7 CDW Alternatives For Your Device and IT Equipment Procurement

CDW is the largest publicly traded IT solutions provider in the US, reporting $22.42 billion in net sales for fiscal 2025. That scale is exactly what makes some buyers start looking elsewhere: a reseller built around enterprise infrastructure deals, custom-negotiated pricing, and a dedicated account manager isn’t necessarily built around the specific problem a distributed team actually has, getting a laptop to a new hire in another country fast, tracked, and without a six-figure minimum commitment.

This post is specifically about device and IT equipment procurement, not the full range of CDW’s business (cybersecurity consulting, cloud migration, data center infrastructure). If you’re comparing broader IT procurement software and automation platforms generally, our guide to the best IT procurement platforms covers that ground. This post is for a narrower, more specific question: what to use instead of CDW when the job is sourcing, shipping, and managing physical devices for a workforce.

We looked at seven alternatives across two genuinely different categories. Traditional resellers like Insight, SHI, Connection, Softchoice, and Zones compete directly with CDW on the same model: multi-vendor catalogs, negotiated pricing, dedicated account teams. Platforms like ZenAdmin and GroWrk compete on a different model entirely, treating procurement as one stage of a connected device lifecycle rather than a standalone purchase transaction. Knowing which model actually fits your team is most of this decision.

Key Takeaways

• ZenAdmin replaces the reseller relationship with a lifecycle platform: procurement, deployment, MDM, and retrieval in one system with transparent pay-per-use pricing, no negotiated reseller markup to work through.
• Insight Enterprises and SHI International are the closest like-for-like CDW competitors, similar scale, similar negotiated-pricing model, with Insight leaning toward Microsoft licensing and cloud, and SHI toward software asset management depth.
• Connection offers a genuinely larger product catalog and more transparent mid-market pricing than most enterprise resellers.
• Softchoice and Zones are consultative, mid-market-friendly resellers, useful if you want a dedicated account relationship without CDW’s enterprise scale and minimums.
• GroWrk represents the other real alternative category: a logistics-first lifecycle platform rather than a reseller, worth considering if procurement speed and global delivery matter more than a single negotiated vendor relationship.

Quick Comparison Table

The 7 Best CDW Alternatives

1. ZenAdmin

ZenAdmin isn’t a reseller, and that’s the whole point of including it first. CDW, Insight, SHI, Connection, Softchoice, and Zones all operate on some version of the same model: you negotiate pricing, they source and ship hardware, and once the device arrives, procurement’s job is done. Everything after that, deployment, security policy, support, refresh, retrieval, lives with a separate vendor or an internal team. ZenAdmin treats IT and device procurement as the first stage of a connected lifecycle rather than a transaction that ends at delivery.

The sections below cover how that actually plays out for a team replacing CDW specifically for device and equipment procurement.

Procurement without the reseller markup structure

Devices are sourced and shipped through ZenAdmin’s global vendor network at market rate, with pricing passed through transparently rather than the reseller markup structure common across the CDW-style model, where resellers typically mark hardware up 5-25% depending on product category, volume, and negotiation. There’s no dedicated account manager negotiating a custom deal each quarter; pricing is pay-per-use and visible upfront.

Global reach without enterprise minimums

Procurement and shipping run across 150+ countries, a footprint comparable to the largest resellers, but without the enterprise-scale commitment or minimum order volume that makes CDW and its direct peers a natural fit mainly for large organizations. A 150-person distributed team gets the same global reach as a 5,000-person enterprise account.

Zero-touch deployment folded into the same order

A device ordered through ZenAdmin arrives pre-configured and already enrolled in MDM, collapsing what would otherwise be two separate vendor relationships, the reseller who ships the box, and the IT team or MDM vendor who configures it, into one order.

What happens after the device ships (that a reseller relationship doesn’t cover)

This is the structural difference worth being direct about. A reseller’s job ends when the invoice is paid and the device is delivered. Everything downstream, security policy enforcement, helpdesk support, refresh-cycle tracking, and eventual retrieval and disposition when an employee leaves, becomes a separate problem for IT to solve with separate tools. ZenAdmin folds procurement into the same system as MDM, SaaS management, and 24/7 IT support, so switching away from a pure reseller model also closes gaps most teams don’t notice until an audit or an offboarding event exposes them.

Pricing

Free core platform, transparent pay-per-use, with no platform fee and no negotiated reseller markup to work through each purchase cycle.

Key features: 

• Device procurement and global shipping across 150+ countries at market-rate pricing
• Zero-touch deployment with pre-configured, MDM-enrolled devices
• Native MDM, identity and access management, and SaaS management in the same platform
• 24/7 IT helpdesk included, not billed as a separate professional services line
• Automated retrieval and offboarding tied to the same workflow as procurement

Pros:

• No reseller markup structure to negotiate; pricing is transparent and pay-per-use
• Global procurement reach without enterprise minimums or a required account-manager relationship
• Procurement connects directly into deployment, policy, and eventual retrieval instead of ending at delivery
• No dedicated sales cycle required to get a price; unlike CDW and its direct peers, nothing is quote-gated

Cons:

• Not a fit for organizations that specifically need CDW’s depth in complex infrastructure consulting, data center builds, or large-scale cybersecurity program work outside of device procurement
• Teams with an existing, deeply negotiated CDW enterprise agreement may have contractual switching costs to weigh

Best for: Distributed teams of 100+ employees that want device procurement connected to deployment, MDM, and retrieval instead of ending at delivery, without an enterprise reseller relationship or negotiated minimums.

Pricing: Free core platform, transparent pay-per-use.

2. Insight Enterprises

Insight is CDW’s closest peer in scale and model: a major IT solutions provider reselling hardware, software, and cloud subscriptions to enterprise and public-sector customers, backed by dedicated account managers and negotiated pricing. Where the two typically diverge is specialization. CDW leans toward complex, multi-vendor infrastructure work; Insight leans more heavily toward Microsoft licensing and cloud transformation, and it’s built its own Device-as-a-Service product (branded Flex for Devices in the UK) covering procurement, deployment, break-fix support, refresh, and end-of-life disposal on a financed, swap-out term.

For a team already deep in the Microsoft ecosystem, or one specifically evaluating a DaaS financing model rather than outright purchase, Insight is a reasonable like-for-like alternative to CDW. It doesn’t solve the underlying reseller-model tradeoff (negotiated pricing, account-manager-driven engagement, procurement that ends at delivery), it’s simply a different vendor operating the same way.

Key features:

• Deep Microsoft licensing and cloud transformation expertise
• Own Device-as-a-Service (DaaS) offering with financed refresh terms
• Dedicated account management for mid-market and enterprise customers
• Break-fix support and secure end-of-life disposal bundled into DaaS plans

Pros:

• Strong specialization in Microsoft/cloud environments, useful if that’s your primary stack
• DaaS financing option smooths hardware cost into predictable payments
• Comparable scale and vendor relationships to CDW, a genuine apples-to-apples alternative

Cons:

• Same negotiated, custom pricing model as CDW; no published rate card
• Account-manager-driven engagement model requires ongoing relationship management, not self-service
• Procurement still ends at device delivery; deployment, policy, and retrieval typically require separate tools

Best for: Enterprise and mid-market teams already invested in Microsoft licensing or cloud infrastructure who want a CDW-equivalent reseller relationship with a different vendor.

Pricing: Custom, negotiated pricing based on account size and engagement complexity.

3. SHI International

SHI has operated as a software licensing reseller since 1989 and has built its specialization around exactly that: helping organizations procure and optimize licensing across more than 1,000 software vendors, backed by a global staff of 7,000+ across the US, Canada, UK, Europe, India, and Asia Pacific. Hardware procurement, imaging, configuration, and managed IT services round out the offering, but software asset management depth is where SHI most clearly differentiates from CDW.

For organizations where the real procurement pain is complex software licensing sprawl as much as device sourcing, SHI’s specialization is a genuine reason to evaluate it over a more hardware-generalist reseller. The tradeoff is the same structural one as every reseller on this list: pricing depends on vendor relationships and negotiated volume terms, not a published rate.

Key features:

• Software licensing and asset management expertise across 1,000+ vendors
• Hardware procurement, device imaging, and configuration services
• Managed IT services spanning cybersecurity and data center integration
• Global presence across US, Canada, UK, Europe, India, and APAC

Pros:

• Deep software licensing optimization expertise, useful for organizations with complex vendor sprawl
• Broad global staffing footprint supports multi-region engagements
• Full-service managed IT capabilities beyond pure hardware resale

Cons:

• Pricing isn’t published; negotiated per account and dependent on volume
• Software licensing specialization may be more capability than a pure device-procurement buyer needs
• Same delivery-then-disconnect model as other resellers; deployment and lifecycle management typically require separate tooling

Best for: Organizations whose procurement challenge spans complex software licensing as much as physical device sourcing, and who value SHI’s specific vendor-negotiation depth in that area.

Pricing: Custom, negotiated pricing based on vendor relationships and volume.

4. Connection

Connection (formerly PC Connection) competes on a genuinely different axis than most enterprise resellers: catalog breadth and pricing transparency. It carries over 300,000 unique items, roughly three times CDW’s regularly available SKU count, which meaningfully reduces the risk of a specific model being on backorder. Connection operates across three segments (SMB, Large Account, and Public Sector), and through its GlobalServe subsidiary, extends procurement into a network of 500 suppliers across 174 countries for organizations that need global reach without CDW’s enterprise-account model.

Buyers consistently describe Connection’s mid-market pricing as more transparent than most enterprise-focused competitors, which is a meaningful practical difference from CDW’s fully custom, account-manager-negotiated approach, even though final pricing still isn’t published outright.

Key features:

• 300,000+ SKU catalog, reducing backorder risk on specific models
• Three dedicated segments: SMB, Large Account, and Public Sector
• GlobalServe subsidiary providing procurement access across 174 countries
• Design, configuration, and implementation services alongside hardware sales

Pros:

• Larger, deeper product catalog than CDW reduces sourcing delays on specific hardware
• More transparent mid-market pricing relative to most enterprise reseller competitors
• Genuine global reach through GlobalServe for organizations that need it

Cons:

• Still a fully custom, negotiated pricing model, not published rates
• Global reach through GlobalServe is a supplier network, not a unified logistics platform with consistent tracking and SLAs across every region
• No native device lifecycle management (MDM, retrieval, offboarding) beyond the initial procurement and deployment services

Best for: Mid-market teams that want a broader hardware catalog and more transparent pricing than CDW’s enterprise-account model, with occasional need for international sourcing through GlobalServe.

Pricing: Custom, negotiated; commonly described as more transparent than most enterprise reseller competitors.

5. Softchoice

Softchoice positions itself as a consultative advisor rather than a pure catalog reseller, with a service focus centered on cloud, AI, software, and digital workplace transformation for US and Canadian commercial and SMB organizations. That advisory-first approach is the clearest differentiator from CDW: less about processing a large hardware order at scale, more about guiding a mid-market IT team through a broader technology strategy that happens to include procurement.

That positioning is also its boundary. Softchoice’s strength in strategic guidance doesn’t translate into the same global logistics scale or device-lifecycle depth as a purpose-built procurement or lifecycle platform, and its geographic focus on the US and Canada limits fit for teams hiring more broadly across regions.

Key features:

• Consultative advisory approach to procurement and broader IT strategy
• Specialization in cloud, AI, software, and digital workplace services
• Focus on US and Canadian commercial and SMB markets
• Account-manager-led engagement model

Pros:

• Strong consultative fit for teams that want strategic guidance, not just order fulfillment
• Specialization in cloud and digital workplace transformation suits modern hybrid-work IT strategies
• Mid-market-friendly relative to CDW’s broader enterprise focus

Cons:

• Geographic focus on US and Canada limits fit for teams hiring more globally
• Pricing is negotiated and not published
• Less global logistics depth than resellers or platforms built specifically around international device shipping

Best for: US and Canada-based mid-market teams that want a consultative reseller relationship focused on cloud, AI, and digital workplace strategy alongside procurement.

Pricing: Custom, negotiated pricing.

6. Zones

Zones provides end-to-end IT solutions spanning digital workplace, cloud and data center services, networking, security, and managed and professional services, operating in 30+ countries. Like Softchoice, it competes on integration services and a broad solutions catalog rather than pure hardware volume, positioning itself for organizations that want procurement bundled with implementation support.

The practical limitation worth flagging directly: 30+ countries is a real global footprint, but it’s meaningfully narrower than CDW’s largest peers or the logistics-first platforms on this list, which commonly claim 150+. For a genuinely globally distributed workforce, that gap can matter more than any pricing or service difference. Some buyers have also reported longer-than-expected delivery times and disruption when an assigned account executive changes.

Key features:

• End-to-end IT solutions: digital workplace, cloud, data center, networking, security
• Managed, professional, and staffing services alongside hardware procurement
• 30+ country operational footprint
• Integration-focused approach for traditional office deployments

Pros:

• Broad service catalog bundles implementation support with procurement
• Established mid-market and enterprise reseller with a full solutions portfolio
• Reasonable fit for traditional, office-centered IT deployments

Cons:

• 30+ country coverage is narrower than CDW’s largest peers or global lifecycle platforms
• Reported delivery delays and account-executive turnover affecting service continuity
• Pricing is custom and negotiated, not published

Best for: Organizations with primarily office-based, less globally distributed teams that want procurement bundled with broader IT integration and managed services.

Pricing: Custom, negotiated pricing.

7. GroWrk

GroWrk is the one entry on this list that competes with CDW on a fundamentally different model rather than as a like-for-like reseller. It’s a global hardware lifecycle logistics platform, not a catalog reseller: procurement, deployment, storage, retrieval, and disposal run through one system across 150+ countries, spanning LATAM, EMEA, and APAC, with an emphasis on warehousing infrastructure that supports redeploying devices to new hires instead of purchasing fresh hardware for every assignment.

Worth noting directly: GroWrk publishes its own “CDW competitors” comparison content and, predictably, positions itself as the top alternative. That’s worth reading with appropriate skepticism, as with any vendor-authored comparison, including this one. On substance, GroWrk genuinely represents the logistics-platform alternative to the reseller model CDW and its direct peers all share, though it stops at hardware: no native MDM, identity, or SaaS management layer the way ZenAdmin includes.

Key features:

• Procurement, deployment, storage, retrieval, and disposal across 150+ countries
• Zero-touch onboarding and real-time asset tracking through the physical lifecycle
• SOC 2 Type II compliance
• À la carte pricing, paying only when a device moves, with managed plans available

Pros:

• Genuinely different model from a reseller relationship: logistics execution, not catalog sales
• Strong regional warehousing supports device redeployment instead of new purchases
• Real-time tracking gives visibility a traditional reseller order typically doesn’t

Cons:

• No native MDM, identity, or SaaS management layer, hardware logistics only
• Pricing isn’t published; reported entry commitments can run into the low five figures annually
• Its own comparison content ranks itself first, a bias worth accounting for independently

Best for: Distributed teams that want procurement replaced by a logistics-execution platform rather than another reseller relationship, and don’t need software or identity management bundled in. See our full breakdown of GroWrk alternatives for more detail.

Pricing: Custom quote. À la carte or managed-plan structures, with reported entry commitments in the low five figures annually for smaller teams.

How to Choose the Right CDW Alternative

The wrong choice here usually comes from evaluating every option as if it’s the same kind of vendor. Here’s what actually separates them.

1. Decide whether you want a reseller relationship or a lifecycle platform

Insight, SHI, Connection, Softchoice, and Zones are all variations on the same model as CDW: negotiated pricing, an account manager, a catalog, and a relationship that mostly ends once the device ships. ZenAdmin and GroWrk are a different category entirely: procurement as one connected stage of a broader system rather than a standalone transaction. Neither model is universally right. A reseller relationship can make sense if you specifically need deep consulting on infrastructure or licensing alongside hardware. A lifecycle platform makes more sense if procurement, deployment, and eventual retrieval are the actual repeated workflow you’re trying to simplify.

2. Get an honest read on real pricing, not just a catalog markup range

Every reseller on this list, including CDW, operates on custom, negotiated pricing with markups commonly reported in the 5-25% range over vendor cost depending on product category and volume. That range is wide enough to hide a bad deal inside an apparently competitive quote. Ask directly for the markup percentage being applied, not just a bottom-line number, and compare that against a platform with transparent, published or formulaic pricing to see what you’re actually paying for the relationship itself versus the hardware.

3. Match global reach to your actual hiring footprint, not a vendor’s headline number

“150+ countries” and “30+ countries” sound like a small gap on paper but represent a large practical difference for a distributed team hiring outside North America and Western Europe. Zones’ 30+ country footprint, for example, genuinely won’t cover a team with meaningful hiring in Southeast Asia or Latin America the way a 150+ country platform will. Check the specific countries where your team is actually hiring against each vendor’s real coverage, not their marketing claim.

4. Ask what happens after the device is delivered

This is the question a reseller comparison alone won’t answer. CDW, Insight, SHI, Connection, Softchoice, and Zones all consider their job largely done once hardware ships and is invoiced. If deployment, MDM enrollment, ongoing support, and retrieval when an employee leaves all need to be solved separately after that point, factor the cost and coordination overhead of those additional tools into your comparison, not just the procurement price itself.

5. Weigh consulting depth against procurement simplicity

CDW’s real strength, and Insight’s and SHI’s alongside it, is genuine consulting depth on complex infrastructure, cybersecurity programs, and large-scale licensing. If that’s a real, ongoing need, a full-service reseller may justify its overhead. If the actual, recurring need is simpler, get devices to distributed employees reliably and manage them afterward, that consulting depth is overhead you’re paying for without using.

Conclusion

CDW and its direct reseller peers are built for a specific kind of buyer: one that wants deep consulting alongside hardware procurement and is comfortable with a negotiated, relationship-driven pricing model. 

Distributed teams whose real problem is simpler, get devices to employees anywhere reliably, manage them through their working life, and get them back cleanly at the end, are usually better served by a platform built around that exact workflow instead of a reseller relationship built around something broader.

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FAQs

What does CDW actually do?

CDW is a large IT solutions provider and reseller that supplies hardware, software licenses, cloud subscriptions, and professional/managed services to enterprise, mid-market, and public-sector customers, reporting $22.42 billion in net sales for fiscal 2025.

Is CDW more expensive than its competitors?

Not necessarily; CDW and peers like Insight and SHI all use negotiated, custom pricing with reported markups in the 5-25% range over vendor cost, so the better comparison is markup transparency and account terms rather than a fixed “more expensive” claim.

What’s the difference between a CDW-style reseller and a device lifecycle platform like ZenAdmin?

A reseller sources and ships hardware, then the relationship largely ends. A lifecycle platform connects procurement to deployment, MDM, support, and retrieval in one system, so device management continues after delivery instead of becoming a separate problem.

Which CDW alternative works best for a globally distributed team?

ZenAdmin and GroWrk both cover 150+ countries with logistics execution rather than a reseller catalog model. Among traditional resellers, Connection’s GlobalServe network (174 countries) offers the broadest reach, though as a supplier network rather than a unified platform.

Do I still need a separate MDM or IT support tool if I switch from CDW?

With every reseller alternative on this list (Insight, SHI, Connection, Softchoice, Zones) and with GroWrk, yes, procurement doesn’t include device policy or support. ZenAdmin is the exception, with MDM, identity, SaaS management, and helpdesk support native to the same platform.