Climb Global Solutions Moving To New Cloud Marketplace ‘To Make It As Easy As Possible’ For MSPs

‘By offering a marketplace platform, we’re allowing them to easily integrate into our system and focus on scaling their business without worrying about the technical side. It’s not about copying competitors, it’s about filling a gap in our portfolio that we’ve identified,’ says Dale Foster, Climb Global Solutions CEO.

After record net sales in 2024, Climb Global Solutions is expected to launch a new cloud marketplace, titled Climb Expedition, to accelerate transactions for its MSP partners.

“The goal of the marketplace is to bring speed and efficiency to the transaction process,” Dale Foster, CEO of Eatontown, N.J.-based distributor Climb, told CRN. “We want to make it as easy as possible for resellers and customers to access emerging tech. The marketplace will be a tool for accelerating transactions. We still do the back-end work like collecting payments and signing vendors, but the marketplace itself will streamline the buying process allowing partners to scale faster and reach more customers.”

The momentum comes off a record 2024 in which Climb saw a 32 percent increase in net sales to $465.6 million, a 51 percent increase in net income to $18.6 million and 61 percent growth in adjusted EBITDA, reaching $39.6 million, compared to 2023.

In addition to the strong results, Climb further strengthened its North American operations with the acquisition of Douglas Stewart Software & Services, a specialty distributor focused on SaaS solutions for the education sector, and 21 new vendors on its marketplace.

“The vendors are still coming to us,” Foster said. “In fact, we’re about to announce a new vendor partnership that will be huge. They’re going to become one of our top five vendors within the next six months. So, there’s a lot of interest in joining our portfolio.”

CRN spoke further to Foster about key factors driving Climb’s growth, the new cloud marketplace and what partners can expect from the distributor throughout the rest of 2025.

What do you believe were the key factors driving record-breaking growth for both the quarter and the year?

The quarter, especially Q4, is always a high performer for us. We’re selling 90 percent software, and when you look at the vendors we work with, they operate on an ARR (annual recurring revenue) model. When it comes to our commercial side, many customers exhaust their budgets by the end of the year, contributing to a spike in sales. We acquired Douglas Stewart in July so we don't want to include their numbers when discussing organic growth for this year. Their biggest quarter is in June, July and August because they focus heavily on the education space. So we get a boost from that but their contribution was relatively stable, and they were up year over year. Their numbers will be more prominent in the next year when we hit that peak again.

Speaking of acquisitions, what criteria do you use to identify opportunities to enhance your service offerings?

We’re always looking for services that complement what we already do. For example, we already have a strong services team in the UK supporting Microsoft and other vendors, but we need to expand that to the U.S. market. We’re looking for acquisitions that can help us provide better support for customers and vendors in the U.S. as well. Additionally, we’re holding off on European acquisitions until the geopolitical situation stabilizes, particularly regarding the Ukraine war. Once that’s over, we’ll have a clearer path forward.

What role did the expansion of your vendor portfolio play in the company’s success?

On the vendor side, there were a few additions, but the biggest driver was the organic growth from our core vendors. We’ve been building strong relationships with vendors like SolarWinds, and we’ve recently been working closely with Delinea. The relationship with Delinea has been fantastic and they’re becoming one of our largest vendors. The partnership’s been so successful, and that helped propel us through Q4.

What challenges and opportunities do you see as you expand into more North American markets?

The biggest challenge is managing our line card effectively. Initially, we focused on a few key vendors, around 70, but as we expanded it grew to 110, which was a bit much. We need to limit that number to focus on the right partners. As for opportunities, the vendors are still coming to us. In fact, we’re about to announce a new vendor partnership that will be huge. They’re going to become one of our top five vendors within the next six months. So, there’s a lot of interest in joining our portfolio.

What initiatives are being prioritized this year to drive both organic and inorganic growth?

For organic growth, it’s all about vendor recruiting. We’ve got some exciting partnerships lined up, like the new vendor I mentioned. We’re also focusing heavily on efficiency. In July, we launched a new ERP (enterprise resource planning) system, and it’s getting better every day. By Q3, we’re planning to launch our new Climate Expedition marketplace which will integrate emerging tech into a cloud platform, providing a more efficient way for customers to transact.

Can you elaborate on what partners can expect from this marketplace that’s launching soon?

The goal of the marketplace is to bring speed and efficiency to the transaction process. We want to make it as easy as possible for resellers and customers to access emerging tech. The marketplace will be a tool for accelerating transactions. We still do the back-end work like collecting payments and signing vendors, but the marketplace itself will streamline the buying process allowing partners to scale faster and reach more customers.

Why the move to a cloud marketplace? Is it because that’s where you see the market going or is it because competitors are doing it?

It’s definitely a strategic decision for us. If you look at some of our top vendors like Bitdefender, they want to transition to an ARR model and a more seamless recurring revenue process. However, managing this on their own is complex. By offering a marketplace platform, we’re allowing them to easily integrate into our system and focus on scaling their business without worrying about the technical side. It’s not about copying competitors, it’s about filling a gap in our portfolio that we’ve identified.

Lastly, what are your goals for 2025, and how will you ensure the company continues to scale while maintaining strong relationships with partners?

Our biggest goal for 2025 is to focus on efficiency and filling gaps, particularly with the loss of the Citrix business. We’re confident we can fill that void in six to eight months. Beyond that, it’s all about making our internal processes more efficient. Our ERP system and the new marketplace will play a huge role in that. Ultimately, the key is to continue building strong relationships with our vendors and partners while scaling the company.