Written by Jennifer Brown, SP&T News
Published: July 2007

The following is an excerpt from the article "The Strong but Silent Partners"

New players

In 2001, enterprise structured cabling distributor Anixter entered the security market with sales less than US $30 million. Today, the company’s security sales have grown globally into the “hundreds of millions” and represents Anixter’s fastest growing business segment. To date, Anixter has 16 sales offices and nine warehouses in Canada. They also have a strong connection to the IT community with IBM as one of their biggest customers — a critical link to a market many believe will become the next big decision makers when it comes to security system design in large organizations.

Anixter recently opened its Infrastructure Solution test lab at its Glenview, Ill-headquarters. The lab was created to test Ipbased security systems before an organization rolls them out to the enterprise.

“(Security) is our fastest growing customer market right now,” says Steve Leatherwood, senior vice-president of marketing, enterprise cabling and security solutions at Anixter’s headquarters in Glenview, Ill. “What we’re encountering is that it’s a lot less about saving $50 on a camera than it is about ‘Can you help me run my business profitably and on time; help me look good with a customer; help me find customers and educate me’.”

Industry observers say distribution players like Anixter have come into the security arena knowing convergence has arrived and they are leveraging their knowledge in the IT market.

“I think the whole face of distribution is changing and the lines are completely blurred with convergence,” says Jones [Sandra Jones of Sandra Jones and Company]. “Not only is Anixter becoming more aggressive in this marketplace, we see that companies like ScanSource and Black Box (Network Services) and other IT providers coming into play. The closer we get to the edge of the network, security devices are becoming just another group of peripheral devices and the closer we are to blending opportunities for other types of people in the market.”

Expanding the service menu

Distributors have also continued to broaden their role beyond providing ready access to a wide variety of products, to ensuring dealers are educated about market opportunities, keeping them abreast of developments in technology and even acting as their financial support system.
The more they offer, the more attractive they become to dealers.


Source: SP&T News – www.sptnews.ca

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