Oracle reveals third Australian distributor

Oracle has appointed Arrow ECS as its third Australian distributor, joining Avnet Technology Solutions and Nextgen Distribution.

The deal adds a major tier-one vendor for Arrow ECS Australia & New Zealand, the security-focused distributor formerly known as Observatory Crest before its acquisition by US$23 billion-turnover giant Arrow in 2014. Arrow ECS' existing vendors include Check Point, Gigamon, IBM Security, F5 Networks and FireEye.

Oracle continues to be supported by its existing distributors, with Avnet Technology Solutions' ANZ general manager Darren Adams telling CRN: "We’ve seen pleasing growth in our local Oracle partnership this year, particularly in software and cloud solution areas.”

Oracle has long been known as a primarily direct vendor. Under former channel chief Patricia Nance, the company announced plans to open up "thousands" of direct accounts to Australian partners, though it is unclear whether this strategy took off, with Nance and Oracle Australian boss Tim Ebbeck both having since departed.

The local distributor reshuffle, which took happened in June, comes as Oracle announced overnight it would acquire its cloud computing competitor NetSuite for US$9.3 billion.

Merger with Distribution Central

Arrow ECS Australia is currently being combined with Distribution Central, which US-headquartered Arrow acquired in March.

The two distributors had their first combined sales kickoff recently, as part of a merger strategy known internally as 'One Arrow'. It is expected that the combined company – which will turn over more than $500 million in revenue – will have access to the full portfolio of vendors from both companies. These include Distribution Central's agencies for Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Microsoft.

The companies are in the process of aligning systems and accounting. Arrow will be integrated into Distribution Central's NetSuite system, while Distribution Central is running a six-month "catch-up" until December to align with Arrow's calendar reporting cycle.

Once combined, Arrow will be led by Distribution Central managing director Nick Verykios out of DC's head office in St Leonards Sydney, with Arrow ECS' senior executive joining the existing Distribution Central executive team.

Correction: A previous version of this story included an incorrect acquisition value for Distribution Central.