CDW and the rise of the global 'super-VAR'

CDW brand has formally launched into the UK at a time when customers are increasingly demanding cross-border skills

The arrival of the CDW brand in the UK last week underlines how the channel is increasingly becoming a global game.

CDW's red and white logo has been hammered into place across Kelway's offices as the world's largest reseller formally rolls out its brand on this side of the pond.

As we explore, CDW's UK expansion fits into a wider trend of cross-border expansion among resellers looking to cater for the global needs of enterprise customers.

Computacenter recently set up an operation in the US, while other VAR giants such as Bechtle are pursuing an alliance model to ensure their ability to serve customers across multiple regions.

But CDW is currently the largest in a group of global super VARs that appears to be emerging.

With a turnover of $12.9bn (£9.2bn), CDW is about two thirds bigger than Dimension Data (which has a turnover of roughly $8bn), more than twice the size of Insight ($5.4bn), three times larger than Computacenter ($4.3bn), four times as big as Bechtle ($3.2bn) and six times SCC's stature ($2.2bn).

Last year, the Fortune 500 giant generated revenues of more than $1bn for each of its top four vendors. It has 250,000 customers and 8,400 staff. By its own estimates, CDW has an incredible five per cent share of an addressable market in the indirect sales channel in the US, Canada and the UK worth $282bn in total.

In this increasingly globalised world, it will be fascinating to see which other super-VARs emerge in the years to come, and whether they get there through acquisition, green-field start-ups or partnership.