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VAR Magazine - 1st July 2011
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+97143326621+97143326647121075
2011-1 139/14
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A R A B I A
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Growth at ahealthy paceMalaz Technology & Communi-
cation is one of the larger systems
integration companies in the
Kingdom. It partners closely with
Avaya. VAR Arabia speaks with
Mohammed Munir Al-Mulki,
MD of Malaz Technology.
1670
Belkin has appointed Shastech, a leading distribu-tor with a strong presence in the MEA region, as its new distribution partner for Belkin’s extensive product lines in KSA. Shastech is Belkin’s authorized distributor in KSA and under this new partnership, Shastech will be servicing both the Retail and SMB sectors across the KSA market.
The recent partnership is aimed to further strengthen Belkin’s presence within the KSA market, whereby Shastech will be distributing the full line of Belkin products and shall be responsible for covering all verticals including Power Retail, Corporate, SMB channel and other sectors where Belkin’s products are pertinent.
“We are looking forward to working closely with Shastech to further support our active regional expansion,” explains Youssef El-Arif, National Account Manager MEA, Belkin Ltd. “The key compo-nents to partnering with
Shastech were based on their solid experience and successful history in KSA, good channel presence and relationships in both the retail and SMB sector, well determined and effective logistics solutions as well as a team that understands the KSA market very well.”
The latest partnership with Shastech is part of Belkin’s regional expansion plans to develop their local distribution into the KSA market which is a
key market for Belkin in the MEA region.
Eng. Tariq Al Ghounaim, CEO, Shastech commented: “We are delighted to have been appointed as the official distributor for BELKIN. This business win would not have been possible if we did not have the local expertise in the local market and knowledge of the Saudi customer, his habits, desires, and aspirations add to that SHASTECH’s business principle which revolves around its customers and the values that support the Company’s drive in delivering the best levels of services thus reinforcing customer trust.“ Youssef El-Arif
National Account Manager MEA, Belkin Ltd.
Mohammed Munir Al-MulkiMD, Malaz Technology
Belkin appoints shastech to service
the KSA market
The surge
ahead
In Focus - SMC News - Kaspersky
Celebrating 1stanniversary in UAE
2012 productsunveiled
In Focus Global Distribution
Gaining more traction
What is the business focus at Global
Distribution?
Global Distribution is a 15 year old
company. It is part of Gamma group
which has five different companies.
Gamma is a leading SI for networking
projects and are also authorized
e-Umra service providers. Under
Gamma, we are Global Distribution,
focusing mostly on networking
components, both active and passive.
Global Distribution Co. Ltd (GD) is a leading value add
distributor for Networking & Telecommunication Products
in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is a sister concern of
Global Arabian for Modern Applications (GAMA), one of the
leading systems integration Companies of Saudi Arabia.
VAR Arabia speaks with Shaqueel A.Khan, Network Divison
Sales manager at Global Distribution
What are the brands you deal with?
At GD, the focus is more on the passive
components while our sister concern
Gamma focuses more on the active
range of components. They work with
Cisco as part of enterprise tenders etc.
As Global Distribution, We do include
TP Link as part of the SMB networking
products range in distribution. We
work with BRAND-REX, a supplier of
high Performance Data Cabling
The summer has reached its full glory and a significant number of decision makers in the industry seem to be away in the holiday season. Quite obviously, we have entered the slow period of the year and this is likely to be so as the holy month of Ramadan follows in August.
There is enough time for introspection by compa-nies as to how they have fared in the first half of the year. Needless to say, this year has been more testing than last year. But by now, there is a firmness that companies are displaying about wanting to get on with it even if there are challenges.
With vendors continuing to invest strongly in KSA channel development, there is always an ongoing momentum that continues to get stronger. There is a significant opportunity for several distributors to seize the momentum in the slower periods and gear up to wrest the advantage from its competitors when the market swings into fast paced action post Ramadan.
KSA is a far too big a market to be dominated by two to three distributors. There could be attractive opportunities for multiple distributors to create substantial businesses of their own. In other words, if some of the distributors that have not been
optimizing their opportunities, they could embark on a hardnosed approach to tighten their go to market strategies, aligning with the right vendors and product lines that are seeing significant demand in the market currently. If you are in the value-add model, there are still some good brands to associate with and that haven’t as yet got a strong distributor stationed in KSA.
Room for multiple distributors
Solutions as well as Premium Line that
has a complete product portfolio
including patch cords, patch panels,
outlets, keystones and workstation
components for Cat 5E, Cat 6, Cat 7,
media converters and fiber optic based
cabling systems.
We distribute UPS solutions from Opti
UPS, which was spun off from the
Viewsonic group and KVM switching
products and remote connectivity
solutions from Aten.
We do distribute cabinets from APW, a
manufacturer of standard, modified
and custom electronic, networking,
broadcast, and security enclosures, and
integrated kiosks. We also distribute
cabinets from Totem that manufactures
server and network enclosures.
You offer premium and entry level
solutions. Please elaborate on this
strategy
Typically we have brands that target
buyers who want premium end
solutions such as Ministries and
enterprises as well as lower cost,
medium range solutions for the SMB
users.
Ministries for instance would need long
lasting infrastructural network
solutions. However for an SMB, the
Shaqueel A. KhanNetwork Division Sales Manager, Global Distribution
20111 | 4
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continued on pg 6...
6
2011 1 | 6
20
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20122012
2012
2012
2012
2012"
In Focus
solutions. However for an SMB, the certainty
to have a premium solution installed with a
guarantee of 20 years for instance is not
required since their plans could change in the
shorter term.
Is Gamma a significant buyer from you? How do you work with other integrators as well?Gamma is certainly a huge buyer for us. There
are other partners who buy from us like
Jeraissy, MIS (Al Moammar Information
Systems Co.), etc who are large buyers and
work with enterprise customers and the
government sector. We don’t approach end
users directly, but sell to the SI channel.
Discuss the impact of the global slowdown in the local marketLast year, KSA wasn’t as affected as the rest of
the region. The Saudi economy is strong. The
government has continued to invest in sectors
like Education.
All the SMB transact business with mid and
higher level clients who haven’t been affected
by the meltdown. So in turn, the SMB sector
has also not been affected.
Do your business revenues come mainly from the key cities? How are other markets catered to?The major revenue comes from Riyadh because
so many Ministries are there and decisions are
finalized here. Jeddah has a larger addressable
consumer and SMB market. By a rough
approximation, 60-65 % business volumes are
realized in Riyadh, 20-25% from Jeddah and
the rest from Al Khobar.
Remote cities like Mecca and Madina are
closer to Jeddah and their purchase cycles
happen in Jeddah. Similarly in the case of
Riyadh and Al Khobar, they are feeder markets
for neighbouring cities.
How has the sales been so far this year?The first quarter has not been too good nor too
bad. We are seeing an upswing in new projects.
We expect that the 3rd and 4th quarters would
be more competitive. Usually the 4th quarter of
the year is the best performing.
Kaspersky Lab announced the release of
the 2012 versions of its home user
products. The all-new Kaspersky
Internet Security 2012 and Kaspersky
Anti-Virus 2012 incorporate the most
advanced and effective protection
technologies: a sandbox for launching
suspicious applications, a program
activity monitoring module, a script
emulator, a cloud-based reputation
database, a virtual keyboard plus many
other features.
Kaspersky Internet Security 2012 and
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2012 feature a
whole host of new and improved
features. In the 2012 versions of
Kaspersky Lab's home user products,
cloud-based technologies, the cutting-
edge of antivirus development, have
been improved.
Kaspersky Internet Security 2012 and
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2012 are both
high-performance products designed
for minimal impact on your computer’s
running speed and program operations.
Kaspersky Lab’s products have been
streamlined for optimal day-to-day use
when surfing the Internet, searching for
and viewing web pages, making VoIP
calls, watching HD videos and playing
online games, etc.
4continued from pg 4
Kaspersky unveils 2012 edition products
20122012
The
Kaspersky
Internet
Security
2012 and
Kaspersky
Anti-Virus
2012
interfaces
have been
improved
and now
feature 3D
and
animated
graphics, yet
remain
straightfor-
ward and
user-
friendly.
Eugene Kaspersky, CEO and co-founder
of Kaspersky Lab, says: “The new 2012
versions continue the long tradition of
excellence that our home user products
have come to be known for. We have
taken yet another huge step in protect-
ing Internet users against the most
dangerous, unknown threats out there.”
2012
"2012
Eugene KasperskyCEO, Co-founder, Kaspersky Lab
Global Distribution
20111 | 7
EnterpriseWireless LANHotspot/ServiceGateway Series
N4100
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Wireless N-lite3G Router
NBG4115
SimultaneousDual-BandWireless NMedia Router
NBG5715
Wireless N Gigabit NetUSB Router
NBG4615
High-performance Wireless N GigabitRouter Powers Up Your Home Network!
1-Bay DigitalMedia Server
NSA210
2-Bay PowerMedia Server
NSA320 P-2701RL
VoIP GatewayPowerlineEthernetAdapter
PLA-401 v3
ZyWALLUnified SecurityGateway Series
USG - 20W
ZyXELCommunication Corporation P.O.Box 49590 Dubai , UAE Mobile + 971 50 4205540 TeleFax +971 4 346 341 0
ZyXEL resellerprogram benefits
Web: www.zyxel.comFor Distribution candidates in KSAcontact: [email protected] For sales inquiries: [email protected] Training: http://education.zyxel.com Security portal: http://mysecurity.zyxel.com/mysecurity Partners portal: http://zypartner.zyxel.com service portal (RMA, raising support tickets,tracking...etc): http://service.zyxel.com
20111 | 8
What’s
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www.axis.com www.samsung.com
Key Features: Key Features:
"1602" 1670
www.lenovo.com
Key Features:
Key Features:
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• Specially optimized for office work stations and built with the latest LED backlight technology, the new monitor cuts down power consumption by 33% a year.
• The new BL-Series LED monitor’s ultra-flexible height adjustment system (HAS) allows workers to tailor the height, tilt, pivot, stroke and swivel adjustment to perfectly fit their individual needs thereby facilitating better productivity and efficiency at work.
• The BL series includes built-in speakers.
• The Eco Sensor feature of the new BL series automatically switches the monitor to Eco Mode.
• The BenQ BL LED monitor also features an anti-glare, matt-finish display to keep distracting reflections to a minimum, giving workers a squint-free, comfortable and easy to read environment.
BenQ BL-Series LED Monitors
AXIS Q1602/-E Network Cameras
• The perfect solutions for indoor and outdoor surveillance in low-light conditions, especially where users require color information in the video to enhance recognition and identification of objects.
• The fixed network camera delivers progressive scan image quality at D1 (720 x 576) resolution, in both indoor and outdoor applications, where light is poor.
• The advanced Lightfinder technology will be especially beneficial in demanding video surveillance applications, such as construction sites, parking lots, perimeter & city surveillance.
• In contrast to conventional day/ night cameras which switch to black & white in darkness, AXIS Q1602 can maintain colors even in very dark conditions.
video
very dark conditions.
Samsung ML-1670
• The ML-1670, the new compact laser
printer from Samsung, is ideal for
personal, home office and small
office users.
• It features a streamlined design with a
stylish and glossy finish.
• The new models also include
Samsung’s AnyWeb Print software that
allows users enhanced web- printing
capabilities regardless of the browser
interface such as Internet Explorer, Firefox or the
Mac OS Safari.
• It features a first page output time (FPOT) of a
mere 8.5 seconds and an impressive 1200x1200 dpi
print resolution, filling both the need for speed and
quality most efficient manner.
13.3
"1514
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Laptop
• Lenovo announced its thinnest business laptop ever, the ThinkPad X1 laptop, designed for business leaders who demand the best in performance, mobility and entertainment. • The ThinkPad X1 laptop incorporates several features new to the ThinkPad X series family including a 13.3-inch super bright infinity screen made of Corning Gorilla Glass, RapidCharge battery technology and a Dolby Home Theatre multimedia feature.• Packed into the ultra-thin form factor are second generation Intel Core processors which are typically offered on Lenovo’s larger 14 and 15-inch laptops.
20111 | 9
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2015177
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Key features:
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Key features:
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"3×74"ROG G74Sx 3D gaming notebook
• The G74Sx 3D is a high-performance notebook for gamers who don’t want to drag a full PC around to gaming events, or do not have room at home for a full desktop set up. • The G74Sw 3D has the clean, angular lines of a stealth fighter and the power to match, thanks to the latest second generation Intel Core quad-core i5 and i7 processors.• NVIDIA GTX 560M graphics ensure blistering frame rates at native resolutions and high detail settings on the 17-inch Full HD screen, while NVIDIA 3D Vision offers players a new dimension to games and movies.
"
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• The ZOTAC GeForce GTX 550 Ti Multiview is the latest
mainstream graphics card capable of delivering a seamless
triple-display computing experience.
• The latest ZOTAC GeForce GTX 550 Ti Multiview helps deliver
a quality visual experience that combines Microsoft DirectX 11
compatibility, NVIDIA CUDA technology and triple
simultaneous displays at a mainstream price point.
• The ZOTAC GeForce GTX 550 Ti Multiview is powered
by the latest NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti graphics
processor with 192 lightning-fast unified shaders paired
with 1GB of DDR5 memory.
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 550 Ti Multiview
Worldwide IT Spending Forecast
(Billions of U.S. Dollars)2010 2010 2011 2011
Spending Growth (%) Spending Growth (%)Compu�ng Hardware
375 12.1 419 11.7
Enterprise So�ware
244 8.4 268 9.5
IT Services 793 3.1 846 6.6
Telecom 2,015 7.3 2,140 6.9All IT 3,427 5.9 3,672 7.1
Source: Gartner (June 2011)
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2011 1 | 10
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The surge aheadSMC Networks is a subsidiary of
Accton group which owns Edge
Core as well in the networking
brands segment. SMC focuses on
the soho and SMB segments
while while EdgeCore has a
suite of products for the enter-
prise segment. Mohammed
Muzaffar , MD at Accton
Technology Corporation speaks
with VAR Magazine in the
following interview
Discuss your focus on Saudi Arabia?We have taken steps to increase our focus on markets such as Saudi Arabia where we have not been as strong as we would like to be. It is a huge market and you wouldn’t do justice to it if you just ship goods to the market there without support. We are looking at strength-ening our presence there by having a few of our manpower resources there to develop our business there. Currently we are dependent on the intelligence that our distributors are able to provide us about the market trends, updates etc. We want to have a direct feel of the market there and will be looking at fixing certain issues in the market by this quarter.
What is the distribution strategy in KSA?We have held on to the belief that we wouldn’t want to encourage unhealthy competition by having multiple distributors in KSA. We have wanted to develop the market and its various segments with one distributor. We may however revise this strategy depending on the need of the large market but nothing has been finalized as yet. We have done well in the market but one of the challenges has been recovering payments.
Please discuss your product lines in different segments?In the soho market, we have products like ADSL routers, Broadband routers, unman-
aged switches wireless adopters etc. In the SMB and enterprise product categories, we have layer 2 and layer 3 switches. We also have PoE switches both layer 2 and layer 3, Fibre switches etc.
We are focusing on consolidating and increasing our market reach in the SMB market. SMB is not a volume market and customers are looking for support. In soho, there is not much support required or expected. So the SMB market is not quite price sensitive. Further, the SMB business has been traditionally a strong segment globally for Accton, the parent company for SMC and we want to ensure we are able to create that success in this region as well.
Do you work on the regional distribution model?We have tried the regional distribution model earlier but it wasn’t working out well. Regional distributors seem to be keen on working with bigger brands and don’t want to invest in market development efforts for the brand. We are interested in working with active partners who can help strengthen the brand in new markets and not just be interested in taking the margins. We would be keen to work with smaller distributors in different regions and making the efforts to develop our business.
NETGEAR hosted a special roadshow event with its global
technology partner, Acronis, a leading provider of easy-to-
use disaster recovery and data protection solutions for
physical, virtual and cloud environments in Dubai. The event
saw the launch of NETGEAR’s new Global Partner Program
for resellers and the release of Acronis Backup & Recovery
11, the latest edition of Acronis' backup and disaster
recovery family. The move complements the latest industry
reports from IDC, which point to an expected 4.5 per cent
CAGR for the storage software market between 2010 to
2014.
The roadshow was part of NETGEAR’s strategic move to
mark a stronger market presence in the Middle East
region and increase awareness on the key benefits and
advantages of using world-class networking and storage
solutions. Ahmad Zeidan, Channel Sales Manager,
NETGEAR Middle East, discussed the new Global
Partner Program and how resellers can gain key benefits
from the incentive program. He also talked about the
ReadyNAS storage solutions package and showed why
businesses today should adopt and install reliable and
effective networking, storage and security software.
NETGEAR hosts roadshow with partner Acronis
In Focus SMC Networks
Mohammed MuzaffarMD, Accton Technology Corporation, SMC
Ahmed ZeidanChannel Sales Manager, Netgear ME
20111 | 11In Focus
2003""
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2006
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% 20-25
% 30-35
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When did you start operations and what have been your focus areas?We started operations in 2002, and started right away with the focus on IP Telephony market. We started providing contact centre solutions to our customers, mainly in the telecom sector. We have provided some of the largest contact centre solutions in the Kingdom including for STC, one of our largest customers. By 2006, we started providing solutions for other sectors including large universities in the Educational sector, other private sector companies, Banks and so on.
Where are your offices in the Kingdom?The head office is in Riyadh and we have branches currently in Jeddah, Al-Khobar and Madina. We have plans to open more offices in other cities including Hail, Tabuk, Taif etc to cater to customer needs more closely.
Please discuss how your contact centre business is growing?We have been growing at a steady pace year on year. Today, across the Kingdom, we have some significant installations with prestigious clients. We have the biggest PBX installation in King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah. This project involved about 30,000 licenses. We made the handover recently and technically, this deploy-ment has been a huge success and a credit to my technical team.We are upgrading systems for Saudi British bank; we are maintaining the call centres across the Kingdom for operations and maintenance. Since we started, we have seen 20-25% year on year growth. This year, we are expecting not less than 30-35% growth.
How strong is your team?We do the integration between voice and data. We design, develop and maintain the call centre solutions and have a large pool of trained engineers to do this. We have 25 engineers certified on Avaya’s Technologies; this I believe could be one of the biggest team of engineers in the region.
Discuss expansion of your portfolio?We have Avaya hardware and software in our portfolio. We include passive networking components from Excel that offers complete, end-to-end networking solutions. We have added Netgear switches and NAS products to our portfolio as we do have networking requirements that come up in our projects.
We need to expand our business as only one line of business cannot give us the growth we are expecting. Natural expansion would be in networking and then into network security, which is still anew domain for us. In addition, we had signed up with HP as a
preferred partner for HP storage.
As one of the large Avaya partners in the Kingdom, how do you see Avaya’s business growth faring?Avaya has the best solutions for the contact centres worldwide. Avaya has a good share of the market and this has been strengthened ever since the Nortel business was also bought out.
Do you also do business in Africa? Is this through direct operations or through partners?We have partner in Egypt in Cairo. They are building call centres in some of the African markets for customers and they have signed up an agreement with us to assist them in building some of the centres.
Do you see recurring revenues from customer upgrades and maintenance?There is very little maintenance work that comes along because the systems are mostly working fine. For upgrades, every two or three years is a natural option since Business customers would ideally look to add new applications that are available.
Discuss you focus areas in terms of customer segments?We are looking at enterprise customers mostly. We have major clients in the Educational sector, Banking sector as well as Branch offices. This year, we will focus on customers in the government sector.
Adobe Systems MEN announced
that Alfalak Distribution, a
leading IT distributor in Saudi
Arabia, has been appointed as an
official Adobe Distributor specifi-
cally for the Saudi Arabian
market. Alfalak joins the
company’s strategic network of
Middle East and North African
distributors which includes
Logicom, Mindware, DISWAY
and Grapheast. Alfalak will be
supporting the full range of
Adobe products to ensure
availability for business users and
retail outlets.
“During the past year, we have
been carefully reviewing our
distribution strategy in Saudi
Arabia to ensure that we
understand the needs of channel
partners and customers, and have
the ability to deliver products
efficiently and effectively across
the Kingdom,” said Abdallah
Saqqa, General Manager, Adobe
Systems Middle East and North
Africa. “Alfalak has an extensive
understanding and widespread
penetration of the market in the
Kingdom and we’re pleased to
welcome them to our network.”
Ahmed Ashadawi, CEO and
President, Alfalak Electronic
Equipment & Supplies Co.
“Alfalak is consist in delivering
premium quality products and
services and we believe in the
superiority of Adobe products.
This new partnership reflects our
emphasis on partnering with the
best technology providers to offer
our customers across our markets
with optimal solutions, while
complementing the growth
initiatives of our strategic
partners.”
continued from pg 1...
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Adobe Systems
signs Alfalak
Distribution as
KSA Distributor
News
Malaz Technology & Communication
20111 | 12
Please discuss your focus on the
channel?
We are extremely channel focused. The
primary market that we focus on is
SMB worldwide. In this region, the
SMB market is quite vibrant and suits
our go to market strategy.
Initially when we entered the region,
we had to rely on gaining resellers on
margins. Lately, it is not just margins
that are drawing them now but the
value that we deliver for our partners.
We provide flexibility on commercial
terms including special pricing,
protected pricing etc and we get
approvals done very quickly. We
provide completely free Training
support for our VARs unlike some of
our competitors. We have resources 24
by 7 for providing presales support. We
do handholding for the first couple of
years. When you make it easier for the
partners to deploy solutions, they
become loyal towards you over time.
We have seen this happen in our case.
How do you review your consolidation
in the UTM space?
On an average in the Middle East, we
have been in the top three. We are
number three in the region and believe
that are closing in on second placed
competitor. I won’t be surprised if we
are able to dislodge them by end of this
year. In two years, we intend to take the
number one spot.
What is your next challenge?
We are now focusing on developing the
MSSP channel in the region. The SMB
Cyberoam is one of the leading vendors in the UTM market and is
continuing to forge strong channel partnerships in its quest to make further
inroads. Hemal Patel, CEO at Elitecore technologies which owns the
Cyberoam brand speaks with VAR Magazine in the following interview.
depends on VARs for all support. There
is an opportunity for us to help the
partner tap more opportunities and
help gain more partners.
We are working on providing new
opportunities for partners. For
instance, partners may be looking to
provide security services. To do it on
their own would be expensive. Instead,
we are planning the launch of a Cloud
based central console that will be
offered as a free service for our
partners. 1st November is the proposed
launch date for this. A partner can
connect his customers to a cloud based
console and can monitor their network
with a login user ID given and provide
services. The partner can then use this
as a revenue driver. The objective
behind this initiative is to add more
partners.
Are you tapping opportunities beyond
the SMB?
While the UTM is still not a commod-
ity device, the SMB segment wants
more functions each year but not a
higher price. So we are looking at
growing in other segments as well.
We are looking to tap into the
enterprise market as well as in the soho
markets. The home segment users not
only need desktop security but with the
flurry of devices now in use, these users
also need some gateway level security.
That is a separate channel segment as
well and we need to look at that. It
would be a price sensitive market.
In the enterprise segment, we are
looking at possible acquisitions. We
want to acquire a company that has
expertise in building enterprise
systems. Enterprise users have shown
resistance in the past to use an UTM
since they have the money to spend on
separate solutions but that perception is
also changing and we will make use of
this opportunity.
Courting partners
Hemal PatelCEO, Elitecore Technologies
In Focus Cyberoam
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Epicor Software has announced plans to expand and strengthen its channel program in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with a focus on adding partners with value-added industry and market expertise to support the growing demand for its next-generation enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution. The “Saudi Arabia Information Technology Report Q1 2011” forecasts excellent growth opportunities with the value of KSA’s IT market to reach $4.9 billion USD by 2014 from the forecast value of $3.6 billion USD in 2011.
The report shows that the Saudi government continues to regard development of the country’s information communications technologies (ICT) industries as a national priority. Saudi Arabia’s governing Shura Coun-cil has a strategic objective for the IT industry to raise its contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) to 20 percent by 2020. Another key goal is to raise broadband penetration to 31 percent by 2013.
“The state of the Saudi Arabian IT market and the steady growth of the country’s economy presents tremendous opportuni-ties for Epicor,” said Basil Daniells, vice president, sales for Epicor. “Moreover, the govern-ment continues to push ahead with the development of information and communica-tion technology throughout the Kingdom, especially in terms of major infrastructure projects. Given this scenario, we are keen on strengthening our presence in this market, and accordingly we are looking for suitable channel partners to meet our expansion goals in the Kingdom.”
Epicor looks toexpand channelpartners ingrowing SaudiArabianIT Market
Basil DaniellsVice President, Sales, Epicor
20111 | 13In Focus Avnet Technology
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Avnet Technology Solutions expandsdistribution agreement with HP
Avnet Technology Solutions, a solutions distribution leader and an operating group of Avnet, expanded its distribution agreement with HP. Under this expanded agreement, Avnet will now distribute HP’s selected networking products in the Middle East, including Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Yemen.
“Avnet will now be able to offer our Middle East channel partners all elements of HP’s converged infrastructure, including networking, servers, storage and software solutions,” said Venkat Raman, sales director-Gulf and Levant, Avnet Technology Solutions, Middle East. “These products are critical elements our reseller partners can draw upon to develop integrated data centre solutions that address the business challenges of their customers. By leveraging this expanded technology portfolio, along with our solutions-focused market approach, financial strength and dedicated networking sales and technical team, reseller partners will be able to address a wider range of customer requirements and more profitably grow their networking businesses.”
As an authorised value-added distributor for HP’s network-ing products, Avnet will be responsible for providing HP’s reseller partners with sales and technical enablement, logistics and operational support, and programmes and services to develop business growth opportunities in the region. In addition to this support, Avnet is investing in channel initiatives and will hold a series of road shows aimed at growing the market for HP networking solutions. Avnet will also offer training and educational programs designed to further increase the data centre and networking skills of its channel partners across the region.
Commenting on the relationship, Alfred Chrispanous, ESSN Distribution Manager, HP Middle East, said, “We are happy to engage with Avnet and believe that our associa-tion will allow us to enhance our penetration in the SMB market, and help us gain incremental business in the region. Avnet is committed to investing in the resources our partners need to be successful in the networking market and has proven programmes in place to help them capture the growing converged infrastructure market opportunity in data centres.”
HP delivers innovative networking solutions to help organisations improve their time-to-value, operational excellence, and ability to leverage networking technologies.
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HP announced that Alaa
AlShimy has been appointed to
the position of Enterprise,
Storage, Servers and Networking
(ESSN) Director for the Middle
East, effective June 1st. Alaa has
taken over from Fawwaz Qadan
who has been appointed as the
Director of HP Networking for
Mediterranean, Middle East and
Africa (MEMA).
In his new role, Alaa is respon-
sible for managing growth and
cost control for the ESSN
revenue streams in Middle East
focusing on the end to end
business and operational
management in the region.
Prior to this role, Alaa was the
Regional Director for HP
Networking for the Middle East,
Mediterranean and Africa
(MEMA) region, and grew the
networking business by over four
times in the last two years.
Alaa AlShimy ESSN Director, HP Middle East
HP Appoints
New ESSN
Director for
Middle East
20111 | 14
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