A spacecraft on the launchpad looks very different to the one that orbits the earth minutes later. All those extra boosters and fuel tanks are essential to getting the payload to the intended destination. But once they’re spent, they’re spent. What’s left is the very essence – the core value – of the mission.
Today we officially retired some of the brand names that have helped ‘jet’ Exclusive to the latest stage of its remarkable journey. And while their memory will fade, their legacy lives on.
Take BigTec, for example.
When we blazed a trail into the ‘new’ technology segment of datacentre and cloud transformation back in 2014, we launched the BigTec brand to create a clear distinction in competency, experience and partner relationships away from the then cybersecurity-focused Exclusive Networks. And, truthfully, we couldn’t predict what would happen next.
BigTec: a success story with a happy ending
BigTec has been arguably the most bold and audacious move in our history; setting up a parallel distributor in a new technology area and accelerating it from one country (the UK) to a global proposition within the space of 2 years. It has also been a great success, paying off many times over – not just in terms of revenue and market share but also as a priceless learning experience that we have been able to apply into our global business.
BigTec’s biggest achievement has been to normalise cloud transformation as a critical element of our go-to-market proposition. Cloud and cybersecurity are inextricably linked. Other VADs pretend to understand this, or ‘bolt’ it on to their core focus. We stand apart as having truly lived that journey and earned our place as a global authority.
We haven’t changed the formula
In 1985, The Coca-Cola Company famously (and disastrously) changed the formula of Coke. This is not what we are doing. We still have the same people delivering extraordinary value and prized for their specialist knowledge and skills. Customers and partners will still be able to deal with the same teams and structures, just without the different name badges.
Exclusive Networks Global Services are the people that design and deliver our unparalleled range of value-based services from pre and post-sales technical support to leasing, training, professional services and global project management.
Exclusive Networks Cybersecurity are the people we have focused on cybersecurity solutions and challenges. Exclusive Networks Cloud are those at the cutting edge of cloud transformation. We have plenty more people qualified to sit astride both. This echoes our vendor portfolio which also features many specialists but also those that are increasingly shifting to occupy both ends of the spectrum. This further illustrates the unbreakable bond between cyber and cloud that we have been the first to identify and help our partners capitalise on.
Back to the Future: Exclusive Networks
Today is not really about the passing of some obsolete brands. The bigger story is how we are concentrating Exclusive Networks as a single go-to market proposition and as one global family speaking with one voice.
We are on a mission to help our partners innovate and disrupt at scale; addressing the widening skills shortfalls in cyber and cloud that threaten to undermine the digital evolution of millions of enterprises worldwide.
Our proven platform for growth accelerates market opportunities for technology vendors while our broad suite of compelling services ensures the long-term relevance of channel partners in the face of fast-moving customer challenges.
The Exclusive Networks brand has been at the centre of our business since the beginning. As we have expanded – first throughout EMEA, then APAC and North America – to become a global organisation, our rapid growth necessitated a family of distinct brands to express our specialisms, service offerings and corporate group status to customers, partners and other stakeholders.
But Exclusive Networks is where it all started, and our most recognised brand asset. It’s who we’ve always been and what will guide us to continuing success in the future.
Olivier Breittmayer
Exclusive Networks is the global specialist VAD for cybersecurity and cloud solutions.