Computer Reseller News Sept 08

8/14/2019 Computer Reseller News Sept 08

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AMD takes a solu t ionsfocus p16> >

HP local head bids fair-w ell to t he vendorp33> >

Intel launches newpartner programmep36> >

InsideInside

Septem ber 2008

www.crn.co.za

HPs best kept secret

emerges from

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ProCurve

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I

PUBLISHERS: NOTE

Manda Banda publisher

ts been a roller coaster 2008 for businesses and consumers alike. The year has seen the financial

meltdown in the US, high crude oil prices and a looming economic recession in the US. Generally, there is

a lot of uncertainty in the global markets something that should be of concern to those in the local IT

channel. The globe markets uncertainty coupled with the consumer credit crunch, a financial meltdown in

the US which has sent the world stock markets to tumble has forced many consumers and businesses to

scale down or put on hold any IT spending or upgrade.

As 2008 draws to a close, it is time for solution providers to reflect on and assess the year that was.

For others it is the time when they make resolutions for the year ahead and outline priorities for the new year.

So as solution providers look to 2009, it is vital that they focus on enhancing products and solutions that

have helped their businesses to grow this year and also discover the new technology offerings they believewill be hot next year.

Although assessing business performance and identifying new technologies that show potential is not

easy, savvy resellers who get it right will see their businesses grow to new profitability levels. Those who err

in this regard will see their businesses falter come 2009.

Few things come to mind that I believe resellers should be looking at come 2009.

The momentum around Software as a Service (SaaS), Web 2.0 tools, VoIP, unified messaging, instant

messaging, desktop and server virtualisation and Telepresence is something that those reseller companies

that have capital should consider looking at. There is also hype around WiMax, WiFi, WLANs, 3G and

other offerings in the wireless and mobile space. As pointed out, there has been a lot of talk around SaaS with some industry pundits even advocating

that distributors should also get involved. In addition, selling IT services has been key to the survival of most resellers as margins on product sales

continue to be squeezed

However, this does not mean that resellers should abandon selling products but rather use the initial sale of software and hardware products as a

spring board for providing full-fledged services that will bring in the much-needed annuity revenue to complement declining product margins.

Therefore, it goes without saying that resellers in the local channel ought to balance their product and services mix and make sure that they have

within their mix products that will win them long-term service contracts. For it is the right mix of products and services that will differentiate them from

the competition and, in turn, influence them to invest in specific vendor sales, technical training and certification programmes they believe will aid

them in achieving their goals of growing their businesses to profitability.

Identifying new technology trends, skilling up and enhancing their current product and services offering should be a priority for resellers in 2009.

Resellers that do the best job of helping their customers understand and adopt new technologies while still maintaining their integrity will more

than likely have the competitive edge over their competition and grow their businesses to even greater profitability.

Let me know about your plans for 2008 and the areas where you will be focusing your business as a channel player operating in an ever-

changing, cutthroat IT industry. I can be reached at [email protected]

Enjoy the read

The year ahead


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CRN Contacts:

Publisher:

Manda Banda

[email protected]

Online editor:

Kaunda Chama

[email protected]

Journalists:

Portia Shaba

[email protected]

Dominic Khuzwayo

[email protected]

Brand executive:

Hellen Murahwa

[email protected]

Sub-editor:

Jenny Bastomsky

[email protected]

Designer:

Spencer van Graan

[email protected]

Database and subscriptions:

Daisy Mulenga

[email protected]

copyright notice

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Private Bag X12, Rivonia, 2128Tel: (011) 234 7008Fax: (011) 234 7025Registered with the Audit

Bureau of Circulation

Contents

2 CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA SEPTEM BER 200 8

News & Analysis

4 Whats News

6 Comings & Goings

8 Dmoves

10 High Five: Infor

12 Demand Generator: KSS

13 Siemens regroups globally. By Dominic Khuzwayo

14 Microsoft unveils next generation business applications.

By Dudu Shaba

20 HP ProCurve acquires Colubris. By Dominic Khuzwayo

22 AMD at home, work, play. By Kaunda Chama

25 Microsoft Partner Summit 2008.

By Kaunda Chama

35 Cover story: HP ProCurve gaining more ground.

It might once have been HPs best-kept secret as the mar-

kets concentrated more on the vendors other technology

disciplines such as notebooks, servers and printers, but

ProCurve has now come to be a networking brand to be

reckoned with. By Kaunda Chama

39 HP bid farewell to its CEO. By Dudu Shaba

Features

40 Steady uptake of BI evident in business. By

Dudu Shaba

44 Bright futur e for UPS market. By Dudu Shaba

48 Gam ing solutions. By Kaunda Chama

51 Winning with ISVs. By Kaunda Chama

Products and Technology

54 Oki C8800: Sheer printing pleasure

55 Nokia E71: It keeps getting better

56 Dilbert

56 Snapshot: Giuseppe

Colonnello, Vox AmVia

45

33

22

15

13

Scans in this publication have been reproducedon the EPSON PERFECTiON 2450 photo


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COMINGS GOINGS

WHATS NEWS

Nyat hi scoop s topMicrosof t spotMteto Nyati is to succeed Pfungwa Serima as

the new Microsoft SA boss. Nyati, who

assumed his new position on 1 September,

comes to Microsoft from a 12-year career

at IBM, where he was the director of IBM

Global Technology Services for South and

Central Africa since June 2005. Nyati, who led

three large business units telecommunications, Small and

Medium Business and IBM Global Services in his time at IBM,

says he aims to continue building on the success of Microsoft SA,and to help its customers, partners and the community to better

harness technology.

Clarkson leads Industry sectorStuart Clarkson has been appointed to head-up

the Industry Sector by Siemens. Clarkson spent

more than a decade at various Siemens operations

in Europe, North and South America, 2007 saw

him return to South Africa as the new Divisional

Director for Siemens Industrial Solutions and Services (I&S). After

graduating from Witwatersrand Technikon, Clarkson joined Siemens

in 1981 as a trainee commissioning engineer, and spent the next

12 years in the commissioning department of I&S installing and

commissioning standby power systems, UPS and diesel generators.

This was followed by a move into the process automation, specialis-ing in plants in the pulp and paper and chemical industries, and

later into the mining sector as well.

Mteto Nyati

VMw are launches newpartner program

VMware has unveiled the VMware

System Builder Programme, a new

initiative within its VIP Partner

Programme. The programme is

designed for system builders that sell

VMware virtualisation solutions. The

VMware System Builder Programme

provides benefits for system builders,

including pre-sales technical support,

targeted training programmes and new

as well as improved marketing tools.

Steve Dallman, vice president, Intel

Corporation says: We are excited

about VMwares new System Builder Programme, which provides the

necessary certified education and technical enablement resources for

Intel channel partners to customise their server hardware solutions rapidly

for a time-to-market advantage.

Lenov o un leashes Thin kPad W700Lenovo has introduced its ThinkPad W700, a 17-inch widescreen mobile

workstation. The ThinkPad W700 is engineered to meet the demands of

the most data and graphics-intensive jobs. According to Peter

Hortensius, senior vice president, notebook business unit Lenovo, the

company brings the industrys first built-in digitiser and colour calibrator

to a mobile workstation. The ThinkPad W700 comes with NVDIA

Quadro FXmobile graphics and supports Intels mobile quad-core

processor. Other features include an optional dual hard drive with RAIDconfigurations and up to 80GB of high-speed DDR3 memory.

Integr8 targets VoIP space

Integr8 Telecoms, a company within the Integr8 Group, announced its

intention to establish a competitive presence within the local telecommu-

nications services market. The company, in association with several joint

venture partners, will offer what it believes is cost-effective, reliable

service to clients. Walter Bredell, CEO, Integr8 Fax/ Telecoms, points to

the strength of Integr8 Telecoms expertise, its extensive sales force and

market experience in infrastructure management as key strengths in the

campaign. According to Bredell, with inter-connects and access to

clients through its infrastructure it is now possible to change the normal

TDM Telkom client platform to a VoIP service.

Faritec aims to drive virtualisation

Faritec has announced its commitment to becoming the clear leader

in virtualisation over the next two years. The company regards this

innovative area of the ICT industry as strategic to its business. Gordon

Love, regional executive, Faritec, says virtualisation is gaining momentum

and becoming a key driver behind many of Faritecs customer solutions.

With our superior skills base and reliable track record of delivery in this

area, we are able to offer companies tangible, measurable value. We

are confident that our focus on virtualisation will be a strong differentiator

and that we will reap the rewards of this decision in the years to come,

he says.

PC chips to carry Int el Core n ame

Intel Corporation has announced that desktop processors based on the

companys upcoming new microarchitecture, codenamed Nehalem, will

be formally branded Intel Core processors. Sean Maloney, IntelCorporation executive vice president and general manager, sales and

Steve Dallman

&Stuart Clarkson


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WHATS NEWS

marketing group says that the first products in this new family of proces-

sors, including an Extreme Edition version, will carry an i7 identifier

and will be formally branded as an Intel Core i7 processor. He adds that

this is the first of several new identifiers to come as different products

launch over the next year.

New Think Pad rang e fro mLenovo

Lenovo has unveiled new SL series ThinkPad

notebooks targeted at local SME users. Rashid

Wally, country manager, Lenovo SA says the

three notebooks, SL300, SL 400 and SL500,

feature cutting-edge technologies, such as

LED backlit displays, an optional Blu-Ray DVD

player as well as a black glossy cover. Wally

says Lenovo combined software that helps with

everything from data recovery to simplifyingInternet connection with a new service package featuring online data

backup and an on-site repair warranty. The launch of the ThinkPad SL

notebook range places us in a great position to pursue the local SME

market and to offer a platform designed specifically with these users in

mind, Wally says.

M cAfee secur es HP PCs

McAfee, one of the leading security technology companies, has

announced that its products will provide security on HP commercial PCs.

Targeted at small business customers McAfee will provide, worldwide, a

60-day trial of pre-installed McAfee Total Protection software on selected

HP commercial desktop computers and notebooks. The need to protect

computers from complex Internet threats is becoming a top concern for

smaller business customers, says Todd Gebhart, senior vice president

and general manager, McAfee consumer, mobile and small business.

Total Protection Service from McAfee leverages the software as a service

(Saas) technology McAfee has used to protect small business customers

for more than nine years, he says.

SecureData offers resellersdiscounts

SecureData Security, the local distributor of

Trend Micros information security products, is

offering a 40 per cent conversion discount to

resellers. The discount is only offered to

resellers who upgrade customers running

Symantec products to the Trend Micro

product range. The conversion programme is

especially aimed at resellers who fear that they

will lose income following the introduction of

new channel policies by the COO of

Symantec in the information security market,

the company claims. Dean Healy, Trend Micro product manager,

SecureData Security says: Together with SecureData, Trend Micro aims

to keep its channel partners fully engaged with their customers. Partnersare never forcibly excluded from additional revenue streams generated

by renewals and upgrades.

New Infor PLM Opt iva

Infor has announced the latest release of Infor

PLM Optiva. The Infor PLM Optiva is a product

lifecycle management (PLM) solution for process

manufacturers and retailers with private label

products. The new release is set to improve for-

mula development, including editing, strengthen

performance modelling and production simula-

tion, providing greater flexibility and data analy-

sis capabilities. Jane Thomson, MD, Softworx,

an EOH company and distributor of Infor in sub-Saharan Africa says, A

new Advanced Formula Editor, a key enhancement to Infor PLM Optiva,

enables manufacturers to visually model multiple formulas and versions,

rapidly assess ideal iterations and identify associated risks.

ProScan launches multipurpose scanner

ProScan Distribution, a member of the ProScanGroup, has introduced the new QuickScan

Mobile cordless linear imaging bar-code reader.

The scanner is suitable for a broad range of retail

and commercial applications. According to

Andrew Fosbrook, ProScans group MD, the new

product provides an outstanding return on invest-

ment for users seeking a cordless handheld

device for general purpose retail activities, includ-

ing point of sale, inventory, price-checking and

shelf replenishment as well as commercial data collection applications.

He says that the QuickScan Mobile reader features Datalogics cord-

less STAR-System, one of the markets most secure and reliable systems

for 433/910 MHz narrow-band communications.

Esquire unveils BenQ series notebooksEsquire Technologies, leading distributors of IT and digital lifestyle prod-

ucts, has unveiled the latest BenQ series of Joybook laptops. The

A53,S32, and Q41 models combine advanced technology and contem-

porary design. Manish Bakshi, GM BenQ Middle East and Africa says

the company has designed the A53, S32 and Q41 as a perfect blend of

contemporary design and leading-edge technology with distinguishing

features that will appeal to stylish consumers.

Mustek sets the record straightFollowing comments by Pierre Spies, MD of

Tarsus Technologies in an article that appeared

on ITWeb (21 August 2008) titled Local PC

brand sales slump. David Kan, CEO at local

OEM assembler Mustek, says while it is true

that international brands such as Acer, HP and

Lenovo are selling at prices similar to locally

branded desktop PCs, the multinational brands

are offering very outdated CPU configurations. Kan says the CPU config-

urations are at least six months old in comparison with product offerings

from Mecer, Musteks flagship PC brand. Mecer has always been at theforefront of PC technology, and in the rapidly developing PC industry,

anything older than six months can be considered obsolete, he says.

Rashid Wally

Jane Thomson

Andrew Fosbrook

Pierre SpiesDean Healy


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3Com, appoints Lefatshe

Global networking solutions vendor 3Com appointed Lefatshe

Technologies as its exclusive H3C Advanced Solutions Partner in South

Africa. The partnership was announced at the GovTech 2008 conference

in Durban. Chris Huggett, regional sales director, 3com in EMEA says,

3Com, through H3C, has a world-leading offering in the arena of IP

networking infrastructure with IP security, IP communication and IP stor-

age. Noedine Isaacs-Mpulo, Lefasthe Technologies CEO says: Our

partnership with 3Com to deliver H3Cs quality IP networking infrastruc-

ture to South Africas public and corporate sectors will challenge the sta-tus quo, offering the market an alternative networking solution at an

extremely competitive price point.

Lexm ark partn ers w it h Itec

Lexmark has appointed Itec Distribution as a value print partner opening

up a new road to market for both companies. The move has promoted

Itec to the position of a Value Print Partner. The Value Print Programme

enables Itec to offer customers pay-per-page service contracts that are

affordable and tailored to their needs. The programme is integrated

directly into Itecs service offering. We chose to partner with Itec as this

gives Lexmark a valuable partner in the office automation space, says

Lawrence van Namen, sales director for channel partners and SMEs at

Lexmark.

Galdon Data Microsoft voice part ner

Microsoft has appointed Galdon Data to be part of as its local unified com-

munications Voice Partner Program. This distinction solidifies Galdon Datas

expertise in Microsofts unified communications solutions, including

Exchange Server 2007 and Office Communicator 2007. Erich Gebhardt,

director unified communications and EMEA time zone lead for Microsofts

voice business says: We are looking forward to a fruitful joint business

which will deliver great value to Galdon Datas customers. Galdon Data

CEO Garry Ackerman says: The acceptance into this elite unified commu-

nications programme demonstrates our commitment to the overall Microsoft

solution as well as our ability to embrace, become certified on and deploy

leading-edge voice, messaging and collaboration technologies.

Siem ens, Ent erasys in JV

The Gores Group has signed a definitive agreement to form a joint ven-

ture with Siemens AG. The agreement will combine Siemens Enterprise

Communications, Enterasys and SERSolutions. According to MikeFabiaschi president and CEO Enterasys Secure Networks, combining the

three companies will leverage Siemens distribution capabilities, global

reach and customer base. The joint venture will be 51 per cent owned by

the Gores Group and will be entitled to continue using the Siemens

brand. O n an operational level, the business will be driven by Gores who

will work with the current Enterasys, SERand Siemens Enterprise

Communications management teams and employees to fulfil customer

needs and expand the business.

HP acquir es Colub ris

HP has acquired Colubris Networks, a global provider of intelligent wire-

less networks for enterprises and service providers. HP plans to integrate

Colubris extensive product line into its ProCurve Networking product

portfolio. This is set to expand HP ProCurves reach into vertical markets

such as hospitality, transportation, health care, manufacturing, service

provision and education. Marius Haas, senior vice president and general

manager, HP ProCurve says: The acquisition of Colubris Networks will

strengthen ProCurves hardware, management platform and services sig-

nificantly improving the overall performance capabilities of both wired

and wireless networks as well as deliver more best-in-class choices for

our customers worldwide.

Riverbed partn ers w it h Microsoft

Riverbed Technology, players in wide-area data services, has announced

its partnership with software giant Microsoft. This comes after the compa-

ny entered the Microsoft Protocol Optimisation Licensing Program. This

will see Riverbed having access to Microsofts intellectual property and

technology. It will also help Riverbed to build on its expertise and success

by accelerating and optimising Microsoft Windows-based applications

over the WAN. Christo Briedenhann, country manager, Riverbed SA says:

By working closely with Microsoft we are obtaining access to application

protocols to further enhance our customers experience and IT efficiencies

over the WAN.

Phoenix distributes S.A.D. GmbH

Phoenix Software has won a contract to partner with S.A.D GmbH to

distribute its software ??throughout its South African channel. S.A.D.

Software is one of the leading publishers of application and entertain-

ment software in German-speaking countries. Phoenix Software has

offices in the UK, Germany, Zambia and SA as well as affiliate partner-

ships in the Middle East, South East Asia and the US. The company says

its strength lies in its ability to offer good margins and value-added ser-

vices to its channel partners, while offering its vendors a total solution forin-country representation via physical and ESD distribution.


ANALYSIS: DISTRIBUTION MOVESSOLUTION PROVIDERS


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HIGH FIVE: INFOR

SOLUTION PROVIDERS

BYDOMINICKHUZWAYO

Infor, one of the worlds largest software companies,

has launched a channel partner recruitment

campaign across Europe, Middle East and Africa.

The campaign aims to increase the number of Infor

partners across Europe, Middle East and Africa

significantly. According to the company, the

campaign will comprise a series of road shows.

To find-out more about Infor s partner campaign,

we chatted to John ODonnell channel manager,

Infor, Africa.

CRN: Why are you implementing thiscampaign?

JO: Infor is the 10th largest software company in the world and has

grown by acquisition and organic growth. In Europe, Middle East and

Asia Africa?(EMEA), 18 per cent of our licence revenues come from

the channel and we wish to grow this. We already have a very

successful channel business in sub-Saharan Africa and want to

grow this even further.

CRN: What is the campaign all about?

JO: The recruitment campaign is taking place across EMEA and we

are looking for quality, customer-orientated business partners to con-

tinue growing our channel business. The campaign has been

launched across Europe, with a series of road shows planned for the

remainder of 2008. Our focus will turn to SA in the early part of

2009 where we will work closely with one of our master distributors

and our existing partners.

CRN: What are you p laannin g t o achieve?

JO: We are targeting established businesses that have a proven track

record of delivering successful solutions within their specific domains.

We are looking for around 40 partners across EMEA. In sub-

Saharan Africa, we are focused on getting two or three

partners who can support us in financial management

solutions, human capital management (HCM) and

expense management (EM). In addition to this, we are

also working with existing partners who have clearly

demonstrated their willingness and enthusiasm for further

investment in complementary solutions. In recent months

our South African partners have clearly demonstrated

the benefit of collaboration with the creation of virtual

networks of cross-selling opportunities.

CRN: How w il l yo ur custom er benefitf rom this campaign?

JO: Infor has 70 000 customers globally and we have one of the

highest customer satisfaction rates in the industry: 93 percent of

our customers renewed their maintenance contracts last year.

Existing customers are very happy with their products, ongoing

research and development, and the support they get from Infor.

Last year we grew organically with 2 200 new customers globally. This

recruitment drive is designed to help us continue that organic growth

and to enable existing customers to achieve additional benefits from

other solutions.

CRN: What im pact w ill t he campaign have in Africa?JO: Infor has a collaborative network of partners who distribute and

support an extensive range of solutions in manufacturing, enterprise

resource planning, supply chain management, warehouse manage-

ment, enterprise asset management, performance management and

financial management. But with a wider portfolio of solutions we are

looking for additional partners to embrace, for example, HCM and

EM. As a result of this our partner network will continue to grow, new

customers will be attracted to our solutions and our existing customers

will invest in complementary solutions.

In for launches partner campaign


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SS Technologies recently proved why it is one

of the leaders in designing, implementing

and supporting converged networking solu-

tions by enhancing Micros SA Johannesburg-

based contact centre.

Micros, a provider of point of sale and

hospitality solutions, is seeing significant

improvements in its operations, including theintelligent management of calls and result-

enhanced services since partnering with KSS

Technologies.

The company, which essentially features

four contact centres in one servicing its

Micros (point of sale solution); Opera (prop-

erty management solution focused on the

hospitality industry), Fidelio (older version of

Opera) and CLS (another property manage-

ment solution) products had been struggling

with call visibility.

Looking at some of the challenges

Micros was facing, Hylton Proctor-Parker,

support operations manager, Micros SA

says, We had no visibil ity of our calls and

could not determine how many were comingin, how many callers were waiting in the

queue, the duration of each call and which

were abandoned.

As a result of these challenges, Micros

Fidelio decided to upgrade its contact centre

infrastructure and partnered with KSS who

recommended, supplied and implemented

Ciscos latest Unified Communications

Manager CallManager 6.1 (an upgrade

from CallManager 4.2), IP Contact

Center Express (IPCC) 5 (an upgrade from

IPCC 4) and the Datavoice Libra Voice

Recording solution.

Chris Kok, project manager, KSS says,

We had no problems installing the

solutions and we now service Micros SAs

60 contact centre agents as well as 200

users countrywide.

Micros SA now has full control of the

contact centre with clear track record of all

calls and visibility.

CallManager 6.1, a software-based

call-processing system, tracks all active VoIPnet-

work components; these include phones, gate-

ways and conference bridges. The IPCC Express

5 solution offers automatic call distribution,interactive voice response and computer tele-

phony integration on a single platform.

Additionally, the Libra Voice Recording

solution provides fail-safe recording of all

voice transactions for legal purposes which

minimises risk, and enhances quality assur-

ance and training as well as productivity

measurement in contact centres.

Lyn Andrews sales executive, KSS says,The new system provides Micros SA and,

more importantly, the contact centre with the

visibility they need. With the integration of a

dashboard, for example, it can now deter-

mine how many agents are logged on; how

many calls have been dropped and how the

calls were handled in a simple and easy to

interpret viewing format.

Moreover, due to the systems intelligent

design, calls can be moved over - after a cer-

tain period - to Micros agents if the Opera

contact centre is busy. This regulates the

workload ensuring calls are not abandoned

and are readily attended to, adds Andrews.

We can now intelligently determine how

many calls were dropped, investigate why

this occurred and rectify it accordingly. This

improves the efficiency of our contact centre

and overall service delivery, explains

Proctor-Parker.

Due to the systems dynamic and auto-

mated nature, a voice recording will now tell

customers what number they are in the

queue and how long they will need to hold

on before being attended to.

According to Kok, This can also be

changed according to the needs of the con-

tact centres, shortening the time before calls

are moved over to the next team - dynami-

cally adapting the infrastructure according to

the volume of calls and so forth.

In addition Proctor-Parker says, The

solution has allowed us to create a contact

centre infrastructure that supports our clients

in an intelligent, efficient manner.

Do you have demand generator stories to

share with us, please e-mail DominicKhuzwayo at [email protected]


DEMAND GENERATOR: KSS

SOLUTION PROVIDERS

BYDOMINICKHUZWAYO

K

Enhancing contact centres infrastructure.

KSS boostsMicros SA

Micros SA now has full control of the contact centre

with clear track records of all calls and visibility.

Chris Kok, KSS

Chris Kok, KSS


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ith just 14 months with the new CEO in

position, Siemens announced that it was

going back to the drawing board, and

came up with a new look by reshaping the

company globally.

As part of the new look Siemens

Southern Africa has reorganised the opera-

tions of its 11 business units into three sec-tors; Industry, Energy and Healthcare.

With some companies when they say we

changing our company they mean retrench-

ment as well but when we asked Siemens it

said it is not at liberty to make any state-

ments in this regard since the consequences

for the individual Siemens locations and

countries are part of internal consultations

on a global basis.

Coming back to the three sectors, the

Industry sector will be headed by Stuart

Clarkson and consists of six divisions:

Industry Automation, Drive Technologies,

Building Technologies, Industry Solutions,

Mobility and Osram.

Dion Govender will head the Energy sec-

tor, which also have six divisions, including

Fossil Power Generation, Renewable Energy,

Oil and Gas, Energy Service, Power

Transmission as well as Power Distribution.

Graham Maritz will take-up Healthcare,

which has been divided into three divisions,

Imaging and IT, Workflow and Solutions,

and Diagnostics.

Everyone wants to know why Siemens is

restructuring the company and how cus-

tomers will benefit from the new structure.

Sigi Proebstl, CEO, Siemens Southern

Africa says, Siemens has realigned its

organisation to further increase its profitabili-

ty and transparency. Clear sector responsibil-

ities will ensure closer positioning and

improved focus on customer needs.

It was important to realign the organisa-

tion to become more efficient, profitable,

competitive and, above all, responsive - not

only to the needs of our customers but alsoto the demands of society now and into the

future. It is important for the organisation to

examine its portfolio every few years to

ensure it is in line with customer require-

ments and the growth markets of the future.

This is what Siemens has done, he says.

According to Proebstl, by focusing on the

Industry, Energy and Healthcare sectors, the

new Siemens structure will place the organi-sation in a better position to capitalise on its

ability to deliver products, solutions and ser-

vices in a manner that meets the demands of

these dynamic environments.

The new structure will improve customer

needs due to the following:

The company will be able to respond to

customer needs faster

Innovations will provide the best techno-

logical answers to the challenges societies

face today

The company will create value add for our

investors, for example, by growing profitably

in the marketplace and by keeping costs

competitive with lean internal structures.

When it comes to how Siemens will

engage partners, Proebstl says: Generally

speaking, we adopt a direct approach to

market, but in certain of our areas, especial-

ly product business, we use the services of

external partners, for example, agents and

distributors. In some of the southern and east

African countries (outside of South Africa),

we also use agents and distributors. Siemens

Southern Africa is responsible for the entire

southern and east African region.

This new structure has created a lot of

questions about whether the companys

IT solutions and services will be hindered

by the changes. But the company says

Siemens IT Solutions and Services will

continue operating as a cross-sector partner

in addition to driving its own business across

the IT value chain.

Proebstl adds, the vertical sectors in which

Siemens IT Solutions and Services operates

include the public sector, healthcare, energy,media and telecommunications, transporta-

tion, financial services and the manufactur-

ing industry. The systems and solutions

offered within these vertical sectors are con-

tinuously evolving and focus on the integra-

tion of shop floor operational systems with

management information systems.

In addition, Siemens IT Solutions and

Services supports the Siemens Industry,

Energy and Healthcare sectors that possess

IT and software competence and thus

increase the total offering Siemens presents

to its customers. Special focus is placed on

fully integrated, industry-specific IT solutions

developed together with the Siemens sectors.

Proebtsl believes the new structure will be

simpler, more transparent and focused and

as a result closer to all stakeholders.

We believe our customers will see the

benefits of a new streamlined organisation

that has the ability to answer tough

questions in the growth markets of thefuture, he concludes.

BYDOMINICKHUZWAYO

W

Siemens regroups globallyTelecoms giant implements new strategies.

Sigi Proebstl, Siemens

ANALYSIS: SIEMENSSOLUTION PROVIDERS

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA SEPTEM BER 200 8 13


16/60

icrosoft has launched the newest generation

of its business software, Microsoft Dynamics

AX2009, in SA.

Jumana Helal, head, Dynamics Business,Microsoft SA, says the new software is set to

signal a new chapter in enterprise resource

planning (ERP) user productivity by providing

an easy-to-use interface and information tai-

lored to specific roles within a company.

AX2009 aims to help businesses thrive in

a competitive global marketplace by control-

ling costs, managing risk and increasing

employee productivity. Microsofts vision of

ERP is that it will start to prompt its users to

take certain actions instead of merely being

a reactive tool that people use to pull weekly

reports from, she says.

Helal says that Microsoft Dynamics AX

includes applications for financial manage-

ment, customer relationship management, sup-

ply chain management, human resource man-

agement, project management and analytics.

Because it integrates with well-known

Microsoft products, such as Microsoft SQL

Server, BizTalk Server, Exchange, Office and

Windows, employees can work with familiar

tools and thus keep training costs down,

she says.

According to Helal, the perception of ERP

has changed fundamentally over the past

five years. She believes that organisationsare looking for a state-of-the-art ERP solu-

tion to bring together their disparate business

processes and increase the productivity of

their employees.

In short, ERP now lies at the heart ofevery forward-thinking enterprise, she says.

In addition to that, Helal says that end-

users have also become a far more impor-

tant consideration for organisations when

evaluating their ERP strategies.

In the past, the optimisation of business

processes was the chief priority and the end-

user experience was a secondary concern.

Employees had to wade through inefficient,

time-intensive steps, as they entered transac-

tional data and ran reports, before they

could get on with their day-to-day jobs.

Today, this approach is unacceptable. A

new generation of employees brought up on

computer games and intuitive software tools

has entered the workforce with clear expec-

tations about the quality of the user experi-

ence, she says.

She goes on to say that new ways of

accessing applications through mobile devices

and Internet browsers are also emerging,

making ERPavailable to a far greater propor-

tion of an organisations workforce.

The business case for ERP is now heavily

reliant on the acceptance of these new solu-

tions by end-users.

At Microsoft, our focus has been on

boosting productivity and ROI by placing the

individual user at the centre of our develop-

ment efforts. Our range of Dynamics ERP

products has been developed in the knowl-

edge that if users dont accept a solution

imposed by the company, the implementa-

tion simply wont succeed. We believe that

this is the key trend shaping our ERP applica-

tions today and tomorrow, Helal comments.

Looking at what partners can look forwardto gaining from Microsoft Dynamics AX


ANALYSIS: M ICROSOFT

SOLUTION PROVIDERS

BYDUDUSHABA

M

Organisations are looking for a state-of-the-art ERP

solution to bring together their disparate business

processes and increase the productivity of their

employees. Jumana Helal, Dynamicsbusiness, Microsoft.

Manages costs and increase employee productivity.

Microsoft Dynamics AX2009 enables businesses to thrive


17/60

ANALYSIS: M ICROSOFT

SOLUTION PROVIDERS


2009, Helal says that the solution is supplied

exclusively through a network of channel

partners, providing specialised services and

local support.

We have approximately 150 partners in

more than 30 countries using Microsoft

Dynamics CRM and ERP software in a hosted

and subscription-based pricing model. Our

ERP partners are seeing success by differenti-

ating their services by offering business

process outsourcing services using Microsoft

Dynamics AX.

With future releases of ERP solutions we

will introduce additional functionality to help

reduce our partners cost of hosting and

improve scalability and system administra-tion. At this time, we believe our partners

are meeting the market demand for hosted

and subscription-based ERP, and we have no

plans to offer a hosted solution direct from

Microsoft, she remarks.

Is the local market ready for Microsoft AX

2009? In her response, Helal says that AX

2009 is well-positioned to help local busi-

nesses thrive in a competitive global market-

place by controlling costs, managing risk and

increasing employee productivity.

For example, Adcorp CIO Kobus Pienaar

says the group has a clear roadmap for

rolling out AXtechnology to all 15 of its sub-

sidiaries. Adcorp has 1 700 full-time

employees, and administers 70 000 full-

and part-time staff for its clients at any given

time, pays R2.2 billion a year in salaries, and

processes 70 000 timesheets and 60 000

payslips a week, she says.

The complexities of managing accurate

business insights and standardising opera-

tions across multiple locations are immense.

Microsoft Dynamics AXhelps us to manage

complex financial and supply chain processes

more easily. For example, the new software

can run multiple legal entities on a central

installation and provide a single, integrated

view of financial and supply chain informa-

tion from facilities around the country, help-

ing us to simplify our planning. Advanced

planning and reporting scenarios, such as

consolidation or budgeting, are offered

through integration with Microsoft Office

Performance Point Server, says Pienaar.

According to Microsoft, the targeted mar-

ket for Microsoft Dynamics AX2009 is mid-size companies and enterprises with 50 to

more than 3 000 concurrent users.

Helal says the strategy for Microsoft

Dynamics AXin the enterprise is about sur-

rounding customers current legacy systems

and providing a solution to fulfil the require-

ments of a subset of large enterprises such as

plants, departments, brands and subsidiaries.

Microsoft Dynamics AXis a good fit for

implementations where the enterprises head-

quarters may be using a business manage-

ment solution from a different vendor for its

core finance needs, and where subsidiary

offices that need more flexibility and support

for specific business processes use Microsoft

Dynamics AX. This way Microsoft Dynamics

AXcan be a key element of the IT gover-

nance strategy of large enterprises.

Microsoft Dynamics AX4.0 also demon-

strates high scalability, says Helal.

Discussing Microsofts ERP strategy for the

future, Helal says this year represents a major

milestone for Microsofts ERP products. In

addition to the launch of Dynamics AX2009,

she says that this year will also mark the

arrival of Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009.

Looking ahead, we will continue to invest

in developing solutions for our customers

and partners that improve the user experi-

ence and productivity as well as reduce oper-

ational costs and drive informed decision-making, she concludes.

Jumana Helal, Microsoft


18/60


19/60


20/60

BM Cognos debuted a major upgrade of its

core business intelligence platform recently,

along with a new financial analysis applica-

tion and enhancements to the Cognos Go!Search and Go! Mobile software. IBM says

the additions would expand its Information

on Demand strategy.

IBM says the new release, IBM Cognos 8

v4, offers a new self-serve, flash-based dash-

board and new mobile and search capabili-

ties that bring business intelligence capabili-

ties to a wider audience of users. While ana-

lysts are traditionally the most frequent users

of BI tools, IBM Cognos 8 v4 will particularly

appeal to business users, business managers

and executives who make up 80 percent of

workers in the average company.

The new software will be available by the

end of the year. IBM acquired Cognos in

February for $4.9billion.

The most significant enhancements are

to the IBM Cognos 8 Go! tools that extend

the core BI platform. The new Go!

Dashboard provides Flash-based graphics

for personalized dashboards used to deliver

reports and information from the IBM

Cognos 8 BI system, as well as other sources

such as RSS feeds.

Go! Mobile now uses GPS information

from a users BlackBerry, Symbian or

Windows Mobile device to providereports and other content that is location

aware and automatically adjusts to a

users location. And Go! Search offers

new search-assisted authoring and explo-

ration capabilities.I think this is a big advancement from a

usability perspective, says Jeetu Lakhotia,

CEO of Locus Solutions, a solution

provider, speaking about the enhanced Go!

Mobile application. Locus, which resells

Cognos BI software, has already deployed

the new Go! Mobile application for several

customers and Lakhotia thinks its new

capabilities make it attractive to a wider

audience of operational managers.

The new IBM Cognos 8 Business

Viewpoint is a collaborative business

modeling tool that helps users create,

manage and share views of information for

performance management applications, all

without the help of IT managers or without

disrupting the underlying data.

And the new IBM Cognos 8 Financial

Performance Analytics software for J.D.

Edwards and Oracle E-Business Suite

applications extracts financial data from

those ERP systems for analysis. The product,

for example, can be used by line-of-business

managers for analysing the financial perfor-

mance of their operations and identifying

performance discrepancies.

The new adaptive application framework

technology in the core platform really lowers

the cost of deploying and maintaining an

application, says Myron Weber, CTO at

Parsons Consulting, a financial consulting

firm that resells and implements Cognos

financial analysis software. Weber said many

of his customers require some customisation

of the applications and the new release

makes that easier to do. Customers dont

want to buy tools, he says, they want tobuy content.


ANALYSIS: IBM

SOLUTION PROVIDERS

BYRICKWHITING, CHANNELWEB

I

The most significant enhancements are to the IBM

Cognos 8 Go! tools that extend the core BI platform.

The new Go!


IBM Upgrades Cognos BI,Expands Mobile capabilities


21/60

ANALYSIS: FINANCESOLUTION PROVIDERS


BYSCOTTCAMPBELL, CHANNELWEB

I


ts a straightforward question, but the answer,

according to John McNeely, is anything but

simple: How has the wild ride of Wall Street

this week impacted your business?The CEO and president of Sword & Shield

Enterprise Security, a solution provider says

its a hard question to answer because his

business is being hit on a number of fronts

these days.

The good news is that USstocks rebounded

Tuesday, a day after the Dow Jones fell

777 points when Congress couldnt agree

on a financial markets bailout. The Dow

rose 485 points or 4.7 percent Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq

Composite Index was up 99 points or

5 percent.

But McNeely points out that the wild eco-

nomic swings of recent weeks can fester in

many different ways. For one, theres the fuel

crisis snaking its way through several North

American southern cities, most recently and

perhaps most notably Atlanta. Knoxville,

about three hours north of Atlanta,

recently had some of the highest prices in the

country, based solely on rumors of an

impending shortage.

Then theres the financial markets

situation. Sword & Shield deals mainly with

regional banks that havent been impacted

by the struggles of the big financial

institutions, but McNeely is smart enough to

know his companys financial security can

change tomorrow.

We have a lot of things in place already

that arent impacted by current crisis, but

where we have concerns and where were

keeping an eye on is we have five lines of

credit with five different distributors for prod-

uct reselling. It remains to be seen how that is

impacted, he says.Then theres the housing market. McNeely

typically recruits nationally and pays for

people to relocate to Knoxville because the

local talent pool cant meet his IT require-

ments. He can still find people he wants tohire, but now nobody can afford to sell their

house to move to Tennessee, even at a

cheaper cost of living, he says. If they cant

get out [of their current situation], theyre not

willing to move.

Like McNeely, Mark Wyllie, COO of

Compuquip Technologies, a solution

provider also chuckles at the question

of what the markets ups and downs will hold

for his company.

Compuquip closes its fiscal year today and

Wyllie noted that among the top 20 accounts

he had on this date last year, sales with 17

accounts are down a collective 26 percent.

And 10 of those customers are financial

institutions, he says.

His top 20 accounts today, mostly different

names from a year ago, are up 32 percent

through the first 11 months of Compuquips

fiscal year, Wyllie says. Weve also had a

bunch of other companies approaching us

about acquiring them or doing some partner-

ships because business is not that good for

them, Wyllie says.

All the solution providers can do is try to

plan appropriately and hope the roller

coaster ride is over.

Were in trouble whenever we see banks

of significant size being bought or taken over,

thats a sign were in something serious,

McNeely says. People are comparing

this to the Depression, but theres a big

difference between now and then. Theres still

a lot of cash that companies have. Some of

this depends on where government goes with

a bailout. If that happens, we will rebound.

But Im not sure anybody really knows whatwill happen.

VARs st ruggle to keepup with Wall streets wild ride

Were in trouble whenever

we see banks of significant

size being bought or taken

over, thats a sign were in

something serious John

McNeely


22/60


ANALYSIS: HP PROCURVESOLUTION PROVIDERS

HP Procurve buys Colubris

BYDOMINICKHUZWAYO

Move to expand the use of WLANs.

P recently announced it is buying Colubris

Networks, a company that specialises in

intelligent wireless networks for enterprises

and service providers.

Founded in 2000, Colubris Networks

Intelligent Mobility Solutions deliver wireless

integrated access, management and security

products as well as 802.11n capability allof which helps enterprises and service

providers to broaden the reach and impact

of voice, data and multimedia applications.

And with HP also a supplier of WLANs

through HP ProCurve, this move is seen as

making HP ProCurve even stronger in the

WLAN area. HP plans to integrate Colubris

extensive product line into its ProCurve net-

working products portfolio.

This will allow HP ProCurve to expand its

reach in areas such as hospitality, manufac-

turing, transportaion, health care and educa-

tion as Colubris Networks plays a major role

in these markets.

The acquisition of Colubris Networks will

strengthen ProCurves hardware, manage-

ment platform and services, significantly

improving the overall performance capabili-

ties of both wired and wireless networks, and

will deliver even more best-in-class choices

for our customers worldwide, says Marius

Haas, senior vice president and general

manager, HP ProCurve.

With our vision and continued support

from HP leadership, I am convinced that

ProCurves impressive growth and market

leadership is unlimited, he adds.

The move is also set to give HP ProCurve

and its partners a huge boost with access to

802.11n capability, which HP ProCurve did-

nt have in its product line.

On CRN.com Haas commented on hav-

ing access to the 802.11n saying: Its a

technology space we felt we needed to own.

Its a good augmentation to what we have.

Meanwhile locally, Lorna Hardie business

unit manager, HP ProCurve SA says,ProCurve will continue to offer its existing

APs and WESMs as part of its extensive

WLAN product line.

In addition ,Colubris overlay architecture

complements and strengthens existing

ProCurve wireless solutions by giving

customers additional choices for unifying

their wired and wireless communications,

she says.According to Hardie, the introduction of

Colubris products and technologies into the

ProCurve portfolio will give channel partners

even stronger wireless solutions to offer their

customers. Furthermore, HP ProCurve is

impressed with Colubris next-generation

technology and its alignment with ProCurves

value proposition to deliver networks that are

secure, easy to deploy and manage, reliable,

flexible and affordable, enabling our cus-

tomers to select standards-based solutions,

she says.

HP is committed to developing the

ProCurve business, emphasising its commit-

ment to working with trusted industry partners

to provide customers with best-in-class solu-

tions, products and services.

When asked if industries like transporta-

tion, health care and hospitality are ready for

WLAN technology, Hardie says: Absolutely,

in fact we believe that over the next 20 years,

information will drive overall business success

across all industries.

According to Hardie, this means real-timeaccess to critical business intelligence needs

Vincent Williams, Faritec

The introduction of Colubris products and technologies

into the ProCurve portfolio will give our channel partners

an even stronger wireless solutions offering for their

customers. Lorna Hardie, HP ProCurve SA.

H

Lorna Hardie, HP ProCurve SA


23/60

ANALYSIS: HP PROCURVE

SOLUTION PROVIDERS

to be seamless no matter when, where or

how users connect, this directly impacts the

need to support WLAN. Hence it is said

that Wireless LAN (WLAN) technology will

continue to grow as an essential enterprise

resource. In fact, end-user spending in the

WLAN enterprise-class market is expected to

increase at a compound annual growth rate

of 12 per cent from 2004 through 2009 to

$1.6 billion, with wireless switches and con-

trollers accounting for 31 per cent of that

amount (Forecast: Wireless LAN Equipment,

Worldwide, 2002-2009. Gartner. January

26, 2005. Article).

She explains that if one had to look at

specifics in terms of industry this is no differ-

ent and, in fact, has become more of a

necessity rather than a nice to have, as an

example in terms of the transportation,

health care and hospitality industries their

networking requirements are very similar

that is the need for an advanced, secure,

reliable and easy-to-manage wired and wire-

less LAN infrastructure combined with the

benefits of real-time access.

In addition, visitors to your organisation

no longer expect to be greeted just with a

cup of coffee and a handshake. They also

expect you to give them access to your wire-

less network so they can be as productive as

possible, she says.It seems the WLAN is becoming the in

thing in many industries and with HP now

having Colubris Networks in the bag, HP

ProCurve will try to capitalise on the market.

On the other hand, the competition is on

for WLAN vendors to claim the number one

spot, HP ProCurve, 3 Com, Nortel. on

your marks, get set, ready, GO!

With our vision and continued support from HP

leadership, I am convinced that ProCurves impressive

growth and market leadership is unlimited.

Marius Haas, HP ProCurve.


24/60

AMD at home, work, play

BYKAUNDA CHAMA

Focusing on platforms.

arly this year chipmaker Advanced Micro

Devices (AMD) announced that it would

move away from a model of selling

components to selling platforms and

has enjoyed a reasonable response from

the market.

This model saw the vendor selling

platforms that were tailor-made for users thatwere using their computers for gaming, word

processing, multimedia rendering and other

specialised fields.

However, even with this amount of suc-

cess, the company feels it should step up its

go-to-market strategy a notch and advance it

from selling platforms to selling solutions.

With the desktop platform space well pen-

etrated AMD feels it is ready to move in the

solutions direction and has already identified

home, work and play as the three target

areas it intends going for.

All of the systems that will be shipped with

AMD chips sets will be labelled accordingly

and will come with stickers stating that they

are AMD Live (for home and multimedia

use), AMD Game (designed specifically for

the gaming fraternity) and AMD Business

Class for enterprise users.

All of these solutions are tailor-made for

specific segments and, as a company, AMD

is confident that it will stay ahead of its com-

petition. Users will have an even easier job

choosing systems that are suited to them

because the stickers will indicate what a spe-

cific PC is designed for, explains Giuseppe

Amato, AMDs EMEA sales and marketing

technical director.

He adds that all the new solutions AMD

will bring to market will increase productivity

in their specific management segments.

One thing AMD has done well and is con-

fident will go a long way in improving the

end-user experience is the capabilities that its

discrete graphics give to its systems.

Everywhere from home to play to busi-

ness; people are demanding better graphicsperformance and AMD has just the solutions

they have been looking for with its advanced

graphics capability.

Both corporate and home users are now

getting used to high-definition video confer-

encing and corporates are also adopting

high definition on their training videos orWeb-based training because they cannot

afford to have a lot of employees out of the

office at any given time, explains Amato.

He adds that many companies are pro-

ducing their own corporate videos and the

amount of video rendering required calls for

both improved microprocessor and graphicscard performance.

Our mission is not to undersell our solutions against

what our competitors have on the market, but to show

customers that with our solutions they can truly get more

bang for their buck. Giuseppe Am ato, AMD

ANALYSIS: AMDSOLUTION PROVIDERS

E



25/60

ANALYSIS: AMDSOLUTION PROVIDERS


Vincent Williams, Faritec

The discrete graphics card on the Puma

platform-based notebooks gives users the

same processing, graphics power and per-

formance as desktop PCs. AMDs main goal

is to simplify the computer and give end-

users the best and simplest experience possi-

ble, notes Amato.

Although the vendor appreciates the dif-

ference between ordinary and power users, it

wants to be part of the solution to make

using PCs as comparatively simple as using

cellular handsets.

Meanwhile, the company claims that its

Business Class solution was designed with

business in mind to deliver the best value on

the market, enabling industry-leading plat-form stability and longevity, essential security

and manageability, and exceptional perfor-

mance and energy efficiency.

Stabi l i ty and longevi ty

Thanks to AMDs reliability, stable image

support and consistent 64-bit architecture

across servers and clients, businesses can

build a computing infrastructure that does

more for longer.

The solution boasts image stability of up

to 24 months across AMD Athlon processors,

AMD Phenom processors and AMD 780

chipsets backed by the vendors reliability.

The companys AMD64 technology provides

improved system consistency and compatibility

across servers and clients.

Performance and energy

eff iciency

AMD Business Class technology delivers all

the application and graphics performance

employees need to be productive with energy-

efficient features designed to keep costs low.

It comes standard with support for native,

true multi-core performance with AMD

Athlon X2 processors, AMD Phenom X3 and

AMD Phenom X4 processors helping systems

to meet and exceed real-world application

performance needs.

AMDs professional-grade efficiency

enhancements like CoolnQuiet 2.0 tech-

nology and ATI PowerPlay, platforms based

on its Business Class technology can help to

enable low power consumption and smaller

form factors. ATI Radeon integrated graphics

support dual-monitor capability to help max-imise productivity.

Essential security and

manageabi l i ty

Meanwhile, the vendors open standards-

based approach enables future-ready

solutions with features and interoperability

for businesses without getting locked into a

single, proprietary technology.

In addition, the solution has chip-level

security, including support for the Trusted

Platform Module (TPM) specification and

integrated virtualisation for enhanced security

from the moment systems start booting up.

AMD promises a commitment to security

and management standards (TCG and

DMTF) that keep businesses from getting

locked into proprietary technology as well assupport for choice through proactive

development of the emerging DASH

standard for out-of-band management.

It also boasts a commitment to open

platforms based on industry standards,

enabling integrated management solutions

while preserving choice in the industry.

Standards-based components can also

integrate easily into existing IT infrastructures

and work seamlessly and predictably with

systems from multiple vendors.

AMDs compliance with standards

helps to ensure compatibility with popular

management tools, making it easier to

manage client devices because the

non-proprietary functionality helps provide a

consistent management experience across

the infrastructure.

It also shares a consistent foundation

with the SMASH server management

standard for greater consistency and

reliability between data centre and

client management.

To ensure that its distributors and value-

added resellers (VARs) earn the best possiblerevenues from its solutions and become

solution partners to their customers, AMD is

providing its channel partners will all the

necessary aids, such as technology videos, to

ensure that they easily understand its mis-

sion, vision and technology and, at the same

time, transfer the intuitiveness of its solutions

to their customers.

Our mission is not to undersell our solu-

tions against what our competitors have on

the market, but to show customers that with

our solutions they can truly get more bang

for their buck, says Amato.

With AMD Live resellers are able to bun-

dle PCs with products such as high-definition

video cameras because they complement

each other. At the same time, with the pro-cessing and graphics power we are putting

into notebooks we are ensuring that mobility

gets better without compromising on

graphics quality thereby giving users the best

performance per rand per watt.

With this said, it will be interesting to

watch the battle between the Intel/NVidia

collaboration with the AMD/ATI solution

because AMD claims that with its Puma

platform, it is able to give its customers

better productivity with even higher video

graphics quality.

In addition, with the improved power man-

agement system built into AMD systems, the

company says it will give its competition a good

run when it comes to battery performance.

With the introduction of its external graphics

card, which can be connected to systems via a

USB port, AMD is confident that it will not com-

promise on graphics performance on the mobile

side adding that it is bringing the same power

experience from the desktop to the notebook.

This is a great opportunity for improved

margins for VARs because we deliver on the

price and performance side, he notes.On the small form factor side.

With the introduction of its external graphics card, which

can be connected to systems via a USB port, AMD is

confident that it will not compromise on graphics performance

on the mobile side adding that it is bringing the same

power experience from the desktop to the notebook.


26/60


27/60CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA SEPTEM BER 200 8 25

Microsoft SAs decision to hold its flagship Partner Summit and Tech-Ed annual events in Durban this year was worth

millions of rands to the local economy, as more than 3 000 delegates from across the country descended on the city in

the first week of August.

The events, which ran back to back from 3-8 August at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Convention Centre (ICC), are the

highlights of the software makers annual calendar. Microsoft uses these events to lay out its technology and business

roadmap for the coming year to its partners, IT professionals and developers and to highlight areas of innovation that

will benefit end users.

The Partner Summit and Tech-Ed events drew more than 3 000 delegates, and accommodating them resulted in a

minor boom for the local hospitality industry and businesses in early August, said eThekwini mayor O bed Mlaba.

Durban is no stranger to hosting major business events, and Microsofts decision to host these events in our city

meant that our enthusiasm for growth, change and development has not gone unnoticed, said Clr Mlaba.

Partner Summit culminated in a glittering Partner Awards function on 7 August, at which Microsofts top-performing

partners were recognised for the impact they have on customers and their ongoing contribution within South Africa.

Both Partner Summit and Tech-Ed have been held at Sun City for the past few years, and Microsoft SAs Head of the

Server and Tools business, Manoj Bhoola said the change of venue was part of a decision to give these events a fresh,

new face.

The Microsoft partner eco-system is growing rapidly, and we felt that Durban would be able to provide a vibrant and

compelling backdrop to these premier events while offering the facilities required to host these expanding events and a

greater number of session rooms to cater for the diverse range of topics, said Bhoola. Were looking to expand our

presence strongly in other regions of South Africa, and we feel this will be a strong platform for us going forward.

A study in 2007 by IT industry researcher IDC found that the Microsoft ecosystem defined as people working at IT

companies and IT professionals who create, sell, or distribute products that run on Microsoft platforms plays a key

role in driving the IT industrys overall contribution to job growth and economic development. Microsoft-related IT

activities in South Africa were the source of more than 153 000 jobs in 2007, constituting 43% of the entire South

African IT workforce.

The study also found that the revenues earned by partners working with Microsoft in South Africa far exceed the

revenues earned by Microsoft itself. For every R1 that Microsoft currently earns, partners working with Microsoft earn an

estimated R9.69. Of this, R1.50 is generated in the software arena, R1.92 in services and R6.27 in hardware (that is,

hardware sold with Microsoft software already loaded.) The Microsoft Partner Summit builds on the strong relationship

between Microsoft and its partners and creates a solid platform for growing the Microsoft ecosystem.

Microsoft would liketo thank the PartnerSummit sponsors:

Platinum sponsor

Gold sponsors

Silver sponsors

Service sponsors

To find out m ore a bout Microsoft Partn er Summit visit: ww w.par tnersummit.co.za

Microsoft Partner Summit a windfal l for Durban


28/6026 CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA SEPTEM BER 200 8

Advanced Infrastructure Solutions Competency Award Dimension DataDimension Data has shown real commitment to the Microsoft stack by driving

infrastructure solutions to large Enterprise customers. The company has focused on

providing management solutions winning a number of Enterprise System Centre

deals. Its understanding of Directory Services as a key component in winning the

entire stack, as well as its commitment to the Infrastructure Optimisation strategy has

gained it many tenders against competing technologies and its expertise in selling

and deploying solutions has translated into a number of case studies.

Microsoft Partner Programme Awards 2008 Winners

iSolve stars at Microsoft Partner AwardsiSolve Business Solutions, Dimension Data and Leaf were the big winners at Microsofts Annual Partner

Programme Awards in Durban, with iSolve walking away with four Solutions Competency Awards, Dimension

Data winning three awards and Leaf taking home the coveted Managing Directors Award for

its remarkable growth in the mobile space in the past year.iSolve won awards for competency in Custom Development Solutions, Data Management Solutions,

Information Worker and Learning Solutions, while The IT Department beat off some strong competition to win

the Small Business Specialist Award for the second year running.

Other companies to do well were AccTech Systems, IS Partners and Integr8IT, which each pocketed two

awards at a glittering ceremony at Durbans ICC.

Microsofts head of the Platform and Developer Evangelism Group David Ives was effusive in his praise for

the Microsoft Partner Programme Award winners, saying they were delivering unmatched innovation and

value to customers as part of Microsofts diverse and talented partner ecosystem.

He singled Leaf out for special praise, saying the company has demonstrated commitment and

vision in its approach to the strategically important area of telecommunications, placing itself at the forefront

of the South African mobility market while tapping into the lucrative consumer space. The company has grabbed 90% of

the local Windows Mobile market while growing its Microsoft revenue 53% year-on-year.

A delighted Himal Ramjee, director of iSolve, said Microsofts commitment to the partner model had played a key role in the companys ability to

deliver focused solutions across a range of disciplines.

The Microsoft Partner Summit remains a key event in the iSolve management calendar, as it clearly outlines Microsofts strategy and the ways

that we as partners can align ourselves to it, said Ramjee. Our ongoing interaction with Microsoft has played a key role in our ability to provide

world-class solutions to our clients, using shared skill sets and Microsoft technologies.

The IT Departments Mornay Durant said the award underlined the way his company had been able to articulate Microsofts small business focus

through embracing shared marketing opportunities as well as new licensing models.

Small Businesses have very clear needs from their IT infrastructure, and we feel were at a point where we can enable them to see their IT

infrastructure as reliably supportive of their business operations on a day-to-day basis, said Durant. The glittering Microsoft Partner Programme

Awards 2008 Gala Dinner took place on 7th August 2008, hosted by Fernando de Sousa, former interim Country Manager for Microsoft South

Africa and Cheick Diarra, Microsoft Africa Chairman. Awards were presented by the Microsoft award owners; business group leads and business

managers responsible for each of the award categories.



Information Worker Solutions Competency Award IntervateBesides selling, implementing and influencing the entire stack of Information

Worker products across EPG, SMS&P and Public Sector, Intervate has

invested in training, skills development and new technologies to address key

customer challenges. The company was instrumental in driving OpenXML

adoption and messaging in South Africa and has delivered the highest

number of Enterprise search engagements for the local Microsoft subsidiary.

Data Management Solutions CompetencyAward iSolveiSolve has again this year demonstrated its continued support

for Microsofts Business Intelligence and Data Management

solutions. The companys passion for Microsoft and its

products truly sets it apart. This was very evident during the

2008 Wave Launch campaign where iSolve showed

tremendous commitment by being the first implementer of SQL

Server 2008 in a 64-bit environment at a customer. iSolve also

achieved considerable year-on-year growth in the area of Data

Management and grew Business Intell igence and SQL

Server-influenced revenue in both the EPG and SMS&P spaces.

Business Process and IntegrationSolutions Competency Award BusinessConnexionBusiness Connexion is a leader in the Enterprise

integration space with a proven track record of high

customer satisfaction scores. The company has

contributed significantly to the Microsoft server

business generally, and has innovated with BizTalk

server to win several competitive deals. Business

Connexions focus on solutions and interoperability is

the key to their success and the commitment to

employing the highest skilled integration specialistsplaces them at the top partner in this space.

Custom Development Solutions Competency Award iSolveiSolve consistently builds robust infrastructure solutions and adding

custom development solutions for clients has been this partners

forte for many years. A competitive partner in the Custom

Development space, iSolve has been actively developing many

niche solutions for Microsofts key clients including BusinessIntelligence, IW solutions and continuing specific custom

development for their clients this has gained them many

awards and recognition from Microsoft and customers alike. The

company continues to develop custom-built applications that drive

adoption of the Microsoft platform in key development areas of

Microsoft .Net.



Licensing Solutions Competency Award First TechnologyFirst Technology has managed to grow their licensing

business despite a tough competitive landscape. Its

customer centric business model has facilitated their winning

a number of new accounts, while maintaining 100% of

their large existing customer base. The companys strong

focus on the Software Assurance Benefits programme,

and its innovation in this area, provides its customers

with a clear understanding of how to best leverage the

programme. Its mentorship programme is also empowering

a number of new entrants to the skills market.

Learning Solutions Competency Award iSolve BusinessSolutionsiSolves business model consisting of consulting and training, and its alignment

to the Infrastructure Optimisation models, gives the company a true competitive

edge with its training offerings. iSolve has not only shown a significant

growth in its training business in FY08, but a commitment and dedication to

training, certification and skills development that that is key for Microsoft. The

numerous projects iSolve is involved in at a development level is testament to

its dedication to driving a stronger, more successful industry.

ISV/Software Soluti ons Competency Award AccTech

AccTech Systems has deployed more than 35 ISVSolutions in the past 12 months. It follows a strict project

methodology and implementation process based on the

Microsoft Solution Framework which enables it to deliver

quicker wins. AccTech also uses the ISV Royalty Licensing

programme to sell SQL, Office 2007 and SharePoint

packaged along with its own products. AccTech s passion

for cutting edge Microsoft technology, including its

embracing of Silverlight and PhotoSynth, coupled with its

investments in R&D, enables innovation in designs and

state of the art products.

Microsoft Business Solutions Competency Award IS PartnersIS Partners has shown full commitment to not only Microsoft Dynamics, but

more importantly so to its customers. Consistently delivering exceptional

customer service through its deep understanding of customer business needs,

IS Partners leverages their own best practices along with industry experts to

bring best of breed business models to their business pursuits. Its dedication to

constantly exceed customers expectations, has allowed them to have achieved

the highest growth rate year on year of any other Microsoft Dynamics managed

partner in South Africa in FY08. IS Partners was awarded into the Presidents

Club for Dynamics, forming part of the top 500 Dynamics partners worldwide

a huge achievement.

Informati on Worker Solut ions Competency Award iSolveiSolve has delivered yet another great performance in FY08. Its enthusiasm

and energy is notable, in particular the way the company enables people

through technology. Its alignment with Microsofts framework has made it

easy to engage and work with iSolve while its support in the government

sector and growth in the SMS&P space makes it a deserving winner.



Networking Infrastructure Solut ionsCompetency Award Integr8ITIntegr8IT is a high performing organisation that

has won numerous industry awards during the

past year. The business has seen good growththrough its winning of new customers from

competing technologies while maintaining its

existing customer base. It has produced a

number of great case studies, including some

focused on Software plus Services solutions.

The company is committed to driving the full

Microsoft stack and has displayed alignment to

the Microsoft vision.

Citizenship Award NetsuritNetsurit has clear Citizenship programmes incorporated into its Internship Programme

including Feed the Kids Day and a comprehensive Community Training programme.

These are great examples of giving back to the community, driving skills development and

improving the lives of others. They are key components in helping to address some of the

challenges we face in South Africa by helping to develop the economy.

Winning Customers Init iat ive Award Information Systems PartnersIS Partners has displayed a dynamic and innovative approach to solving real world issues

around BI and CRM. The company provides complete coverage to our customers in three

of Microsoft s main focus areas: BPIO, APIO and Business Solutions. It has demonstrated

an absolute winning performance by investing in new solutions from Microsoft, selling and

deploying these solutions to customers, driving incremental revenue, competing aggressively

and winning against other vendors in a very crowded area.

Security Solutions Competency Award BUIMicrosofts entrance into the security space has created new opportunities for partners

to deliver a total end-to-end Security Solution. BUI has adopted a Forefront practice

that has driven a number of wins against competitors in this highly specialised area, has

taken part in the Technology Adoption Programme and is a trusted security advisor to

many large and SME customers. BUI has been committed to driving the Microsoft

security stack which adds to its value proposition to its customers.

Mobility Solutions CompetencyAward Digital MatterAs a strong mobile development house, Digital

Matter excels at creating flexible, innovative

solutions to customers challenges, and their

ability to accommodate customer requests has

driven lucrative engagements with large cus-

tomers. Its solutions are contributing to the

growth of the mobility business which is a key

strategic area for Microsoft in South Africa. Its

commitment to skills and building expertise

makes the company a deserved winner.



Special Focus Award: Office Deployment AccTechAccTech has helped Microsoft drive customer satisfaction by utilising

Desktop Deployment Planning Services benefits offered to Volume

Licensing customers to increase return on their software investment.

They have shown a strong commitment to DDPS and demonstrated

excellence by adopting a strict project methodology and implementa-

tion process based on the Microsoft Solution Framework. This has

resulted in increased customer satisfaction and deployment of the

latest technologies.

Customer Experience Initiative Award Integr8 ITWith a primary focus in the small and medium business market,

Integr8 has demonstrated its commitment and dedication to Customer

Experience achieving a 98% customer care rating and generating

multiple case studies and testimonials. The company has solid

processes in place to deal with complaints and it continually displays

that customers are at the heart of its values a key component in

driving a great customer experience.

XBOX Retailer of the Year Award Look & ListenLook and Listen has been part of the XBOXfamily since its

launch. The company has embraced the XBOX brand and has

taken retail execution to a new level. Its in-store execution of

all XBOXproducts is of a world-class standard and it has

invested heavily in a key programme - the Retail Sales Staff

Training. The company has exceeded targets set by Microsoft

and the range and depth of software titles it carries is

unmatched in the market.

Royalty OEM Partner of the Year Award MustekMustek, with its Mecer brand, has continuously embraced the

Microsoft vision and participated in joint marketing cam-

paigns to help drive the local PC ecosystem. Mustek has a

direct O EM agreement across all Microsoft Business Groups

to ensure that its customers get the best value from pre-

installed Microsoft software on their PCs. All its PCs are

assembled on a Mercer ISO-certified assembly line and carry

the Designed for Windows logo accreditation to ensure a

rich end-user experience.

SDA Retailer of the Year Award IncredibleConnectionIncredible Connection has grown its market share to over

70% of the total Microsoft Entertai

Computer Reseller News Sept 08

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Transcript of Computer Reseller News Sept 08