. Comms-care and Ingram Micro answered! have been working hard to answer this challenge through not only designing new, innovative services but also creating new ways of educating and 3 TOP VARs 2020 Channel-only solutions that drive success Partner with Comms-care to: Facilitate speed to market and drive business growth Access best-in-class resource and expertise so you can skill up, scale up and seize opportunities when you need to Extend your capabilities and solve customer challenges through multi-vendor solutions Delivering better outcomes together. THETHE TOPTOP 100100 Which channel firms have made it onto this year’s top 100 list? The countdown starts here... PROFILES EXPLAINED Net profit Year-on-year growth expressed as a 100 Xxxxxx percentage of Revenue: £XX.Xm (+XX%) revenues Average monthly staff Net profit: X.X% Staff: XXX numbers during the year 100 eBECS 99 Solutionize Global 98 Tangible Benefit Revenue: £41.8m (+20%) Revenue: £41.9m (+536%) Revenue: £42.1m (+47%) Net profit: -12% Staff: 356 Net profit: 8.4% Staff: 16 Net profit: 5.9% Staff: 58 This Microsoft ERP and CRM specialist The fastest-growing business in this Romping into our top 100 on the fell to a £5m net loss in its year to 31 entire report, Dell Gold partner back of two years of swift growth, March 2019 as challenges relating to Solutionize claims that it will this London-based reseller expressed its Saudi Arabian business blotted imminently smash the £100m revenue confidence it will match the 27 and 47 its copy book. Revenues hiked by a barrier after swelling its top line by per cent revenue hikes it posted in its fifth, however, with the UK generating more than six-fold to £41.9m in its fiscal 2019 and 2020 in its current year.