The UK's top 40 IT distributors generated nearly £13bn revenues in their latest years, CRN research has found. Here we count down those ranked 40th to 26th...
"Our name is Italian for ‘cloud'"
38. Nuvola Distribution
Revenues: £10.5m (+50%)
Headcount: 31
Specialism: UC, networking and cloud
Key vendors: Alcatel Lucent Enterprise, LiveAction, NFON, 8x8, Garland Technology, NICE -InContact, Sangoma, Ring Central, I3 Technologies, Aver
HQ: Reading, Berkshire
This UC and VoIP distributor was created in 2013 from channel services business Nuage Communications (which now acts as Nuvola's services division).
Including the contribution of March 2021 Irish acquisition Electromaster, Nuvola generated revenue of £10.5m in its year to 30 June 2020, up from £7m a year earlier, according to numbers it shared with us. Around a third of the total is drawn from outside the UK.
Quickfire Q&A with MD Michael Lloyd
What specialism is your firm known for, and what sets you apart from your peers?
Nuvola was created from a professional services business and we have always looked at providing technology and services from the start.
Which emerging vendors are you betting big on this year?
Nice, Nice InContact, 8x8, Garland and Adaptiv
Have you made any significant vendor signings in the last 12 months?
Yes: 8x8, Nice, Nice InContact, Adaptiv
What's the biggest misconception about distribution?
It's all about box shifting
How would you summarise the health of the distribution sector in 2021?
7/10. Distribution has to have a good hard look at itself and embrace the changes of the technology and GTM models whilst working with vendors to ensure their products are accessible to a larger variety of resellers.
Do you expect to grow in 2021?
Yes. Second half.
At first glance, the rise of cloud must be pretty devastating for distributors if there is no physical product to ship. How have you adapted?
We were aware of this from the very beginning, building the business into five pillars with the cloud being one of the cornerstones. We have de-risked the business with vendors such as 8x8, NFON, NICE InContact, Ring Central and ALE Rainbow and distributing to our partners via both agency and wholesale models. Of course we provide services around all these products. And finally Nuvola is Italian for ‘cloud'.
How do you see the role of distribution changing in the 2020s?
Distribution must allow their reseller partners access to new technologies and solutions as easy as possible, which is where professional service wrap and pre-sales is key.
Tell us one thing most people won't know about your company?
A third of our revenue comes from outside the UK
Which distie brands itself as a 'partner community' and grew 30% in its last year? Find out on the next page...
