Westcon Group, Inc., the leading specialty distributor in
networking, convergence, security, and mobility, announced that its
subsidiary Westcon Group North America, Inc. has acquired the assets
of Chicago, IL-based ReView Video, LLC, a distributor of audio,
network, videoconferencing and VoIP solutions. As a result of the
acquisition, Westcon Group is now one of Polycom's largest global
distributors through the acquisition of ReView's U.S. and U.K. rights
in addition to Westcon's recent Polycom launch in Australia. Polycom
is the worldwide leader in integrated video, voice and content
solutions that deliver the ultimate collaborative experience for
companies and organizations of any size.
By acquiring ReView, Westcon increases its ability to integrate
collaborative, IP-based video products and services into its
world-class portfolio of convergence, security and mobility related
solutions. With Review's industry leading maintenance program entitled
Gold Seal, Westcon also gains a strong foothold in the areas of
service and technical support for videoconferencing solutions.
According to report by U.S. based researcher Frost & Sullivan, the
market for conferencing and collaboration will reach over $2.5 billion
by 2009.
Anthony Daley, executive vice president and general manager of the
Americas, Westcon Group, commented. "Enterprise and mid-tier companies
are realizing new efficiencies and cost savings through the use of IP
video conferencing and other collaborative applications--these are no
longer 'early adopter' communication mediums. Through this acquisition
and our strengthened position with Polycom, we intend to help both new
and existing resellers build on their success in this emerging
market."
The purchase of ReView marks Westcon Group's third acquisition so
far this year. In April it acquired NOXS, the leading European
security distributor, and in May it acquired Crane Telecommunications,
making it Avaya's leading European distributor. The ReView acquisition
enables Westcon Group to deliver collaborative, IP-based solutions to
its entire multi-national customer base while providing new customers
with access to the financial strength and scale of operations that
only an internationally successful distributor can provide.
"We have been very successful delivering IP and video conferencing
solutions to our customers for well over a decade," said Timothy
Gelman, former CEO of ReView and now vice president and general
manager of Westcon Group North America. "When you combine our strength
in IP-based video conferencing products and services with Westcon
Group's focused technology solutions and operational infrastructure,
this represents an enormous opportunity for customers."
David Phillips, Polycom's sr. vice president of worldwide sales,
added: "This acquisition is excellent news for Polycom and the
convergence-oriented reseller channel. Westcon is well positioned to
deliver collaborative video-conferencing solutions and will be able to
identify opportunities both across technologies and across its various
business practices. The expanded relationship with Westcon in the U.S.
makes them one of our largest distributors worldwide."
About Westcon Group
Westcon Group, Inc. is the leading specialty distributor in
networking, security, mobility and convergence for leading technology
vendors, including Cisco, Nortel and Avaya, Inc. Through its Westcon,
Comstor and Voda One 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, or 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.
