Westcon Group Signs Global Distribution Agreement With Cisco to Streamline Global Transactions for Channel Partners

Market Wire, April, 2009

Westcon Group, Inc. , the leading specialty distributor in networking, convergence, security and mobility, announced that it has signed a multi-year global distribution agreement with Cisco. The new agreement will enable both companies to conduct cross-border transactions more efficiently while increasing the companies' ability to access emerging market opportunities in regions such as Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. Westcon Group is the first Cisco Global Distributor to execute an agreement of this type and breadth.

The new global distribution agreement provides both companies with a single contractual vehicle from which to manage global, regional and local business activities with common terms and conditions. In the past, both companies transacted business through independent regional contracts.

Bill Corbin, Vice President, Global Strategic Relations, Westcon Group, commented: "This agreement creates a solid framework for both Cisco and Westcon Group to deliver value to the reseller community faster and more efficiently, no matter where they are in the world. This agreement also underscores the broad trend towards cross-border deployments of technology which engender greater complexity due to regulatory and financial risks."

Westcon's Global Procurement System (GPS), or its global order desk, delivers outstanding automation capabilities and cross-theatre support to Westcon's Cisco-oriented reseller base. In addition to helping resellers conduct cross-border transactions more efficiently, Westcon's GPS has also helped lower Cisco's barrier to entry in emerging markets. Last year, Westcon Group shipped Cisco solutions to more than 60 countries for its customers.

"Globalisation is changing the face of business, creating a new set of competitive dynamics and evolving traditional business models. To better serve our customers in this global economy, Cisco is evolving its partner ecosystem and channel programs," said Dave O'Callaghan, vice president of Distribution, Worldwide Channels at Cisco. "Westcon will be our first global logistics and distribution partner, helping Cisco and our channel partners streamline business transactions for global customers."

Over the course of the last several years, Westcon Group has rolled out highly successful, award winning solutions programs including OneVoice, OneDefense, OneWave and OneNetwork. These programs, which are unique in distribution and available in multiple theatres, deliver sales tools, market analysis and product information to help resellers become more competitive in selling Cisco solutions. Last year, Westcon Group was named both Cisco's "Global Distributor of the Year" and Cisco's "Multi-Theatre Partner of the Year" -- an award never before presented to a distributor.

About Westcon Group

Westcon Group, Inc. is the leading specialty distributor in networking, security, mobility and convergence for leading technology vendors, including Cisco, Nortel, Avaya and Polycom. 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 .

Contact: Jeffrey Touzeau Westcon Group, Inc. (914) 829-7388 Email Contact