20 quotes that tell the channel's story in 2020

CRN sister title Channel Partner Insight rounds up the soundbites that best summarise the IT channel's year

This article originally appeared on Channel Partner Insight

Looking at the reactions from customers and vendors, everybody feels good about this."

Who said it?

Maurice van Rijn, head of Europe at ScanSource

Context:

ScanSource finally divested its European hardware business in November after a 15 month-long search for a buyer.

It secured a sale to family-run investor Ten Oaks Group for $30m.

Speaking to Channel Partner Insight days after the deal went through, van Rijn said he was excited for ScanSource to begin a new chapter as an independent company.

"From the vendor side - in IT and the communications market there has been a huge amount of consolidation in recent years, which completely disrupts the distribution landscape. So the good thing for the vendor is the distribution landscape stays as it is, which is predictable for them," he said.

"The key thing is that we continue the business and grow. That is always the ambition and now we get the chance to use that potential to its full extent, which we haven't had over the last 15 months. I am glad we can now get our hands on the job and get it done."

20 quotes that tell the channel's story in 2020

CRN sister title Channel Partner Insight rounds up the soundbites that best summarise the IT channel's year

It is a lie, it is a fallacy. It is just not what people really want. Now, the marketing budgets and marketing machines of our vendors that want to sell consumption models are brainwashing the industry and brainwashing their sales forces to say, ‘capex to opex, capex to opex, capex to opex. It's wrong, it's wrong,"

Who said it?

Mike Norris, CEO of Computacenter

Context:

The Computacenter CEO did not pull his punches when he spoke to Canalys CEO Steve Brazier during the Canalys Channels Forum and gave his take on whether subscription-based models bring any value to customers.

He went on to tell Brazier that customers don't want to buy products through a consumption model, and vendors pushing for this approach are losing market share as a result.

20 quotes that tell the channel's story in 2020

CRN sister title Channel Partner Insight rounds up the soundbites that best summarise the IT channel's year

Apple has abused the economic dependence of these Apple Premium Resellers (APRs) by subjecting them to unfair and unfavourable commercial conditions compared to its network of integrated distributors"

Who said it?

Isabelle de Silva, president of L'Authorite de la Concurrence

Context:

Apple, Tech Data and Ingram Micro were fined €1.24bn in a landmark case against the trio for fixing prices in the French market.

The fine was the largest competition watchdog L'Authorite de la Concurrence has ever issued.

Tech Data and Ingram both released statements claiming they will appeal their portions of the fine which amounted to €76.1m and €62.9m respectively.

20 quotes that tell the channel's story in 2020

CRN sister title Channel Partner Insight rounds up the soundbites that best summarise the IT channel's year

I think that's where it fell down. They lost confidence from the working capital providers and those lines were reduced and pulled. And the moment that started to happen, the business was on a very slippery slope"

Who said it?

Kenton Fine, executive chairman of Getronics

Context:

Entrepreneur Kenton Fine took over the Getronics business for €300m over the summer.

In an interview with Channel Partner Insight, the new owner opened up on what he described as a period of mismanagement and financial strain under its previous owner.

"There wasn't a top flight CFO in place. There was briefly, but there wasn't anyone to replace them. And that was a big red flag.

"In a fairly leveraged situation you've got to have your financial controls, your governance, everything has got to be completely slick. And this business did not have it - it just did not have it," he said.

Fine revealed his plans to right-size the Getronics business by getting the basics right first.

"It is absolutely critical that we are stable and deliver what we say we're going to do. Talk is cheap so we need to deliver and just fundamentally come back strongly."

"At this early stage we've got to rebuild trust with our clients and our suppliers and our internal colleagues and with everybody.

20 quotes that tell the channel's story in 2020

CRN sister title Channel Partner Insight rounds up the soundbites that best summarise the IT channel's year

When the pandemic exploded, I gathered virtually with all the management and I said: there are two ways of dealing with this situation: one is to hide ourselves and wait for the storm to be over, but the other is to try to use this time not as a moment to stop, but as a moment of acceleration."

Who said it?

Alessandro Cattani, CEO of Esprinet

Context:

In an interview with Channel Partner Insight,the Esprinet CEO opened up on his bold decision to splash out €33.8m on a major acquisition in Spain for €180m-revenue GTI Group.

"There will be competitors that decide to stop, and so the compounded effect of them quitting the race and us accelerating in the race will result in there being a further distance between us and them," he added.

"It was a major bet on the future - the future of our industry, first and foremost, and then on the future of Esprinet. Seeing as the COVID situation is evolving in a slightly friendlier way now, I think it was the right move."

20 quotes that tell the channel's story in 2020

CRN sister title Channel Partner Insight rounds up the soundbites that best summarise the IT channel's year

This will be the most profitable year ever for the channel and a very healthy channel we are too."

Who said it?

Steve Brazier, Canalys CEO

Context:

The Canalys CEO's keynote during the EMEA Channels Forum in October summed up what has been an unexpectedly good year for the channel, with many of Europe's largest resellers logging record profitability.

"Through to Q1 and Q2 when we were all worried about the future, you cut costs and were able to maintain many of those savings. You spent less on your offices too and as a result your operating margin has gone up because your SG&A has gone down.

"So it is both the success of the industry and the cost cutting we've been able to take which means this will be the most profitable year ever for the channel and a very healthy channel we are too."

"Technology has won, the channel has won, distributors have won. It has actually turned into a very good year and we couldn't have predicted that," said Brazier.

20 quotes that tell the channel's story in 2020

CRN sister title Channel Partner Insight rounds up the soundbites that best summarise the IT channel's year

I have a passion for classic cars. I am doing some races, so I will do more and more races, that is my new career."

Who said it?

Olivier Breittmayer, former CEO of Exclusive Networks

Context:

Speaking to Channel Partner Insightafter announcing his departure from the French distributor after 17 years, Breittmayer said he planned to dedicate more of his time on his passion for racing classic cars.

He also opened up on his career highlight at the distributor:

"When we decided to have a different model than the competition, to negotiate with the vendors for sole distribution and exclusivity, that made a big difference. It is really what helped the company to grow faster than the competition, to take market share, and it has really made a big difference," he said.

"A second one is when we decided to use all of the leverage of finance," he continued. "That helped us to accelerate the growth through acquisitions to build a big business. And it has been very successful," he added.

20 quotes that tell the channel's story in 2020

CRN sister title Channel Partner Insight rounds up the soundbites that best summarise the IT channel's year

On the contrary to some other people I see and read about, we believe that we work best when we work together and we work better together when we are physically close if not all the time, at least some of the time."

Who said it?

Steinar Sønsteby, CEO of Atea

Context:

With swathes of the global population working effectively from home, a debate emerged about whether the pandemic would signal the death of the traditional office-based work environment.

Some prominent channel figures, including Atea's Sønsteby, voiced their support for the physical office in a post-COVID world.

Speaking in July, Sønsteby added: "We have started bringing people back, and after the summer we hope to bring most people back to the office. On the contrary to some other people I see and read about, we believe that Atea works best when we work together and we work better together when we are physically close if not all the time, at least some of the time."

20 quotes that tell the channel's story in 2020

CRN sister title Channel Partner Insight rounds up the soundbites that best summarise the IT channel's year

Our strategy is to create a business in the US which is as close to Computacenter in Europe as we can make it."

Who said it?

Mike Norris, CEO of Computacenter

Context:

European reseller giant Computacenter made another big acquisition across the Atlantic this year in the shape of $1.2bn-revenue Pivot Technology Services.

Norris said that he identifies a gap in the US market for a services-rich IT reseller - a gap that Computacenter has the ability to fill.

"This helps us on this journey - it doesn't do everything but it helps us, just like [the acquisition of] FusionStorm two years ago did."

"We have a very high service mix in our European business, but very little services currently in the US.

"The business that we're potentially buying has a materially bigger services mix than Computacenter US, but not as big as Computacenter as a whole."

20 quotes that tell the channel's story in 2020

CRN sister title Channel Partner Insight rounds up the soundbites that best summarise the IT channel's year

We're seeing infrastructure projects are being delayed, but they will come back, there's no question."

Who said it?

Ken Lamneck, CEO of Insight

Context:

The Insight CEO was confident that on-prem spending would rebound once the pandemic has passed.

In a conversation with Canalys' Steve Brazier during the EMEA Channels Forum, Lamneck drew on his experience of leading a channel business during the 2007/2008 financial crash and when the dot.com bubble burst in the early 2000s.

"You can't put off those expenditures. What we're seeing is companies want to become more digital, but they've also got to make sure their infrastructure is modernised so they've got to make that investment. We're seeing those projects are being delayed, but they will come back, there's no question."

"That's pretty exciting for me, history has taught us that's the case. I don't have a crystal ball of knowing when that happens but it's certainly what we're preparing for."

20 quotes that tell the channel's story in 2020

CRN sister title Channel Partner Insight rounds up the soundbites that best summarise the IT channel's year

The extent to which Bechtle can achieve the goals set depends crucially on the further course of the crisis."

Who said it?

Thomas Olemotz, CEO of Bechtle

Context:

Bechtle's chief exec gave a sobering account of the firm's future during the early stages of the pandemic.

He said that the reseller's ability to hit its targets hinges on how the COVID crisis plays out.

"Against this background, the extent to which Bechtle can achieve the goals set depends crucially on the further course of the crisis. However, the current situation also reveals the high importance of IT. We assume that our customers' propensity to invest will remain high after the corona pandemic has subsided.

Bechtle CEO Thomas Olemotz

But despite Olemotz' conservative predictions, Bechtle went on to post better-than-expected financials in 2020. The firm even raised its earnings forecast for the year after its Q3 results, wich showed a 25.7 per cent increase in pre-tax profits to €73.34m.

20 quotes that tell the channel's story in 2020

CRN sister title Channel Partner Insight rounds up the soundbites that best summarise the IT channel's year

I don't believe that we'll return to the way we were"

Who said it?

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple

Context:

Cook gave an assessment on how Apple will likely operate in a post-pandemic world, claiming that he believes the health crisis will create permanent change for the business' work culture.

Speaking to The Atlantic in September, he said: "We've been primarily remote since March and so we have six months under our belt now [and] we're still learning."

"In all candour, it's not like being together physically," he added.

"I can't wait for everybody to be able to come back into the office. I don't believe that we'll return to the way we were because we have found that there are some things that actually work really well virtually.

"But things like creativity and serendipity - for these things you depend on people running into each other over the course of a day. We have designed our entire office [in California] such that there are common areas where people congregate. You can't schedule those things."

20 quotes that tell the channel's story in 2020

CRN sister title Channel Partner Insight rounds up the soundbites that best summarise the IT channel's year

We will be able to broaden our geographic reach even faster, while penetrating new industries and verticals"

Who said it?

Alain Monié, CEO of Ingram Micro

Context:

Ingram Micro was sold for the second time in almost five years in December to Platinum Equity.

It closed off a period in which it was owned by Chinese conglomerate HNA.

Speaking about the acquisition, Monié praised Platinum's expertise and financial resources.

"Teaming with Platinum provides an opportunity to further strengthen our competitive advantage in the cloud, speed our digital transformation and accelerate the expansion of our solutions and services portfolio, particularly for high value markets.

"HNA has been a good partner for Ingram Micro, enabling us to continue to innovate and expand our global businesses. We look forward to the opportunity to accelerate this trajectory with Platinum."

20 quotes that tell the channel's story in 2020

CRN sister title Channel Partner Insight rounds up the soundbites that best summarise the IT channel's year

25 per cent [of US resellers] will experience unrecoverable financial distress"

Who said it?

Jay McBain, principal analyst at Forrester

Context:

Channel icon McBain gave the gloomy prediction that around a quarter of US resellers will face bankruptcy due to the pandemic as part of his three COVID-19 scenarios for the channel.

"Given our modelling around the 150,000 channel partners in the US, with an average size of eight employees and around $2m in revenue, 25 per cent will experience unrecoverable financial distress in scenario B. These are similar numbers to what we saw in the Great Recession of 2008."

20 quotes that tell the channel's story in 2020

CRN sister title Channel Partner Insight rounds up the soundbites that best summarise the IT channel's year

This is a bet-the-business move for IBM"

Who said it?

Oliver Presland, Ensono VP product management

Context:

The industry gave a mixed reaction to the news that IBM was planning to spin out its managed infrastructure services business into a new company.

The spin out would create the world's leading technology services firm, IBM claimed, with revenues of $19bn.

IBM would go on to announce some 8,000 cuts in Europe including 2,000 in the UK and Ireland

One exec from cloud MSP Ensono said the spin out marked a "bet-the-business move for IBM"

"By splitting its hybrid cloud and managed infrastructure business, IBM has acknowledged that its own cloud is holding back its ability to modernise legacy clients," he said.

"This is a bet-the-business move for IBM. On one hand it is risking the IBM name by going all in on hybrid cloud, and on the other hand it will try and partner with the likes of AWS and Azure to offer a more compelling upgrade path to existing clients on legacy infrastructure."

20 quotes that tell the channel's story in 2020

CRN sister title Channel Partner Insight rounds up the soundbites that best summarise the IT channel's year

The current global health crisis and resulting macroeconomic and market turmoil caused by COVID-19 have created an environment that is not conducive to Xerox continuing to pursue an acquisition of HP Inc."

Who said it?

Xerox spokesperson

Context:

The long "will-they-won't-they" saga between HP and Xerox came to a sudden conclusion in April when Xerox decided to withdraw its $34bn offer due to the COVID pandemic.

The takeover would've sent shockwaves through HP and Xerox's channel if it came to fruition.

"Accordingly, we are withdrawing our tender offer to acquire HP and will no longer seek to nominate our slate of highly qualified candidates to HP's board of directors," said Xerox.

20 quotes that tell the channel's story in 2020

CRN sister title Channel Partner Insight rounds up the soundbites that best summarise the IT channel's year

I think our activity will be 30 per cent of our normal activity in the coming days, maybe even less"

Who said it?

Gilles Perrot, general director of C'PRO

Context:

Perrot painted an alarming picture of what French IT resellers were up against during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in April.

With some business areas grinding to a halt and staff placed on furlough, the channel was facing insurmountable odds in the early months of the crisis.

"We kept a minimum capacity, but the business is not here. People don't buy anything. They bought some laptops in the first few days [of the lockdown] to make the home office available, but now that business has stopped.

"Services are more active, but distribution of products is almost off. Services are going on; we have to maintain, we have to do what we can especially in the home office. But the new business is off, definitely."

"In France now we are more thinking about cash. It's not really a question of making a good fiscal year or not, it is how to keep some cash for as long as possible," he said.

20 quotes that tell the channel's story in 2020

CRN sister title Channel Partner Insight rounds up the soundbites that best summarise the IT channel's year

I think as always through processes like this, winners and losers are created. And we are not planning on being a loser"

Who said it?

Steinar Sønsteby, CEO of Atea

Context:

In an in-depth conversation with Channel Partner Insightat the peak of the COVID pandemic, Atea CEO Sønsteby discussed Atea's COVID strategy and why having public sector customers was a godsend for any reseller during a crisis.

"These are times when you really get paid for working with the public sector. They didn't have infrastructure to work from home, now every day they have to work from home so they're investing heavily in infrastructure, meaning everything from laptops to products like small printers, earphones and extra power supplies," he said.

20 quotes that tell the channel's story in 2020

CRN sister title Channel Partner Insight rounds up the soundbites that best summarise the IT channel's year

"With due regard to the safe and healthy environment in Barcelona and the host country today, the GSMA has cancelled MWC Barcelona 2020 because the global concern regarding the coronavirus outbreak, travel concern and other circumstances, make it impossible for the GSMA to hold the event."

Who said it?

GMSA spokesperson

Context:

Mobile World Congress was one of the first conferences to fall due the COVID-19 pandemic.

Others soon followed as the crisis reached Europe. French conference IT Partners and Infosec were also victims of the early stages of the pandemic.

Countless vendors also postponed their IT conferences, pushing them back to the second half of 2020 as virtual experiences.

20 quotes that tell the channel's story in 2020

CRN sister title Channel Partner Insight rounds up the soundbites that best summarise the IT channel's year

This behaviour, these actions and this injustice are abhorrent and we cannot - and will not - tolerate them."

Who said it?

Chuck Robbins, CEO of Cisco

Context:

While 2020 was dominated by the COVID crisis, it was also a year of social change, brought on by the tragic killing of George Floyd in May.

The incident sparked mass protests, social movements and demonstrations globally.

Tech leaders including Apple CEO Tim Cook, AWS' Andy Jassy and Microsoft's Satya Nadella released statements, memos and tweets to express their anger and outrage over the US justice system.

"I am saddened and angry at the events we have seen unfold in the United States that have unfairly targeted African Americans and other people of colour in our communities," wrote Cisco's Robbins.

"This behaviour, these actions and this injustice are abhorrent and we cannot - and will not - tolerate them. People across the globe, who are already facing the worst health crisis of a lifetime, are now painfully reminded about the racial divide, xenophobia and inequality that remains all too prevalent today."