What Douglas Stewart Software & Services does

Douglas Stewart Software & Services (DSS) operates as a distributor of educational software solutions targeting K-12 schools and higher education institutions in the United States. The company functions as the education-focused arm within Climb Channel Solutions' broader State, Local, and Education (SLED) division, which is a subsidiary of publicly traded Climb Global Solutions (ticker CLMB). DSS distributes through an ecosystem of vendors, resellers, managed service providers (MSPs), and end customers, leveraging field sales teams and partnerships with cooperative purchasing organizations such as OMNIA Partners to reach public-sector buyers. The Madison, Wisconsin-headquartered entity operates within a multinational footprint that includes offices in the United States (New Jersey, Maryland, Colorado), Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, and the Netherlands.

The company's portfolio spans six solution categories distributed through the channel: virtualization and cloud, connectivity, data management, security, software and application lifecycle, and storage/hyper-converged infrastructure. Supporting platforms and programs include the Climb Store reseller portal, the Elevate partner enablement program, Climb Services, Market Maker marketing resources, Launch + Connect, SPIFFs & Promos, the MSP Minute and Basecamp newsletters, and customer financing options. Core technology is limited to distribution tooling rather than proprietary software products; the company is explicitly positioned as a distributor rather than a technology product company.

DSS generates revenue through transaction-based distribution fees and take rates on software and service sales facilitated between vendors and the reseller ecosystem. Pricing is quote-based and negotiated through the partner channel rather than publicly disclosed. The go-to-market relies on channel partners across multiple geographies, with parent-level Q4 2025 gross billings of $625.4 million and net sales of $193.8 million (up 20% year-over-year). The recently announced acquisition of interworks.cloud is expected to expand the parent group's presence into Southeastern Europe with an incremental 600+ resellers, while management has suspended the quarterly dividend starting Q1 2026 to fund further organic growth and strategic acquisitions.

Name

Douglas Stewart Software & Services

Legal name

Climb Channel Solutions

Website

https://dss-edu.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Douglas Stewart Software & Services is a value-added distributor of educational software solutions for K-12 and higher education, operating within Climb Channel Solutions' SLED division and serving public-sector buyers through a network of vendors, resellers, MSPs, and cooperative purchasing partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Madison

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Distribution and Transaction Fees: Climb generates revenue through distribution fees and transaction-based take rates by facilitating software and service sales between vendors and the reseller ecosystem. Q4 2025 gross billings of $625.4 million with net sales of $193.8 million.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Douglas Stewart Software & Services operates as the Climb SLED (State, Local & Education) division of Climb Channel Solutions, functioning as a value-added distributor of educational and public-sector software. The company partners with software vendors, resellers, MSPs, and end customers to bring K-12, higher education, state, and local-government technology solutions to market, supported by enablement programs, financing options, and public-sector procurement contracts such as OMNIA Partners.

Product overview

Climb Channel Solutions operates a platform-based distribution model, with its Climb SLED (State, Local & Education) division serving as a strategic distribution partner for the public sector. The portfolio includes multiple solution categories covering virtualization & cloud, connectivity, data management, security, software & application lifecycle, and storage & HCI. Supporting platforms include Climb Services, Elevate, Climb Store (portal), and various marketing and incentive programs (Market Maker, MSP Minute, Launch + Connect, Basecamp Newsletter, SPIFFs & Promos). The company also provides financing options and operates across multiple geographic regions including the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Germany, Netherlands, France, and South Africa.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Climb SLED: State, Local, and Education division representing Climb's presence across the public sector landscape

Products and services

• Climb SLED (State, Local & Education Division) A dedicated division for distributing software and service solutions to state, local, and education markets through partnerships with vendors, resellers, MSPs, and end customers.
• Climb Services A service platform offering support and adjacent services to resellers and managed service providers transacting on Climb.
• Elevate A partner enablement platform/program designed to support and grow resellers selling through the Climb channel.
• Financing Options Financing solutions provided to resellers and end customers to enable flexible purchasing of software distributed by the company.
• Climb Store (Reseller Portal) An online portal that lets resellers manage accounts and purchase distributed software and services from the company.
• Public Sector OMNIA Partners Contract A cooperative procurement contract via OMNIA Partners that lets government and education buyers purchase from the company through established public-sector purchasing channels.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• interworks.cloudcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Acquisition of interworks.cloud, a Greece-based cloud distributor serving Southeastern Europe. The acquisition added over 600 resellers to Climb's network and expanded geographic presence to Southeastern Europe. This strategic acquisition supports organic growth and expansion strategy.
• OMNIA PartnerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPublic sector procurement partnership through OMNIA Partners cooperative purchasing organization, enabling Climb to serve government and education customers through established procurement channels.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• TD SYNNEX: One of the largest global IT distributors formed through the merger of Tech Data and SYNNEX. Competes with Climb in software distribution but at a much broader scale across all verticals rather than specializing in SLED.
• Ingram Micro: Global IT distribution giant with broad vendor and reseller relationships. Competes in adjacent software distribution categories but does not specialize in the SLED public-sector niche where Climb focuses.

Direct peers

• CDW Government (CDW-G): The public sector arm of CDW Corporation, providing IT products and services to federal, state, local, and education customers. Competes directly in the SLED distribution space with overlapping vendor portfolios and similar cooperative procurement strategies.
• immixGroup: Value-added distributor focused exclusively on the U.S. public sector, now part of ePlus. Provides contract vehicles and channel services comparable to Climb's OMNIA Partners-driven SLED distribution model.
• Westcon-Comstor: Global value-added distributor specializing in security, networking, and collaboration technologies. Operates a comparable two-tier distribution model across multiple geographies, similar to Climb's EMEA expansion strategy.
• Insight Enterprises (Insight Public Sector): Global IT solutions and distribution provider with a dedicated public sector practice (formerly Insight Public Sector). Delivers hardware, software, and services to SLED and federal customers through a similar vendor-reseller model.
• Carahsoft Technology: The largest value-added distributor focused exclusively on the U.S. public sector (federal, state, local, and education). Carahsoft operates an analogous model connecting software vendors with government resellers and contract vehicles, making it the most direct comparable to Climb's SLED division.
• ePlus Technology: IT solutions and distribution provider serving enterprise and public sector customers, having absorbed immixGroup. Offers similar vendor-reseller distribution services with exposure to SLED procurement.
• Connection (Connection Public Sector): IT solutions provider with a dedicated public sector division serving SLED and federal customers through VAR and contract channels. Operates a comparable value-added distribution model with similar customer verticals.
• SHI International: Large IT solutions and value-added reseller with a meaningful public sector practice. Competes with Climb across vendor relationships, software distribution, and managed services for government and education customers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/Climb_CS
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/about

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Douglas Stewart Software & Services