Bullish VAD Cloud Distribution has enlisted storage channel
luminaries Bruce Hockin and Grant Reddin to head up its new storage arm.
The duo have joined Cloud - which was recently crowned the UK's fourth fastest-growing
private tech company - after resigning their posts at channelfusion, a storage
VAD they set up last year after
leaving Avnet.
Talking to CRN,
Cloud Distribution director Adam Davison said his firm had harboured ambitions
to break into storage for 18 months but had been waiting for the right time to
pounce. Storage will now become Cloud Distribution's fifth ‘solution stack',
alongside LAN & Wireless, WAN & Datacentre, Enterprise Mobility and
Security.
"We wanted to make sure that when we jumped into the
market, it didn't dilute the momentum in our existing business," Davison
said.
"An opportunity came along with Grant and Bruce. We
wanted to get into storage, they had resigned from their posts and we saw an
opportunity to form a new division."
Hockin (pictured above) said he and Reddin (pictured below)
had taken the difficult decision to walk away from channelfusion due to a
difference over strategy with its two other shareholders.
"We had a difference of opinion as to which direction
to go in and decided to resign our positions in the company," he said.
"There is a huge, huge opportunity in storage and we
see collaborating with Cloud Distribution as a fantastic way to get a better
part of that. They have a really strong set up and as storage is net-new for
them we will help diversify their go-to-market."
One other former channelfusion employee will join the new team.
Cloud Distribution Storage will initially work with vendors
Talon Storage, Fusion ioControl Storage, Datacore and Maxta, the latter three
of which Hockin and Reddin worked with at channelfusion. These vendors
approached Cloud after learning of Hockin and Reddin's plans, Davison stressed.
More storage vendors will be added, Davison added.
"Over the last 18 months, we've been approached by a
number of storage vendors and at that point it wasn't appropriate to work with
them," he said. "Now we have a dedicated team, those vendors that
have approached us are on our list of people to communicate with."
The new team will immediately be able to draw on Cloud's
services, including its partner enablement tools, Davison added.
"From a product and services perspective we are ready
to go," he said.
CRN phoned channelfusion's
switchboard for comment but our calls went unreturned.
http://www.channelweb.co.uk/crn-uk/news/2379480/hockin-and-reddin-to-drive-storage-for-cloud-distribution
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