Tech Data has announced that former UK and Ireland managing director David Watts has been promoted to senior vice president for the region.

Watts (pictured) joined Tech Data when it was known as Computer 2000, in 1998. He worked in sales and management before becoming general manager for the PC division in 2003.

In 2005, he joined Samsung as head of its UK display division, before returning to Tech Data in 2007.

He was commercial director until 2016, when he became deputing managing director, before becoming acting managing director later that year. His MD position was made permanent in 2018.

Commenting on his promotion, Watts said: “It’s an honour to lead the UK and Ireland team. Everyone at Tech Data is fully dedicated to helping our partners and suppliers to grow and develop their businesses while supporting them in addressing the many challenges they face, particularly at this time. I want to thank Andy [Gass] for his tremendous support and guidance over the past five years.”

The distributor said that outgoing SVP Andy Gass, who has been in the role since 2012, will take on an expanded role in its European leadership team, focusing on digital transformation for the continent.

“With David’s promotion, Tech Data’s UK and Ireland business is in highly experienced and capable hands,” said Gass. “Looking ahead, the wave of digital transformation happening across our industry brings huge opportunity for businesses to become more targeted, more personalised and more efficient.

“Tech Data is set to be at the forefront of bringing these benefits to the IT channel and I’m very excited to be driving our strategy in this area.”

Tech Data has extended its partnership with Google by adding its Android Enterprise Essentials mobile security service.

The distributor says that Android Enterprise Essentials makes deploying and managing devices easier and more cost-effective for organisations of all sizes.

It has set up an Android Enterprise Essentials Zero-Touch Enrolment area on InTouch, its online procurement and order management platform, so companies can more easily register and enable new Android devices.

“The explosion in use of mobile devices has led to mobile device management becoming a big challenge for organisations,” said Tech Data UK and Ireland enterprise software and cloud director Simon Bennett (pictured).

“Up to this point they have been faced with making a choice between highly-functional ‘full fat’ enterprise-focused solutions that are quite expensive to deploy, or basically, having no MDM.”

Bennett added: “While, according to IDC, over 50 percent of the mobile devices deployed for business use in Western Europe are Android-based, most businesses do not have an MDM solution in place. That’s the gap that Google’s Android Essentials is aiming to fill.”

To support the availability of the new software and encourage uptake among its customers, Tech Data will offer training modules covering Android Essentials.

These modules will be available for reseller partners free of charge on Tech Data’s Channel Academy training platform.

Tech Data has made strides in the repair and insurance and 5G WAN spaces with two new partnerships.

Tech Data’s reseller partners will now be able to access IT and mobile repair and insurance services from MendIT, and 5G WAN solutions from Cradlepoint.

MendIT

Tech Data’s partnership with MendIT means its retailer and reseller partners can quote their customers for warranties and repair services offered by the Burnley-based firm.

The distributor is offering more than 300 contracts that it claims cover all the major hardware brands.

To support the partnership, Tech Data has appointed Rachel Baker as a full-time business development executive to drive business with MendIT.

“This agreement with MendIT is a valuable addition to our lifecycle services portfolio,” said Tech Data’s managing director for endpoint solutions James Reed (pictured).

“This, along with our other lifecycle offerings, provides our partners with a complete services ecosystem that allows them to offer more value and investment protection to their customers and drive higher revenues and profitability.”

MendIT sales director Andrew Derbyshire added: “This partnership is a landmark for MendIT. By making our services an integral part of their lifecycle proposition, Tech Data is opening up huge additional potential for us to reach out to more partners, help them to grow their sales and deliver more value to their end user customers.”

As part of the launch, Tech Data is offering a free OtterBox protective case for mobile phones on selected MendIT contracts.

Cradlepoint

Tech Data’s reseller partners are now also available to offer Cradlepoint’s range of connectivity offerings.

This marks Tech Data’s UK entry into the connectivity market, with Reed calling it a “highly significant addition” to the distributor’s portfolio.

“It takes us into the cellular connectivity market at a time when maintaining a reliable connection is more vital than ever to organisations,” he said. “With Cradlepoint’s solutions, our reseller partners will be able to offer fast, reliable, and flexible connectivity where it’s needed, and whether it’s the primary or a backup connection.”

Tech Data says it is recruiting a dedicated business manager for its Cradlepoint offerings and developing a programme to give resellers the requisite knowledge to be accredited providers of Cradlepoint.

Reed added: “We see huge potential for Cradlepoint’s offerings, not only in the enterprise and mid-market spaces, but also in vertical segments where there is a need to deploy dependable connectivity fast and wherever it may be required, and for edge-located IoT and data collection applications.”

Tech Data will see approximately $750 million dollars of investment in digital transformation in the next five years, after its acquisition by Apollo Global Management was completed yesterday.

Apollo first announced its acquisition of the distributor in a deal worth $5.4 billion last November. As a result of the move, Tech Data will become a privately held company and its shares will no longer be publicly listed.

The digital transformation initiatives will focus on adding automation and analytics platforms to Tech Data’s processes, including its StreamOne Cloud Platform, so that it can better adapt to what it calls “a rapidly evolving environment”.

“Tech Data’s acquisition by the Apollo funds is a significant milestone, and their support of our multi-year commitment of resources underscores our collective focus on long-term value creation,” said Tech Data CEO Rich Hume (pictured).

“We continue to execute on our strategy to transform our company into one that defines a new standard of operational and cultural excellence in our industry. We believe Apollo will be an invaluable partner in helping us better enable our channel partners to bring to market the technology products and solutions the world needs to connect, grow and advance.”

Apple, Tech Data and Ingram Micro have been fined by the French Competition Authority for agreeing on prices and stifling competition over the distribution of the manufacturer’s non-iPhone products.

The manufacturer was handed a €1.1 billion fine, while Tech Data and Ingram Micro were fined €76.1 million and €62.9 million respectively.

In a statement, the French Competition Authority’s president Isabelle de Silva said: “We deciphered specific practices that had been implemented by Apple for the distribution of its products in France (excluding iPhones), such as the iPad. Apple and its two wholesalers agreed not to compete and  prevent distributors from competing with each other, thereby sterilising the wholesale market for Apple products.”

Silva added that the fine was the largest ever imposed by the Authority in one case.

Speaking to CNBC, an Apple spokesperson said: “The French Competition Authority’s decision is disheartening. It relates to practices from over a decade ago and discards thirty years of legal precedent that all companies in France rely on with an order that will cause chaos for companies across all industries. We strongly disagree with them and plan to appeal.”

Tech Data declined to comment. Ingram Micro were reached for comment.

This is the second fine imposed on Apple by French authorities in the past two months. In February, it was fined €25 million for slowing down its older models without informing customers.

Tech Data has been bought by investment fund Apollo Global Management for $5.4 billion.  US CEO Rich Hume will continue as chief executive officer, and the company will continue to be headquartered in Clearwater, Florida.

Tech Data will become a privately held company, and Tech Data’s  shares will no longer be publicly listed.

Said Hume: “Over our 45-year history, Tech Data has grown to become one of the largest and most respected technology distributors in the world. This agreement reflects the significant progress we have made in our strategy of delivering higher value and positions us for continued growth and success.

“This investment by funds managed by one of the world’s leading global alternative investment managers will afford us additional resources to accelerate our ability to bring to market the technology products and solutions the world needs to connect, grow and advance. The transaction will enable us to build on our success, making Tech Data a growth platform and enabling us to further differentiate and expand our end-to-end solutions and provide our channel partners with unparalleled reach, efficiency and experience.”

The distributor is due to have an earnings report released on November 26, however it will not host an earnings call in light of the pending acquisition.

Tech Data’s resellers took centre stage at the distributor’s second annual Tech Data Live show, held at Ascot Racecourse on September 26.

With double the space and attendees of its inaugural show, it took on a different complexion to that of a usual trade exhibition. Instead of individual stands for each vendor, Tech Data Live was divided into 10 areas themed around different technology services offered by the company and its resellers – such as healthcare, education, security and the modern workplace.

In this way, multiple vendors could occupy an area that focused on services they specialised in, meaning resellers had easier access to specific expertise.

A main stage, meanwhile, featured keynote speeches from the MDs of companies such as HP and Dell Technologies.

“The shift to having a day focused for our resellers and their solutions has sparked some really interesting conversations,” said Tech Data’s UK and Ireland head of services David Nelson. “They’re not pigeonholed into speaking to one vendor and can speak to everybody in an area they specialise in; I think it’s worked really well.”

For the company’s group marketing director, Linda Patterson, it was important to offer attendees a different experience to the norm: “Last year, every participating vendor had their own stand, whereas this year it’s very much about looking at it from the reseller perspective.”

She added that depending on feedback, the venue and structure of the event could change again for next year’s iteration.

Trusted advisor

Tech Data’s “trusted advisor” ethos was the main theme it was trying to communicate to attendees.
In his opening address, executive director for UK and Ireland sales Martin Boyce said the mindset is underpinned by four key pillars geared towards aiding Tech Data’s customers: growing sales, increasing profitability, reducing costs, and driving higher customer satisfaction. “The marketplace is changing rapidly, and the needs of our end users are changing rapidly. We need to adapt what we do as we go through that journey together,” he said.

“If we look at the depth and breadth of our portfolio, sometimes it’s challenging for individuals, whether they’re account managers or business development people, to fully articulate our capabilities. “Now our role is more about being an enabler, providing the support for understanding and designing solutions and propositions for the modern marketplace.”

Broader focus

At the event, there was no single central focus for Tech Data’s mobile offerings, nor any mobile-specific vendors in attendance. This aligns with the company’s restructure over the past year, which has seen its mobile division incorporated into its endpoint solutions division that also focuses on printers, laptops, PCs and tablets.

Business unit director for mobile endpoint solutions David Brassington explained: “We are a continually evolving and developing business. From a distribution point of view, that’s super important because, in our world, if you’re standing still you’re going backwards.”

However, mobile remains an important focus for the company, according to head of endpoint solutions James Reed. “Mobile is a big part of endpoint solutions,” he said. “The way the market’s evolving, we need to have a good portfolio of mobile products to supply the endpoint requirements of our business. People aren’t just using laptops and desktops anymore, while mobiles take a lot of different shapes and sizes.”

Reed, who took over the role from Matt Child in May, added that he wanted to drive mobility harder among Tech Data’s B2B partner base.

A mobile brand that recently launched with the company as a distribution partner was Xiaomi. The Chinese vendor has, however, struggled in its debut year in the UK, and looks unlikely to reach its lofty aim of 10 per cent market share by the end of this year.

Nelson conceded that the vendor had underestimated the difficulty of growing in
the UK market: “At Xiaomi’s price point, it’s quite a cluttered market. They came in from being big in Asia, and trying to bring that to the UK hasn’t translated the way they’d like. There are some challenges with being a manufacturer in a new market, but they seem to be learning quickly.”

Triple-digit growth

Nelson added that Tech Data’s Tech-as-a- Service (TaaS) proposition has seen triple digit-  percentage growth year-on-year in its second year. The offering allows customers and resellers to buy hardware, software and services in a combined bundle, with payments possibly in monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly instalments for a period of 12, 24 or 36 months.

“We expect this growth to continue, because people don’t necessarily want to buy on a capital expenditure model any more, and we want to offer the end user a completely different way to purchase what they need,” said Nelson. Tech Data is aiming to bolster its TaaS offering next year with the integration of its TD Renew proposition, under which customers can trade in their old devices or equipment when they purchase new products.

Tech Data has announced it is investigating any misuse of valuable customer information that was discovered to be vulnerable to leaks earlier this week.

Security researchers at vpnMentor discovered a server leak that contained data including email and personal user data as well as contact and payment information for resellers as well as login and password details,

The researchers reported the leak to Tech Data twice; first, on June 2, and again on June 4, when the company responded and fixed the leak.

It is not clear how much of the vulnerable data was pertinent to the company’s UK operations.

In a statement, the company said: “Tech Data recently learned of a security vulnerability involving a server associated with our StreamOne marketplace.  Within hours of learning of this, the security vulnerability was corrected, and the server was disabled.

“Based on what we know at this time, there is no evidence that the data stored on the affected server was misused for any unauthorised transactions or other fraud. We are continuing to investigate this incident and will satisfy all data reporting requirements, as needed.

“We do not store any credit card numbers or bank account details in the StreamOne marketplace. Importantly, no credentials necessary for logging into StreamOne or other Tech Data customer accounts were included on the server. While our investigation continues, we can advise that the server data may have included a combination of business data such as information found on a business card and certain other information, such as one-time-use credentials to activate a specific cloud service, and date and time of service activations.

“Tech Data takes the protection of our customers’, partners’ and employees’ data very seriously. As always, our focus is on maintaining data security and confidentiality.”

In an email to Mobile News, Tech Data UK and Ireland marketing director Linda Patterson wrote: “Our investigation is ongoing and we are reviewing all data that could have been impacted.”

Tech Data UK has announced two internal changes to its board.

Matt Child, who was previously managing director of endpoint solutions, has been appointed with immediate effect to the role of advanced solutions managing director, UK and Ireland.

James Reed, who was previously business unit director of endpoint solutions, has been promoted to Child’s former role, and joins the Tech Data board.

Child has been at Tech Data for four years. Before being managing director of endpoint solutions he was the managing director of the mobile UK & consumer technology group.

Reed has been with Tech Data for more than 18 years, working in a variety of roles including business unit director for software and PCs and acting commercial director for UK and Ireland.

Commenting on their appointments, Tech Data UK and Ireland managing director David Watts said: “We know that through his experience and abilities, Matt will make a superb contribution to the Advanced Solutions team as well as to our impact on the market. James has proved that he is equally well positioned and qualified to take on the role of Managing Director, Endpoint Solutions. We’re very excited about these appointments, knowing that they both bode very well for Matt and James’ future, as well as Tech Data’s.”

Xiaomi will officially launch in the UK this Thursday, with an aim of shipping two million smartphones and taking a 10 per cent share of the UK market by the end of 2019.

Sales and marketing director Wilkin Lee revealed the aspiration in an exclusive interview.

Lee, who was appointed in August, was a former sales and marketing director at Honor and also worked at Nokia. He leads the Xiaomi UK team and reports directly to head of Western Europe Ou Wen.

Xiaomi released its first smartphone in August 2011 and has rapidly gained market share in China to become the country’s largest smartphone company in 2014.

At the start of Q2 of 2018, Xiaomi was rated the world’s fourth-largest smartphone manufacturer.

It will launch a flagship smartphone on Thursday and open a Xiaomi ‘Mi Store’ in Westfield shopping centre in London’s White City this month, selling more than 100 products.

Three has been confirmed as its first UK operator partner to range its smartphones. Distribution is being handled by Tech Data, Ingram Micro and Brightstar.

Xiaomi was set up eight years ago and is known for selling high-spec smartphones at rock-bottom prices as well as gadgets such as scooters, smart cameras and robots.

This year alone, it has shipped over 100 million smartphones globally and last year it sold over 70 million.

Xiaomi made its European debut in Spain in May last year, releasing the Mi Mix 2.

In July this year, it announced a further European expansion. In its Q2 results – its first financials as a public firm – revenue hit 45.24 billion yuan (£5.09 billion), compared to expectations of 39.18 billion yuan.

Smartphone revenues were 30.5 billion yuan (£3.4bn), a 58.7 per cent year-on-year rise. Net profit was 14.63 billion yuan (£1.6bn), from a loss of 7.03 billion yuan in Q1.

Speaking to Mobile News, Lee said: “By the end of next year we want to achieve our 10 per cent target and will do so through key partnerships and, above all, great products at amazing prices.

“We’re aware the UK is a competitive market place, but what we’re thinking is the UK is ready for a smart connected brand such as Xiaomi.”