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Comstor Helps Power Nova Datacom's Next Stage of Growth
TARRYTOWN, NY, Sep 27, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) --
For the past three years, Nova Datacom has quietly made a name for
itself as one of the market's leading government integrators.
Achieving an unprecedented 190 percent year-over-year growth by
working alongside Comstor -- a Westcon Group company -- Nova Datacom
has developed a loyal base of federally-oriented customers who have
come to rely on the company's broad-based expertise in cyber
security, business continuity, emergency preparedness, and
governance, risk and compliance (GRC).
An SBA certified 8(a) minority owned business, Nova Datacom began
pursuing opportunities in the federal market approximately three
years ago. Working with distributor Comstor and drawing upon its vast
array of manufacturer partnerships and public sector expertise, the
company has secured contracts for the Department of Defense and other
major government agencies.
Nova Datacom's expertise has not only enabled end-user clients to
become more operationally efficient, but has also enabled these
government agencies to focus on their true core directives -- driving
mission-critical operations and saving lives. Recently Comstor sat
down with Ted Hallas, Executive Vice President of Operations at Nova
Datacom, to discuss both the challenges faced by end-user clients and
what's expected from a distributor in today's competitive climate.
When did you begin to focus on the federal sector?
We really
started focusing on the federal market in the summer of 2007, when we
got our first federal engagement. In September of that year, we also
got our SBA 8(a) minority status. Our success in serving the federal
market revolves around the exceptional expertise we have developed in
providing security solutions and related network architectures and
technologies.
Early on, it was very important to establish a trusted advisor role
among our clients. Our strategic focus on the federal market has
enabled us to experience major growth over the last three years.
We are always working on high profile and sensitive projects with
agencies like the Department of Defense (DOD). These typically
involve conference bridging and enterprise-wide video collaboration
deployments across many different sites. These installations are both
classified and unclassified.
How has your focus on the federal market changed the operational
nature of your company?
We've had to become more nimble and
faster-to-market, and have had to think more outside the box as a
company. Many new commercial players are pursuing federal funds
because of uncertain economic climates in the private sector. That,
combined with the current government economic policies, has created a
fierce competitive landscape which has ultimately driven the pricing
models down. Nova Datacom has avoided becoming a commodities player
by continuously providing value and expertise far beyond that of a
typical Value-Added Reseller (VAR), and has tried to be smart when
differentiating ourselves from the '15 minute monopolies'. We want to
advance some of these technologies that are drawing attention and be
the one to quickly bring them to market.
How do you establish loyalty among your clients?
Loyalty comes from
being a trusted advisor; we can earn our clients' trust in many ways.
For example, provide operational planning and help our clients with
fiscal responsibility. We also can use cutting edge security and
technology lifecycle management skills to give clients a solid
framework to ensure they're able to continue operating efficiently.
As our clients' trusted advisor, we don't take anything for granted
and must remain at their side. We work with the vendors, OEMs and
Comstor to make sure we're providing those solutions best-suited for
their specific environments. That has been the foundation of our
success.
How has Nova Datacom's focus on services expanded recently?
Our
services offerings are expanding exponentially. Now, we are probably
doing less than 20 percent products and 80 percent service. Most of
our product engagements are primarily product pull-through on our
services contracts. For example, we might be running a
business-outsourcing contract for XY agency, then they ask us to go
out and evaluate videoconferencing solutions. We will go out and look
at the competitive offerings and come back with a recommendation.
This kind of thing has been very positive from a bottom-line
perspective. Our margins have gotten higher, the competition has been
eliminated and our partners are able to rely on our expertise to make
more effective business decisions.
What is a common challenge among all your customers?
They are all
trying to do more with less. For example, when evaluating a
technology cycle refresh, they've got to contend with both new and
legacy components in the enterprise, resulting in a mismatch of
vendors. Not only do these technology gaps need to be addressed, but
the demand for network uptime has become 24 x 7. This creates a
difficult environment for them, so we try to help them identify,
prioritize and optimize their investment budget to make them more
productive where it counts.
How has Comstor helped you in succeeding with your federal customers?
Comstor has a dedicated public sector branch that helps us in all
aspects of our business; it is really an extension of our
capabilities--another arm of our company. You want predictability,
and Comstor helps us achieve that. Also, Comstor helps us from
cradle-to-grave for all the projects on which we engage; they expand
the depth and breadth of our offerings and provide the geographic
reach we need. They provide basic services we count on, such as asset
tagging and inventory management. These things are very significant
and go a long way.
At the end of the day, we trust Comstor. We know they care about our
business. This applies to the entire organization -- business
development, inside sales, strategy, all the way up to Comstor's
senior leadership. That care, trust and loyalty goes a long way with
us, and the personal relationship is very important.
What is Nova Datacom's vision for the next few years?
Our growth
has averaged about 190 percent year over year for the last three
years. I would love to see that level of growth continue. I would
also like to see us continue to grow our own inside sales staff.
Currently, we have some amazing initiatives underway; we just
expanded our physical operations by 12,000 square feet, we are
building a network operations center, and a state of the art training
facility. I can't foresee the future, but we are headed for
predictable, sustainable growth. We aspire to be the leader in our
peer group in the mid-tier 8(a) integrator arena.
About Westcon Group
Westcon Group, Inc. is the leading specialty
distributor in data center, networking, security, mobility and
convergence for the market's premier technology vendors, including
Cisco, Avaya and Polycom. Through its Comstor, Westcon Security and
Westcon Convergence business practices, Westcon Group sells products
and services to resellers, systems integrators and service providers.
Westcon Group has particular expertise in the convergence of voice,
data and video applications and technologies, including
Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) security for networking and
communications systems, remote access, Internet and e-business,
virtual private networks, videoconferencing and wireless
connectivity. For more information, visit www.westcongroup.com.
Media Contact
Craig Librett
Westcon Group
(914) 357-1747
Email Contact
SOURCE: Westcon Group, Inc.
http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct?id=A41254D70518C839
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