Alex Tatham on joining QBS Software: ‘It’s one of those places where I would have loved to work’

Tatham discusses his new position at QBS, the company’s future, and his journey in the channel

Alex Tatham bills QBS Software as a company he’s always admired after announcing his return to the channel with the distributor last week.

Alongside former CCO and UK managing director of Computacenter Kevin James, the duo joined QBS’s leadership team to super charge its ambitious growth targets.

QBS is now gunning for global expansion in tandem with becoming a $1bn revenue business, Tatham reveals to CRN.

“There is a mission to grow around the world, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

The distributor has already made strides in its international efforts, having acquired Hungarian software distributor KSoft Korlátolt Felelősségű Társaság and South Africa-based cybersecurity distributor Maxtec earlier this year.

Having recently left Westcoast after more than 15 years in the business, Tatham is no stranger to top-tier distributors and admits QBS is a company he has always applauded.

“It’s one of those places where I would have loved to work,” he says.

“While many will put a lot of effort behind their Microsoft or their Oracle licensing, QBS takes all of the software assets that you've got and gives you a much richer end-to-end capability.”

In his new position as strategic board advisor, Tatham takes charge of QBS’ hyperscaler relationships to allow the company to hone its focus on its customers and vendors.

His role in the London-based distie’s global strategy is to ensure customers and vendors know about QBS’ approach to the market and its title as a “hybrid between a distributor and a platform for a long tail of software licensing.”

Darwinism and dedication

Tatham also shares why, after so many years in the channel, he is still active and passionate about working in IT.

“The channel is such a vibrant place to work.”

After more than 30 years, Tatham has seen the channel evolve considerably, with some even predicting “the death of the channel, or the death of distribution, because of cloud, licensing, or the internet.”

However, the channel has never had such strong links, according to Tatham.

“The reseller-customer base is now changing.

“MSPs are going to rely on different channel providers and different things from their distributors and other suppliers to be able to help them.

“This is going to change the channel once again. Companies will have to adapt and change to provide the best technology.”

Like species, companies need to adapt to survive in an everchanging – and sometimes hostile – world.

Tatham understood this very early on – back in the 80’s, at the university of Kent, where he studied zoology.

“Darwin is a bit of a hero of mine.”

To thrive in the channel, the different parties must have symbiotic relationships.

“If you have a transactional relationship with your supplier, then you are not in a good place. You need to become partners.”