F5 trades Arrow for Tech Data, retains Westcon-Comstor in distie reshuffle

Edgar Dias (F5 Networks)

Security vendor F5 Networks has restructured its Australian distribution operation, dropping Arrow, retaining Westcon-Comstor and on-boarding Tech Data.

F5 said the new distributor partnerships align with its recent acquisitions of NGINX, Shape and Volterra, as well as its shift to a software-as-service model of consumption. The vendor said it has worked with Westcon-Comstor in Australia for more than 12 years.

“We are delighted to announce our continued partnership with F5, a company that brings world-class performance, security and cloud solutions for many leading enterprises and service providers,” said Phil Cameron, managing director of Australia at Westcon-Comstor.

“We look forward to building on the significant momentum we have developed with the existing F5 portfolio and their next-generation technology acquisitions NGINX, Shape and Volterra. We will continue to grow and connect our network of system integrators, service providers, security valued-added resellers and cloud partners to meet the ever-changing customer demands."

Tech Data is a new partner for the vendor in Australia but said it would “bring a wealth of local and global experience to the partnership”. Andy Berry, vice president and country general manager of Australia and New Zealand at Tech Data, called F5 a “perfect fit” for its offering.

“The lines that have historically defined technology are blurring,” he added. “Hybrid models of IT delivery and consumption are being demanded and workloads are shifting as the physical and virtual worlds become increasingly intermeshed.”

The announcement comes more than a year after F5 appointed Edgar Dias as regional vice president of Channels and Partnerships for Asia Pacific.