Reseller Middle East

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M A S S I V E I N T E R V I E W R O U N D - U P I P E R I P H E R A L S I H A N D H E L D SPLUS:

PUBLICATIONLICENSED BY IMPZ

contentsISSUE 173MAY 2011

The Saudi channel faces great opportunities this year as major projects are announced and IT spending continues to rise. We speak to BDL’s CEO Tamer Ismail to find out what’s going on.

32 The keys to the Kingdom

Cover Feature

QuicK Finder

Pages 6-27

DCG, Track Distribution, MediaTek, Gartner, Mindware, Kaspersky,

Al Hosani Computer, BitDefender, Optimus, Kingston, Iomega,

Al-Futtaim Computers, Techserve, Zoofitech, China Sourcing Fair,

AOC, Toshiba, Comstor, Symantec, Eros Group, Huawei, Golden

Systems, Al-Falak, Prologix, Brocade, BlackBerry, Iomega, NETGEAr

ANALYSIS AND INTERVIEWS

29 Getting serious Philips & Lite-On Digital Solutions plans to

grow its channel across the region.

31 cementing channel partnerships

In the notoriously competitive security

market in the region, Quick Heal

Technologies is gaining in importance.

34 into the enterprise Just a few months after rolling out its

enterprise strategy, Huawei explains how

the model is faring.

37 Breaking out of consumer Dealing with new business opportunities

can be make or break time. D-Link believes

it has found the successful path.

39 The balancing act SonicWALL’s introduction of ‘direct touch’

into the local market sghouldn’t be

seen as a abandonment of the company

commitment to 100% sales through the

channnel.

41 Putting up the umbrella Trend Micro sees the opportunities for

security channel players to up their game

and reap the rewards this year.

45 expanding the business By adding Azeti Networks to its solutions

business, Emitac plans to build on its

successful HP solutions sales.

FEATURES

47 The power of peripherals With the increase of PC penetration in the

region, the demand for peripheral devices

has been growing rapidly. Find out how you

can use peripherals as a starting point to

land that lucrative deal.

53 Mobile boom With the growing boom in handheld

devices, industry pundits share their views

on how channel partners can benefit from

business opportunities in this segment.

Regulars04 editorial06 news & Market Buzz42 Products 44 Product reviews46 Snapshot

Pages 29-48

Philips & LiteOn Digaital, Quick Heal, BDL, FVC,

Huawei, Emitac, SonicWALL, D-Link, Trend Micro,

Belkin, IDC, Gartner, MediaTek, Symantec, Fujitsu,

Jacky's Electronics, ZOTAC, HP, ASUS, WD, Toshiba,

Xerox, Canon, Axis, LiteOn, Iomega

37

44

48

26

MAy 2011 rESELLEr MIDDLE EAST 3

Channel partnerships remain a critical factor if vendors and distributors are to

succeed in doing business with resellers. Over the past 12 months, the channel

has witnessed a flurry of activity from reseller companies demising from the

market, to vendors and distributors streamlining their operations to enhance

productivity and efficiencies.

And while much of this activity has centred around reducing complexities

and making businesses to run more efficiently, few channel players have taken

advantage of the current business climate to bring value to the products they

sell.

Given what has happened in the MENA reseller channel over the last

couple of years, resellers that have survived are those that innovate by selling

solutions and adding value to the products they represent.

Now, however, there are signs of improvement and it is with this in mind,

that Reseller Middle East will host the inaugural Partner Up 2011 conference,

an initiative that will bring the region’s channel universe under one roof. The

conference aims to provide MENA resellers with a platform where they can

hear and learn from industry pundits on a wide range of topics. The conference

will also offer delegates the opportunity to network with their peers. For it is

through successful and well nurtured alliances that the channel can thrive.

In fact, when resellers partner with vendors or distributors for that matter,

they are looking for more than just a technology provider. They need an

associate in every sense of the word. They are looking for companies that

will provide them with the resources and tools they need to be successful in

today's highly competitive Middle East channel.

Having the “right” mix of vendors and distributors is only half of what is

needed. For resellers to succeed, it is critical for them to have the full support

from vendors and distributors.

To help resellers with a helping hand in choosing the “right” partnerships,

the Partner Up conference has been designed to provide channel partners with

insights on what it takes to partner for success.

Enjoy the read!

EDITORIAL

Partnering for success

Manda BandaSenior Editor

[email protected]

PublisherDominic De Sousa

COONadeem Hood

Commercial DirectorRichard Judd

[email protected] +971 4 440 9126

Sales DirectorRaz Islam


EDitOrial

Dave [email protected] +971 4 440 9106

Senior EditorManda Banda


aDvErtiSing

group Sales ManagerRajashree R Kumar


advertising ExecutiveMerle Carrasco


CiO PrOgraMMES

CiO Programmes and Events leadKavitha Rajasekhar


CirCulatiOn

Database and Circulation ManagerRajeesh M


PrODuCtiOn anD DESign

Production ManagerJames P Tharian


DesignerAnalou Balbero


Digitalwww.rwme.net

DIGITAL SERVICES

Digital Services ManagerTristan Troy P Maagma

Web DevelopersJerus King Bation

Erik BrionesJefferson de Joya

Louie Alma

[email protected]+971 4 440 9100

Published by

1013 Centre Road, New Castle County,Wilmington, Delaware, USA

Head OfficePO Box 13700

Dubai, UAE

Tel: +971 4 440 9100Fax: +971 4 447 2409

Printed byPrintwell Printing Press LLC

© Copyright 2011 CPIAll rights reserved

While the publishers have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all

information in this magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors therein.

If you'd like to receive your own copy of RME every month. Just log on and request a subscription: www.resellerme.com

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www.middleeast.fujitsu.com

The Dubai Computer Group (DCG) has

warned its members operating from

Dubai’s Computer Street to be vigilant and

careful when doing business with clients

in the city as there is a criminal syndicate

that is targeting computer dealers.

The DCG warning comes after a

spate of targeted attacks on certain

DCG members who have been duped of

their IT products, money or both by a

syndicate operating from Deira.

In a statement released to its

members, the DCG states that: “We

would like to update and alert those IT

resellers who send their staff to collect

cash or deliver goods in the Deira area

to be careful as there is a syndicate

that is duping dealers.”

According to the statement, three

separate incidencies involving DCG

members have been reported so far. In

one incident, a member of staff from

a reseller had gone to Deira to collect

money wired to the company from

an exchange bureau and as soon as

the cash was collect, this member of

staff was mugged by three unknown

people who demanded the money. “In

this case the victim didn’t have much

money so he was beaten,” read part of

the statement.

In another separate incident a

member of staff from a different

reseller company that is a DCG member

had gone to collect money from a

client and after collecting the cash, he

was attacked by about four people of

African decent who took the money in

broad day light in Deira.

Mahesh Thakore, coordinator at the

DCG, says as an association that looks into

the interests of resellers and promoting

good business ethics and conduct in the IT

channel in Dubai, the DCG is appalled by

these criminal incidents.

offers Oracle

partners a

great value

add in terms

of innovative

Oracle

Database/

Middleware

solutions

bundled with

Oracle Servers

and Storage.

Sainani adds

that the programme also offers training

that enables partners to be update to

with latest technology from Oracle and

Track Distribution. “It’s a 360 degree

campaign aimed at partner enablement

and profitability,” he says. “We will keep

on further enhancing the programme to

make it more challenging. We would like

the partners to sign up to this initiative

as quickly as possible.” He adds that the

sales and business development team

dedicated for Oracle across the region will

assist partners to sign for this programme

so that they can start enjoying immediate

benefits.

Julie Varghese, product sales manager:

Oracle Software at Track Distribution,

says the Extra programme is open to all

oracle partners across the region that

want to benefit from the hardware and

software engineered together model of

Oracle. “Through the integration of sun

servers, storage and oracle software,

we have released some bundles which

will reduce costs, increase performance

and provide greater security. We believe

that this programme will bring greater

opportunities for co-operation and

partnership in our business endeavors,"

Varghese concludes.

Track Distribution, part of Aptec

Holdings, an IT distribution group covering

the Middle East, Pakistan, Turkey, Akhut

and Africa, has launched a new partner

programme for it resellers called the EXtra

Oracle partner programme.

The programme is designed to give its

reseller partners a jump start with selling

Oracle hardware and software. The EXtra

Oracle partner initiative rewards resellers

doing business with Track by helping

them create a pipeline of opportunities

selling Oracle technology.

The programme is open to all Oracle

resellers in the GCC, Jordan, Yemen,

Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Algeria, Morocco,

Tunisia and Libya.

Resellers have a chance to win a BMW

car, fully paid trip to Las Vegas, Gold bars,

iPads and much more. The programme

has been split into two categories namely

EXtra Rebates programme and, EXtra

Enable and Reward programme. The two

initiatives both give partners maximum

opportunity to be rewarded for every deal

they make with Track.

The EXtra Rebate programme has

been designed to reward partners in

terms of Total Oracle Business with Track,

offering them a target based rebates on

purchases, while the EXtra Enable and

Reward programme rewards partners that

engage in all Oracle partner activities

thereby collecting points. Resellers are

offered points on every units of Exadata/

Ecalogic solutions they buy, training,

purchase of special Track promotion

bundles and closing of registered

opportunity. These can be then collected

and redeemed to win any of the major

rewards which Track is offerings.

Shailendra Sainani, GM of Track

Distribution Middle East, says EXtra

upfrontMarKeT BuZZ

Shailendra Sainani, GM, Track Distribution Middle East

TracK launcheS eXTra oracle ParTner ProGraMMe

dcG iSSueS warninG

6 rESELLEr MIDDLE EAST MAy 2011

strong, but its

greatest volume

opportunity in the

longer term will be

in the mid- to low-

cost smartphones,

above all in

emerging

markets.”

Gartner

predicts that

Apple’s iOS will remain the second biggest

platform worldwide through 2014 despite

its share deceasing slightly after 2011. This

reflects Gartner’s underlying assumption

that Apple will be interested in maintaining

margins rather than pursuing market share

by changing its pricing strategy. This will

continue to limit adoption in emerging

regions. iOS share will peak in 2011, with

volume growth well above the market

average. This is driven by increased channel

reach in key mature markets like the US and

Western Europe.

news

MediaTeK oPenS duBai oFFiceTaiwanese mobile chipset maker

MediaTek has opened its office in

Dubai, a move the the company

believes will help it to court mobile

handset manufacturers in the Middle

East and Africa market.

The vendor is aiming to capitalise

on its already growing business in the

Middle East with its semiconductor

solutions for wireless communications

and digital multimedia solutions.

By having a local presence in Dubai,

MediaTek will further strengthen the

company’s regional partnerships to

better serve one of the world’s fastest

growing mobile markets. According to

the vendor, the strategy for the Middle

East is to link start-ups and existing

mobile handset manufacturers in the

region with its OEM partners in China.

Grant Kuo, MD at MediaTek Wireless

LLC Dubai, says the expansion into

Dubai better positions the company

to serve its customers and to grow

the business by more than 20% in the

region. Kuo says the company’s plan is

to open up business opportunities for

all the OEMs it works within China so

that they can extend and capitalise on

the growing mobile and smartphone

market in MEA.

“With MediaTek’s experienced

technical and services team, we are

hoping to bring our expertise to the

region and to better support local

brands. Furthermore, it will help

in establishing a healthy handset

ecosystem in the Middle East region

and explore the market potential in the

long run,” adds Kuo.

Kuo explains that the initial focus

for the Dubai operations will be to

work with local handset brands in the

Middle East.

Global research and analyst firm

Gartners is predicting that worldwide

smartphone sales will reach 468 million

units in 2011, a 57.7% increase from

2010. According to Gartner, by the end of

2011, Android will move to become the

most popular OS globally and will build

on its strength to account for 49% of the

smartphone market by 2012.

Sales of open OS devices will account

for 26% of all mobile handset device sales

in 2011, and are expected to surpass the 1

billion mark by 2015, when they will account

for 47% of the total mobile device market.

“By 2015, 67% of all open OS devices will

have an average selling price of US$300 or

below, proving that smartphones have been

finally truly democratized,” says Roberta

Cozza, principal analyst at Gartner.

“As vendors delivering Android-based

devices continue to fight for market share,

price will decrease to further benefit

consumers”, Cozza says. “Android's position

at the high end of the market will remain

Roberta Cozza, principal analyst, Gartner

GarTner – android To coMMand nearly halF oF GloBal SMarTPhone oS

Mindware To diSTriBuTe aMd radeon

Mindware, a regional distributor

of IT products in the MENA

region, has signed a distribution

agreement with HIS, to distribute

AMD Radeon products in the

region.

The deal which is effect immediately will

see to enhance the distribution network

of all AMD Radeon products in the region,

making use of Mindware’s extensive

portfolio of over 2,500 resellers throughout

the MEA region.

Peter Yeung, Global Director

of Marketing at HIS, says: “HIS

is delighted to collaborated

with Mindware. We believe that

this is great news for the long

waiting Gamers and HTPC users

in Middle East. We believe our

close partnership with Mindware

will offer the best opportunity

to deliver HIS premium graphic

cards in the entire MENASA.”

Mario Gay, GM of Mindware remarks

that this is an important partnership for the

company. “The AMD Radeon portfolio of

products is top of the line and we are excited

to bring these products to all our customers

in the Middle East and Africa,” he says.

Mario Gay, GM, Mindware


Kaspersky Lab,

a developer of

secure content and

threat management

solutions, has

appointed two

new Consumer

Republishing

partners, a move the

vendor believes will

strengthen its presence in the EMEA region.

Regional distributors FDC International

and SOFTEC Distribution have partnered

with Kaspersky to distribute the vendor's

consumer range of products.

FDC International’s appointment will

support the expansion of Kaspersky Lab, in

North Africa, through increasing its product

awareness and enlarging its customer

database, while SOFTEC Distribution will

focus on developing the retail market for

software sales within the Levant region and

help Kaspersky Lab establish proactively

strategic initiatives to counter piracy in the

region.

Tarek Kuzbari, MD of Kaspersky Lab

Middle East says, “At Kaspersky Lab we will

always look for partners that surpass our

guidelines and expectations. We carefully

select our partners as they are key to

representing Kaspersky Lab’s products in

the region.”

KaSPerSKy ParTnerS wiTh Fdc, SoFTec diSTriBuTion

al hoSani coMPuTer unveilS ‘Green horSeS’ iniTiaTive

Marissa Safe, COO, FDC International

news

“We are building business integrity

into our partner programmes, maintaining

profitability and aiming at greater revenue

for partners and customers. These recent

partnerships with FDC International and

SOFTEC Distribution will help us explore new

avenues and help to expand our business,”

he continues.

Remarking on the partnership, Yasser

Krayem, CEO of SOFTEC Distribution adds

that: “Our mission is to provide the highest

quality of services and cost-effective

solutions to ensure our clients’ success.

Having Kaspersky Lab, one of the leading IT

security companies on board, is a great deal

for us, and we have confidence that we will

deliver outstanding results”.

Marissa Safe, COO, FDC International

adds that: “The mutual vision in becoming

number one within the ICT industry is

what makes us feel part of the Kaspersky

Lab family. Our relationship with such a

world class vendor will play a major role in

achieving this position while bringing to our

customers the best of solutions, services

and support”.

FDC International will cover Egypt,

Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Djibouti, Eretria,

Ethiopia and Mauritania while SOFTEC

Distribution will handle the Levant region

which includes Lebanon, Syria, Palestine,

Jordan and Iraq.

BitDefender, a provider of innovative

Internet security solutions, has

launched the BitDefender Partner

Advantage Network, a new channel

partner programme designed to

accelerate partner revenue growth and

market expansion.

With the BitDefender Partner

Advantage Network, the company is

moving aggressively to better empower

the reseller community to capitalise

on growth opportunities in IT security,

offering more dedicated technical

support, sales and marketing assistance,

and training and education. In addition,

the partner programme will also offer

beneficial commissions and business

terms in the industry.

The launch of the BitDefender

Partner Advantage Network follows

the revamp of the company’s channel

efforts in late 2010 and was initiated

to meet BitDefender’s growing network

of resellers across more than 100

countries globally.

Dianne Pilon, director global channel

marketing at BitDefender, says given

the increasingly important role IT

security plays in business today and the

reputation BitDefender has established

as a provider of internationally certified

security software, there is a tremendous

revenue growth opportunity for channel

partners in 2011. “With the launch

of a more comprehensive channel

programme, one with more technical

and marketing support, greater financial

incentives and better terms for our

partners, BitDefender is addressing

this opportunity with an unprecedented

commitment to the reseller community,”

he says.

BiTdeFender unveilS new ParTner ProGraMMe

Al Hosani Computer LLC, Kaspersky

Lab’s consumer republishing partner in

the GCC and West Asia, has launched its

green initiative dubbed Kaspersky Lab

Green Horses. The Green Horses themed

fleet of vans will be expediting delivery

of Kaspersky Lab’s products to customers

across the UAE.

Al Hosani’s main aim behind this

programme is to reinforce the brand

awareness of this famous antivirus

software, and endorse Kaspersky Lab’s

“Green Zone” malware free concept.

Al Hosani Computer is a software

republishing and value-added

distribution company.

The company distributes software solutions

in the Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran.


mailto:[email protected]

www.octagoneinternational.com

oPTiMuS ParTnerS wiTh oPTi-uPS

hyPerPanda, Pc TiMe ScooP KinGSTon awardS

Optimus Technology and Telecommunications,

a regional VAD of IT and telecommunications

products, has signed a distribution

agreement with Opti-UPS, a manufacturer of

UPS and power solutions products.

In terms of the agreement, Optimus will

distribute Opti-UPS across the Middle East

and Africa region with exclusive distribution

rights in Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain.

Meera Kaul, MD at Optimus says, “We

are always looking for the latest and best

technologies to bring to our region. The

increasing build-up of datacenters in the

Middle East is providing a strong impetus

for the power solutions business. This

news

ioMeGa oPenS eXPerince cenTre in duBai

Iomega, an EMC company and global

provider of digital storage and content

management solutions has opened the

first Iomega Experience Centre in Dubai.

The vendor states that the initiative

which has been unveiled in partnership

with power retailer Sharaf DG aims to

give consumers and small businesses

firsthand experience in data storage

management solutions.

According to the company the Iomega

Experience Centre is an 800-square

foot showplace featuring an array of

Iomega’s newest storage management

products, premium portable and desktop

hard drives, high capacity solid state

drives, multi drives, and network storage

solutions for consumers and SMBs

Johnathan Huberman, president at

Iomega Corporation says the new Iomega

Experience Centre is specifically designed

to give consumers and SMBs hands-on

interaction in a comfortable atmosphere

that makes it easy to understand and

appreciate the advantages and efficiencies

that Iomega’s data storage management

solutions bring to the home and SMBs.

“Storing, enjoying and protecting digital

data has never been more vital than it

is today,” he says. “The new Iomega

Experience Centre shows the visitor how

managing data, for business or pleasure,

has never been easier, more convenient

and more dependable than it is now.

Cizar Abughazaleh, GM at Iomega

Middle East and Asia believes the Iomega

Experience Centre is going to change the

perception of the information storage

industry in the region. “I look forward

to customers experiencing how Iomega

can protect their information, save them

time and deliver cost effective data

management storage solutions,”

he says.

Kingston Technology Europe, an affiliate

of Kingston Technology Company, has

revealed the two inaugural winners of its

first-ever channel awards in Saudi Arabia,

recognising the efforts of partners who

have best understood and served the

needs of memory- and performance-hungry

consumers in the Kingdom.

PC Time, the Jeddah-based reseller

which manages the distribution of Kingston

Technology’s ValueRAM, System Specific

Memory, Solid State Drives and USB Flash

drives to other resellers and SMBs across

Saudi Arabia, has won the Reseller of the

Year, while HyperPanda has earned the

Retailer Award for the volume of Kingston

products it sells to consumers.

“Saudi Arabia is the fastest-growing

market in the Middle East for memory

products, due to the tremendous demand

for mobile phones, cameras, PCs and other

technology in addition to memory upgrades,

and due to our partners’ understanding of

customers here and their needs, Kingston

has become a leading choice ahead of less

secure, robust memory offerings,” says Hani

Suwwan, Business Development Manager –

KSA, Kingston Technology.

timely distribution agreement of Optimus

with Opti-UPS will capitalise on both of our

strengths and opportunities. While Opti-UPS

already enjoys a high level of acceptance

in the MENA markets, we will leverage our

expertise and reach to build its channel

across the region and hope to play a vital

role in the emerging power solutions market.

We look forward to working closely with

Opti-UPS to increase their visibility and

market share in this region.”

Opti-UPS has an extensive range of

products, which include standby, line-

interactive and online UPS products besides

stabilizers and surge busters that have

gained the trust of worldwide customers.

Additionally, it also offers devices that

cater to specific segments such as UPS for

gamers, enhanced series of workstations

and PC users for both home and business

users.

Kamlesh Kumar Amesur, sales &

marketing director-MENA, Opti-UPS adds,

“We are pleased to appoint Optimus as our

regional distributor based on their proven

track record. Our partnership will help

us meet local objectives to build channel

partners across a range of verticals.

Kamlesh Kumar Opti-UOS (L) & Meera Kaul Optimus

>


www.oscompme.com


al-FuTTaiM ParTnerS wiTh noKiaAl-Futtaim computer software products

company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the

Al-Futtaim group, has entered into a partner

agreement with Nokia to supply mobile

phones to key domestic retailers in the UAE.

The agreement with Nokia will see stet

supply the retail channel a full range of

mobiles phones including the latest feature-

rich smartphones such as the Nokia E7, C7

and N8.

In addition, the deal follows an earlier

partnership agreement between Techserve,

an Al-Futtaim group company, and Nokia to

act as its Care Centre partner in the UAE.

Vishesh Bhatia, president, New Strategic

Growth Group at Al-Futtaim Group, says

Nokia continues to be the people’s choice

in the mobile phone category and with

smartphone penetration expected to grow

by a healthy 11% over the next three years

in the UAE, Nokia’s latest feature-rich

smartphones are expected to dominate

this segment. “The Al-Futtaim group,

already partner to some of the finest retail

and automotive brands in the world, is

honoured to partner with the world leader

in the mobile phone segment,” Bhatia says.

“Nokia’s latest smartphones offer enormous

consumer benefits and localised services

for the UAE market. I firmly believe Nokia

is driving transformation and growth of the

converging Internet and communications

industries giving customers especially in

the UAE, an opportunity to be part of more

news

TechServe To oFFer ProFeSSional daTa recovery ServiceSTechserve, Al-Futtaim’s one-stop-

shop for electronics service and

systems integration needs, has

partnered with Spain-based Recovery

Labs to offer professional data

recovery services to individuals, SMEs

and corporates in the region.

Recovery Labs is a provider of data

recovery services in Europe with over

10 years of existance. The partnership

with Techserve marks the first foray for

the Spain-based data recovery services

provider in the Middle East.

The announcement from Techserve

coincides with the opening of the first

professional Data Recovery Lab in Dubai.

The Lab will offer its expertise in data

recovery from computer hard drives,

flash /USB drives, memory cards, mobile

phones, CD’s and DVD’s.

Built to international standards and

equipped with the latest data recovery

technologies, Techserve’s data recovery

lab is manned by a professional team

of five engineers who are trained and

certified by Recovery Labs in Spain.

According to security major

Symantec, 88% of data loss globally

occurs due to negligence and security

experts say data loss can cost companies

in the UAE up to 30% of their overall

revenue.

Rajagopal S, GM at Techserve, says

corporate data loss is not only loss of

information but also eats into the IT

department’s time and resources.

He adds that: “Data loss is extremely

worrying for individuals or corporates.

These days, we use more portable

devices like laptops, smart-phones and

digital cameras where the probability of

physical damage is very high resulting in

data loss.

than 1.3 billion people who connect to one

another with a Nokia device – from mobile

phones to advanced smartphones.”

Anil Sharma, Business Head, AFCOMP

adds that the company has a strong

business fundamentals, efficient processes

and a professional team with established

credentials. “We are confident AFCOMP

will be able to deliver tangible value to the

key domestic retailers and drive the Nokia

business forward in the UAE,” Sharma says.

Chris Braam – VP at Nokia MEA explains

that Nokia’s mission is simple “we connect

people to what matters most to them and the

agreement with AFCOMP demonstrates our

strong commitment to our UAE customers

through that mission statement.” The core

principles of the Al-Futtaim group of quality,

reliability and integrity are values which are

also reflected in Nokia, Braam adds. “We

are confident of AFCOMP’s ability to deliver

value to our customers in the UAE and look

forward to a long and mutually beneficial

relationship,” he says.

Vishesh Bhatia (r) & Chris Braam

Nilesh Khalkho, CEO at Sharaf DG,

adds that the new Iomega Experience Centre

is a good addition to the retailer. “We always

encourage premium vendors such as Iomega

to help educate our valued customers about

products we offer,” he says.

Khalkho points out that the Iomega

Experience Centre makes it possible for every

customer to have an extra ordinary experience

in all the Sharaf DG stores, especially if the

client small or mid-size business.

Iomega has hinted that it will be expanding

this initiative with other power retailers in the

Middle East region.

>


www.chinasourcingfair.com/dubai

www.chinasourcingfair.com/dubai/ygfz

www.chinasourcingfair.com

www.chinasourcingfair.com/dubai

news

The China Sourcing Fair for electronics

resumes at the Dubai International

Convention and Exhibition Centre, on May 31

to June 2, 2011.

The Fair, is designed to provide an ideal

platform for buyers of electronic products in

the Middle East and North African markets to

meet potential supply partners from China.

Export-ready suppliers from mainland

China, Taiwan and Hong Kong will this year

offer premium and affordable electronics

to more global buyers in the Middle East's

trading capital. With its rapid growth over

the past years, China's electronics industry

has made that country the one of the world's

electronics manufacturing powerhouses.

This year’s Fair will see supply partners

showcase products in the following area:

• Consumer electronics

• Computer & networking

• Telecom products

• Electronic accessories

• Home appliances

According to the organisers of this

annual event currently in its fifth year,

china SourcinG Fair reTurnS

there is more reasons to attend the

China Sourcing Fair as visitors to the

show will have the opportunity to meet

the largest group of China's suppliers

of electronic products. The China

Sourcing Fair features hundreds of

top-choice suppliers known to produce

international-quality products at

competitive price points.

The Dubai Fair falls between Asia's

peak sourcing months in April and

October, giving you more freedom to visit

other trade events in Asia. If you're a

buyer in the Middle East or North Africa,

you now have greater access to China's

innovative supply partners right in Dubai.

In addition, the event provides an

ideal platform to accentuate local and

international flair in their products for

buyers from over 118 countries and

regions, sourcing for innovative items

from quality suppliers. Buyers mainly

come from the Middle East, including the

UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait,

Iraq, Egypt and Lebanon.

Visitors at the China Sourcing Fair

Zoofitech, an integrated supply

chain solution provider, has

partnered with Autodesk, a global

provider of 3D design software

for manufacturing, building,

construction, engineering and

entertainment industry.

In terms od the deal, Zoofitech

will resell Autodesk’s extensive

educational solutions across the KSA

and will help the vendor to widen

its scope further across education

institutions within the Kingdom.

The main objective of the

recent partnership is in line with

Autodesk’s regional brand strategy

and commitment to KSA’s education

sector, allowing institutions to

benefit greatly from the education

programs and initiatives from

Autodesk.

“Our long term partnership of

over fifteen years with Autodesk

proves our commitment to support

the education sector in KSA. We

are very much looking forward to

working closely with education

institutes across the Kingdom,

offering students the opportunity to

work with credible design solutions

from an innovative brand,” explains

Ahmed Al-Khudair, GM at Zoofitech.

“For nearly 20 years, we have

delivered solid product support &

services on behalf of our customers,

working together to achieve

successful results. We are proud

to be a part of Saudi’s dynamic

expansion within the education

sector & are looking forward to

being one of the driving factors for

this growth,” adds Al-Khudair

Kamal Othman, Country Manager

Autodesk KSA remarks that the

company is delighted at partnering

with Zoofitech.

ZooFiTech ParTnerS



www.optimusdistribution.com

TM

Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai, UAE Tel: (+971) 4 8863300 Fax: (+971) 4 8863311 UAE Sales Center: (+971) 4 3555520 P.O. Box: 262221 Email: [email protected] Website: www.gse.ae

www.gse.ae

www.gse.ae


huawei enTerPriSe eyeS GrowTh

ToShiBa STrenGThenS MarKeT PoSiTion

Huawei

Technologies,

a global ICT

solutions provider,

has announced

plans to showcase

its ICT based

enterprise

solutions at

COMEX, Oman’s IT

and Telecom Exhibition. The move comes as

the vendor pushes its enterprise solutions

beyond the telecommunications sector with

Huawe stating that it wants to further secure

its presence in the Middle East region.

“The Middle East is at the forefront

of our global business agenda following

the launch of our enterprise business in

news

Golden SySTeMS winS ZoTac award

Golden

Systems

Middle

East, a

distributor of

IT products

in the

Middle East,

has won

the “Best

Performance” award for 2010 from its

vendor-partner ZOTAC International.

The award is in recognition of the

distributor’s commitment towards

growing ZOTAC’s regional business,

market share and customer support,

and for its outstanding performance

in increasing ZOTAC’s sales across the

Middle East region.

Ehsan Hashemi, says, "We are

honoured that ZOTAC has chosen

us for this award. We are proud to

receive such a distinction especially

since we have just celebrated our

one year anniversary with ZOTAC. To

be recognised for our outstanding

performance in such a short span

of time, is a big achievement for us.

This award is a testament of GSME’s

commitment, professionalism and

tremendous focus in tapping into new

territories and increasing ZOTAC’s

reach and market share in the Middle

East region. We would like to thank

our team for their tremendous

efforts, contribution and dedication

in providing the best service,

support and technical expertise to

our customers. Being awarded the

Best Performance award is a great

milestone and we look forward to

winning many more such accolades

from ZOTAC in the near future."

January and the five day event is an ideal

platform to showcase our innovative

solutions and services in the sector,”

says Dr Liu Qi, VP, Middle East, Huawei

Enterprise Business Group.

According to Dr Liu, Huawei’s Enterprise

business forms a core part of the company’s

global mission to become the first

choice solutions provider in building ICT

infrastructure across various industries,

including government, transportation, power,

finance, oil and gas, smart cities and more.

“We are witnessing interesting times

where technology enables us to integrate

communication services in real-time. From

instant messaging (chat), video-conferencing

to data sharing via online networks, unified

communications is just part of Huawei’s

portfolio of solutions that is making a total

shift in the way decision-makers operate

their business.

Dr. Lui Qi, Huawei Eshan Hashem, Golden systems

Toshiba Computer Systems, a division of

Toshiba Europe GmbH, has seen its market

leadership in the UAE increase according to

results of a recent market study conducted

by GfK Retail and Technology. Toshiba

exhibited evident market importance in the

UAE in July to December of 2010, achieving

a high market share of 22.88% in the

Notebook Category.

For the mobile computer category,

Toshiba achieved a market share of 18.0%

in the UAE during 2010. The results,

with data gathered from December 2009

to December 2010 show that Toshiba

continues to be one of the top brands in the

PC industry.

“Toshiba continues to be a market leader

in terms of product sales and innovation

and the market study rationally fortifies

our position in the UAE. Accordingly, this

challenges us to improve our service,

further enhance our innovations and

expand our market reach in the region

in order to strengthen our strategic and

competitive advantage,” says Leon Gifford,

UAE and Lebanon country manager,

Computer Systems Division, Toshiba Gulf.

According to Toshiba its incentive

programmes like “Sell and Win” and

“Profit for Performance” significantly

contributed to the impressive sales

performance and growth rate the

company attained. Toshiba’s Sell and Win

programme, which is directed at floor

sales staff, provides useful sales tools

and regular sales and product training

and presents them with opportunity to

earn rewards. The Profit for Performance

initiative is a rebate programme for retailers

and dealers to help them maximise the

opportunities presented by Toshiba, thus

furthering sales performance and

profitability in the UAE. >


Regional Distributor

of the year for

Africa and Levant

region.

Cisco Partner

Summit awards

are aimed at

recognising

exemplary channel

partners who

demonstrate

best-in-class business practices. Areas

of consideration include innovative

practices, application successes, unique

programmes, problem-solving and sales

approaches. All winners are selected by

a group of Cisco worldwide channels and

regional theatre executives.

news

online diSTriBuTion SiGnS aoc For PaKiSTan

Online

Distribution,

an IT

distribution

powerhouse

in Pakistan

has signed

up with

AOC for the

distribution of

the vendor’s

entire range of display products for

that country.

According to Business Monitor

International, Pakistan’s computer

hardware market is expected to grow at

8% CAGR for the period of 2011- 2015.

M. Ibrahim Ojha, CEO for Online

Distribution Pakistan says: “We are

happy to be associated with AOC a

global brand which not only brings

in international quality products

but also offers real value for money.

With our team of well experienced

professionals, the in-depth knowledge

of IT distribution trade and country

wide reach, we are sure AOC will

become a top brand in Pakistan soon.”

Suchit Kumar, DGM Sales - MEA

and CIS Central Asia, AOC ,adds that

this is a significant step forward

for AOC as Pakistan is key to the

company’s overall growth in Asia.

“We see this as a great opportunity

to enhance our offerings in this

region. We shall dedicate substantial

marketing and sales resources to

develop the brand there,” he says.

“We are delighted to be associated

with Online Distribution and see them

as the right partner in expanding our

footprint in this fast growing market.”

AOC is an in-house brand of the

US$11 billion conglomerate TPV

Technology Limited.

Comstor, a dedicated VAD of Cisco

networking, collaboration and data

centre solutions and a business unit

of the Westcon Group, recently won

the Cisco Partner Summit Award for

Global Distribution Partner. In addition,

Comstor received global recognition for

the company’s Distribution Accelerated

Partner (DAP) programme and was

recipient of 15 theatre, geography and

country-specific awards.

Comstor MENA achieved a unique hat-

trick of results. In addition to the Global

Award, the distributor also won the UAE

distributor of the year as well as the

Renton D’Souza, Divisonal Manager, Comstor Middle East

Suchit Kumar, DGM Sales - MEA & CIS Central Asia, AOC

coMSTor winS GloBal ciSco award

ToShiBa unveilS var ProGraMMe

Toshiba Computer Systems, a division of

Toshiba Europe has reinforced business

relationships with its channel partners

through its Value Added Reseller (VAR)

Programme. The VAR programe allows

Toshiba to grow its B2B activity with VARs

focusing on the SoHo, SMB and large

enterprise segments.

Members of Toshiba’s VAR programme,

who manage SOHO or SMBs, will gain the

following benefits:

• Sales support

• Run rate pricing for standard

requirements

• Quarterly product training and Certification

• Opportunities for demand generation

• Regular channel communication

• Rebate programme

• Account Management by Toshiba

VAR Manager

In addition, Toshiba adds that those focusing

on the large enterprise segment will also gain:

• Discounted demo hardware

• Exclusive advertising support

• Special Pricing for Large Deals

• Corporate Seminar participation

• Support on Service Labour Fee

Santosh Varghese, Regional GM, Computer

Systems Division, Toshiba Gulf, says Toshiba

aims to develop its B2B portfolio along

with channel partners and build a mutually

beneficial business partnership. “Our channel

partners are key drivers of Toshiba’s growth in

the Middle East region,” Varghese says.

Varghese adds that Toshiba aims to

work closely with regional VARs to provide

extensive assistance including sales support

and product training to focus on the SMB and

large enterprise sector.

An element of the VAR programme

involves Toshiba’s highly successful “Profit

for Performance” (P4P) channel strategy,

which is a rebate programme recognising

the commitment of key retailers and dealers

by rewarding top performers. The P4P

initiative was introduced to reward excellent

performance of B2C channel partners who

excel in achieving their quarterly sales and

product mix targets.


Symantec has

revealed that it’s

reselling appliances

in the UAE, Saudi

Arabia and Qatar

through three of its

distributors namely

Mindware, Tech

Access and Aptec.

The announcement

follows the recent

launch of Symantec’s

appliance strategy which provides

customers with a flexible and easy to deploy

delivery model for data protection, storage

management and security solutions.

Responding to its customers’ needs,

Symantec has set up proof of concept

centres in various locations across the

region to show customers they have a choice

in the way they purchase and deploy market-

leading software by offering a new appliance

form-factor. Symantec has already run

several successful sessions with financial

and government entities to highlight how

Eros Group,

a distributor

of consumer

electronics,

telecom and

allied multi-

products in the

Middle East has

entered into an

alliance with

Sonos, a developer of wireless multi-

room music systems for the home.

In terms of the deal, the Eros Group

will distribute the Sonos wireless

multi-room music systems through

key retail channel partners in UAE and

other Gulf countries.Utill now Sonos

has been available to consumers in the

region through distribution channel

specialising in custom installations and

system integrators.

Deepak Babani, CEO of Eros Group,

says: “Partnering with Sonos reflects

Eros’ commitment to constantly expand its

product portfolio and give our customers

the latest in consumer electronics. Sonos

is a global provider of music systems and

we are confident that this ingenious piece

of technology will appeal to our wide

customer base in the region.”

Frank Hakhoff, senior international

distribution manager at Sonos, says that

the company’s mission is to fill every

home with music. “With their detailed

knowledge of consumers, industry,

unique range of products, and innovative

service record, we are confident that our

partnership with Eros will help establish

Sonos in this dynamic Middle East

market,” he says.

Niranjan Gidwani, deputy CEO of

Eros Group adds that Sonos was among

the first companies to understand

future trends in streaming music and to

introduce products for this market.

SyManTec unveilS aPPliance BuSineSS STraTeGy

Ramzi Itani, Regional Channel & Alliance Director, MENA, Symantec

news

Deepak Babani, CEO of Eros Group

eroS GrouP ParTnerS wiTh SonoS

they can reduce their overall costs through

the appliances.

Ramzi Itani, regional channel and alliance

Director, MENA, Symantec, says through

the company’s existing channel, Symantec

is pleased to announce that it’s reselling

appliance products through three of its

distributors and resellers, all of whom

are being trained by Symantec engineers.

“During the past three months we have been

successful in reselling over 150 terabytes of

capacity to customers in the UAE, Saudi and

Qatar,” he says.

With massive data growth frustrating

storage and backup professionals,

simplicity has become a critical element

of the IT infrastructure. Appliances allow

organisations to quickly deploy Symantec

technology to reduce the impact of data

growth in the fastest deployment model

possible, thereby reducing complexity.

Symantec offers its customers 24/7 onsite

support, including a four-hour response

time in Saudi and the UAE in addition to next

business day support in Qatar.

Scott Brown, VP of Distribution for

Worldwide Channels at Cisco, says the

company is proud to partner with so many

well-respected organisations worldwide.

“It’s my privilege to recognise Comstor

as a Cisco Partner Summit global award

winner," he says. “The Global Distribution

Partner of the Year Award presented

to Comstor recognises its outstanding

achievement as a Cisco channel partner

in 2010.”

Renton D’Souza, Divisonal Manager,

Comstor Middle East, says Comstor has

established itself as one of Cisco’s premier

VADs over the years through its focus on

helping partners globally to accelerate

their businesses by leveraging Cisco

solutions. “It brings us immense delight

as Comstor MENA to be recognised for our

dedicated efforts towards Cisco at global,

regional, as well as local Levels,” says

D’Souza.

Jon Pritchard, President, Comstor

Worldwide, adds that for more than a

decade, Comstor has a proven track-record

as one of Cisco’s premier VADs. “Our

dedicated teams focus on helping partners

worldwide accelerate their businesses by

leveraging Cisco solutions across a range

of networking, collaboration and data

center technologies,” he says. “We’re

proud of our long-standing relationship

with Cisco and are deeply honoured they

have chosen to recognise us as one of

their most highly valued, strategic global

distribution partners.”


our company and brand in the Middle East and

take our business to the next level in this region

and Prologix fit the mould perfectly,” says Chee.

Through this partnership, Prologix

Distribution is responsible for distributing

EnGenius’ high performance wireless

networking solutions including wireless LAN

products and accessories and long range

cordless phone.

Jerin Thomas, director business

development at Prologix says: “We

are pleased to have been signed on as

distributors for EnGenius, a global brand. This

partnership enables us to increase our profile

and footprint in the Middle East and we are

committed to providing the highest levels of

service and support to both, EnGenius as well

as our resellers.”

Thomas adds that the addition of EnGenius

to its array of products gives resellers and SI the

opportunity to harness best-in-class technology

to the benefit of their customers. “This deal is

in line with our vision of offering best-of-breed

products and solutions,” he says.

Prologix has over 10 years of experience

delivering IT and telecom infrastructure

solutions into the Middle East market. The

team consists of certified professionals with

knowledge and expertise across the core areas

of networking, security, storage, wireless and

telecom, who can provide technical expertise

in sales, presales and customer support as a

value-add.

news

al-FalaK GeTS Gold SPecialiST STaTuS in iPPP

Al-Falak

Electronic

Equipment

and Supplies

Co, a reseller

of technology-

based end-to-

end solutions

in the Middle

East, has

successfully qualified for the 2011 HP

Gold Specialist Imaging and Printing

Partner Programme.

As a certified HP Gold Specialist

in Imaging and Printing, Al-Falak will

be aligned with HP’s sales strategy

and gain access to HP’s enterprise

customers. HP’s partner development

managers will work with Al-Falak to

coordinate reselling of HP solutions

and develop a business plan to drive

Al-Falak’s sales. Al-Falak will also

receive a partner insignia from HP to

promote the added value it offers to its

customer; have access to HP software

development kits, support and training;

and be invited to exclusive HP events.

Ahmed Ashadawi, CEO and

President, Al-Falak Electronic Equipment

and Supplies Co, says the HP Gold

Specialist status for 2011 affirms the

exceptional quality of the company’s

services and solutions. “HP carefully

chooses its programme partners based

on their geographical reach, business

stability, professional services and

support capability,” he says. “We were

able to prove our excellence in all these

areas and we are now eager to offer the

superior benefits of the HP brand to our

clients,” says Al-Falak’s membership

in the 2011 Gold Specialist Imaging &

Printing Partner Program takes effect

through October 31, 2011.”

EnGenius International, a provider of wireless

solutions has signed a distribution deal with

Prologix Distribution, an IT and telecom value

added distributor in the Middle East.

In terms of the deal, which is exclusive,

Prologix will provide the channel with EnGenius’

entire range of wireless data and voice

communication solutions in the Middle East

excluding Lebanon.

Leo Meng Chee, GM, EnGenius says Prologix

has an extensive reseller network in the Middle

East region and has established itself as a

formidable VAD, with a highly capable and

motivated team. Chee adds that EnGenius

invests heavily in R&D to ensure customers

have access to the best of technology and

leading-edge products and this has resulted in

a very recognisable brand. “We wanted to find

a partner that could create the same impact for

Jerin Thomam, Progix (L) & Leo Meng Chee, EnGenius

ProloGiX SiGnS enGeniuS

Ahmed Ashadawi, CEO & president, Al-Falak

The market research results also

revealed that Toshiba has a relatively

high overall growth rate in the retailer

field, increasing 8.8% for the year 2010, in

comparison with its sale performance on

the previous year in the UAE.

“The impressive growth rate percentage

means that Toshiba is looking forward

to continuous growth in the foreseeable

future. Toshiba is confident that it can

sustain its market leadership and fare

better in the region in terms of sales and

innovation,” adds Gifford.

The market research also looked into

comparison between ultra mobile, tablet

PCs, portable laptops, netbooks, and

desktop replacement in terms of sales

unit percentage and based on the results,

portable laptop is the preferred device in

the UAE with an average of 75% in sales

unit percentage, followed by netbooks with

an average of 25%.

>


DISTRIBUTORS WANTED

LED

LCD

PLASMA

DVDPlayers

AudioSystems

Phones

One of the most prominent GCC based consumer electronics brand with over 2,500 products across 40+ categories is in the process of appointing distributors. Financially sound business with prior experience

in consumer electronics preferred. Interested companies may send in their details to:

[email protected]

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

Oman Distributors 20.7x27cm_2.ai 5/2/11 6:30:06 PM


TOUCH SCREEN

MYTOUCH

WIRELESS

WIRELESS-N

GUARANTEE

GUARANTEE

3 SECOND SCAN 1

Introducing the new LexmarkGENESIS S815 ALL-IN-ONE PRINTERPRINT COPY SCAN FAX WEB

Printing with a touch of style

1. Scanning a one page document or photo on USB-connected, All-In-One Printer using a PC with the Lexmark Printer Home Interface’s PDF or Photo function. Actual scan timemay vary based on factors such as PC performance and operating system, use of wireless connections and use of document edit/character recognition function.

LIME_Genesis)207x270.indd 1 5/11/11 10:46 AM

Brocade has announced innovative new

cloud-optimised networking solutions

to enable the next evolution in

public cloud infrastructures.

These advancements will help

service providers leverage their

existing infrastructures to create a

broad set of new revenue-generating

services, such as virtual private cloud

services, for enterprise customers. As a

result, service providers can minimise

their infrastructure expenditure and raise

their revenue to increase profitability.

At its recent annual Technology

Day Summit, Brocade unveiled the

solutions that support the expansion of

emerging service provider public cloud

infrastructures. The company believes

that today’s networks must be cloud-

optimised at every critical point as they

will define the application performance

and the customer experience within

the cloud. Service providers are able to

leverage Brocade data centre networking

leadership in high-performance Brocade

ServerIronADX application delivery

switches, as well as market-leading

storage fabric and innovative Ethernet

fabric technologies to build out their

cloud infrastructure.

Specif ically, the Brocade Ethernet

fabric technology enables a completely

Brocade’s OEM partners, including EMC,

Hitachi Data Systems, HP and IBM, have

voiced their support of the company’s new

next-gen Fibre Channel technologies that

will help their enterprise customers migrate

smoothly to private cloud architectures.

Brocade has announced the industry’s

first fabric based, end-to-end networking

Research In Motion's BlackBerry

App World service has launched in the

UAE, offering BlackBerry smartphone

customers easy access to a broad range

of mobile applications. The service is

now available in a number of Middle East

countries including UAE, Kuwait, Qatar,

Jordan, Bahrain and Lebanon.

BlackBerry App World, the official

on-device app store for BlackBerry

smartphones, allows customers to

easily discover, download and enjoy

applications that are purpose-built for

their BlackBerry smartphones.

“We are thrilled to be bringing the

BlackBerry App World service to customers

in the UAE,” said Sandeep Saihgal,

Managing Director, RIM Middle East.

“The BlackBerry community in this region

can now enjoy great content for their

smartphones with our comprehensive range

of applications to choose from, enriching

their mobile experience at work or play. We

are also excited about the opportunity this

presents to our Middle Eastern application

developers, who now have a huge audience

to develop local content and apps for.”

According to Mohammed Al Ghanim,

Director General of the Telecommunications

Regulatory Authority (TRA) of the UAE,

said: “This is a great day for the Middle East

application developer community. The TRA

has a strategy to encourage and support

developers in the UAE and with the launch

of RIM’s BlackBerry App World, we are

eager to work with BlackBerry developers

to provide the appropriate environment and

assist them with accessing the required

tools to create these applications. We will

encourage the UAE universities to develop

applications on BlackBerry devices”.

Three million applications are being

downloaded each day on BlackBerry App

World, which is available in more than 100

markets around the world.

Brocade enaBleS SP BuSineSS Model TranSForMaTion

induSTry BacKS Brocade

news

BlacKBerry aPP world arriveS

virtualised environment in which service

providers can offer compute, storage and

network resources to their customers

on-demand. In addition, Brocade Ethernet

fabrics simplify data center network

management and operations, improve

network eff iciency and utilisation and

thus reduce TCO dramatically.

According to a recent report by

Gartner, the global market for cloud

services is expected to grow to nearly

$150 billion by 2014. This enormous

market opportunity is transforming how

service providers will deliver information

technology services to their customers.

It is a catalyst that will ultimately alter

how services are delivered and consumed

by nearly everyone worldwide, driving

a fundamental shift in business and

revenue models.

solutions based on industry-leading 16 Gbps

Fibre Channel technologies. Fabric-based

networks are a fundamental requirement in

supporting highly virtualised data centres

and private cloud environments and they

are a critical element of the Brocade One

strategy for providing low-latency, non-stop

and easy-to-operate networks.

TOUCH SCREEN

MYTOUCH

WIRELESS

WIRELESS-N

GUARANTEE

GUARANTEE

3 SECOND SCAN 1

Introducing the new LexmarkGENESIS S815 ALL-IN-ONE PRINTERPRINT COPY SCAN FAX WEB

Printing with a touch of style

1. Scanning a one page document or photo on USB-connected, All-In-One Printer using a PC with the Lexmark Printer Home Interface’s PDF or Photo function. Actual scan timemay vary based on factors such as PC performance and operating system, use of wireless connections and use of document edit/character recognition function.

LIME_Genesis)207x270.indd 1 5/11/11 10:46 AM


news

NETGEAR recently hosted a series of sales and

technical training sessions for its key Middle East

partners at the Ramada Hotel in Dubai.

The event was attended by around 40 of

the company’s top partners in the region and

was aimed at increasing more awareness on

the key networking and storage products of

NETGEAR and the advantages and benefits

obtained from its use. The training sessions

consisted of key talks and presentations

made by the company’s top technical experts

led by Richard Jonker, MD for Emerging

Markets, NETGEAR, who talked about

strategic sales and marketing initiatives

and Neil Smart, VAR Systems Engineer, UKI,

NETGEAR, who conducted the technical

aspect of the training.

The two-day event was in line with

NETGEAR’s efforts to implement key

initiatives aimed at strengthening its

business ties with its partners while also

living up to its commitment to provide an

integrate suite of internet tools for the wired

and wireless segment. The move follows a

recent industry report showing that Middle

East has witnessed a dramatic 1,825.3%

growth in the number of internet users over

the last decade (2000 to 2010), increasing the

penetration to 29.8% and translating into a

total of 63.2 million users.

During the first day of the event, Richard

Jonker talked about NETGEAR’s expansion

worldwide and the implementation of sales

and marketing strategies in the coming years.

His presentation also covered NETGEAR’s

current concentration on SMEs, which

neTGear TraininG SeSSionS

combined with the company’s other focus

segments will translate to a larger target

market. Neil Smart gave a presentation

on essential technical information about

NETGEAR products along with the latest

technologies that the company is utilizing

in the bid to roll out new internet tools,

particularly in the storage segment.

“This event served as a perfect opportunity

for NETGEAR to meet with its regional partners

and discuss new strategies in the move to

create a stronger market presence in the

Middle East,” said Omar Lutfi, SMB Channel

Manager, NETGEAR Middle East.

NETGEAR offers strategic innovative

products aimed at different segments like

consumers, businesses and service providers.

Just recently, the company launched the

ReadyNAS 4200, which is aimed towards

SMBs and mid-sized businesses. The new

unit is the first of its kind ReadyNAS model

to support 10-Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) and

allows more redundancy and reliability. The

company also released the NETGEAR WC7520,

a wireless controller designed for smaller IT

groups yet still offer all the features needed

by large wireless networks. The wireless

connector provides users with a fully-featured

Wireless LAN architecture that can support

up to 1,500 users networks, minus the cost or

complexity of traditional solutions. Also being

introduced is the NETGEAR XCM8800 Series,

which simplifies network infrastructures

with purpose-built core, aggregation, and

intelligent edge modules. The NETGEAR

XCM8800 Series offers users with a rack-

mount backplane-based design that has

strong features like key flexibility, energy

efficiency, and service availability.

Iomega has announced that Samer

Sayed has been appointed as B2B

Regional Sales Manager Middle

East and Africa. He will lead current

business efforts to further enhance

Iomega’s SMB solution presence as

the benchmark in storage across the

MEA region and the preferred global

provider of storage and network

solutions for mid-sized businesses.

“I am delighted that Samer has

joined the Iomega team”, said Cizar

Abu Ghazaleh, Regional Director,

Middle East, Africa and Turkey

Iomega. “With over a decade’s

experience, Samer’s superb skills are

well-established and he will help us in

extending our already strong presence

in SMB markets in the MEA. His MEA

sales and marketing experience in

business-to-business sales is an

excellent asset for Iomega”.

Samer Sayed brings more than 15

years’ experience to Iomega, most

recently at EMC where he was the

Regional Business Development

Manager establishing and growing the

public sector for EMC.

Prior to joining EMC, he was

Regional Manager for Fujitsu Siemens

Computers/ Fujitsu Technology

Solutions managing ME where he also

had great achievements building and

growing SMB channel and partners.

“I am excited to join such a

leading company as Iomega and look

forward to giving my contribution

to further strengthen its presence

and its success”, said Samer Sayed.

“I am enthusiastic about Iomega’s

programmes and our products for

small business storage markets,

and look forward to giving my part

to enhance Iomega’s leadership in

markets across the MEA countries”.

new ioMeGa B2B SaleS head

Partners during the training session


www.fvc.com


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Getting seriousreseller Middle East chats to Minnie Lin, head of marketing, ODD Channel M&S division at Philips & LiteOn Digital Solutions Corporation on the vendor’s strategy for growing its channel in the region.

RME: Briefly explain how Philips & LiteOn Digital Solutions is building its channel base in the Middle East region? ML: LiteOn provides innovative and

customer-oriented technologies to channel

partners and their end-users globally. In

addition, we have been giving marketing

support and local sales to support our

channel partners and their customers. We

100%LiteOn patented, this now allows users

to create a circular label on the data side

of a standard DVD±r disc with the use of

special media required.

RME: Is there a specific product set or technology that Philips & LiteOn Digital Solutions is pushing strongly through the channel in the Middle East in the second half of 2011?ML: As stated earlier, LabelTag is the

company’s main focus this year.

RME: What sort of channel initiatives and training programmes is Philips & LiteOn Digital Solutions planning on rolling out this year to channel partners in the Middle East?ML: We had trained sales people from the

Middle East channel on LiteOn technologie,

LabelTag, SmartErase through a number

of initiatives that we held earlier this year

Feb,2011.

RME: What can your distribution partners and solution providers expect from Philips & LiteOn Digital Solutions in 2011?ML: More marketing support and channel

initiatives aimed at cementing our presence in

the channel.

RME: Where do you see growth coming from with your reseller business in the MENA region?ML: We see our business growing more in

the notebook and network segment as these

sectors become more and more popular.

RME: Finally, what would you like to achieve this year as Philips & LiteOn Digital Solutions with your channel partners that might have been a challenge in 2010? ML: Our aim this year is definitely on getting

more market share and increased brand

awareness. Our vision is to become number

one in the MENA belt.

have continued to and keep promoting LiteOn

brand to be the best choose for a professional

IT people.

RME: How many distribution partners does Philips & LiteOn Digital Solutions have in the Middle East? ML: At the moment, LiteOn has one main

distributor addressing the entire region

although there the company does have a

distributor in Iran, two in Syria and one in Iraq.

RME: Which markets in the Middle East/North Africa are key for Philips & LiteOn Digital Solutions’ channel growth? ML: Key products that the company is

pushing aggressively and marketing in the

region are components.

RME: What product/technology solutions are high on Philips & LiteOn Digital Solutions’ agenda in the Middle East in 2011?ML: With the LabelTag array now

interviewPhilips & LiteOn Digital

our aim this year is definitely on getting more market share and increased brand awareness. our vision is to become number one in the Mena belt.


www.twinmos.com


www.facebook.com/twinmos.tech

www.youtube.com/twinmostech

www.twitter.com/twinmostech

cementing channel partnershipsReseller Middle East talks to Shobhit Mathur, Director Operations and Sales at Quick Heal Technologies on the company’s growing clout in the Middle East IT security market.

RME: Quick Heal has been upping the tempo in the UAE channel market. How has the Middle East channel embraced Quick Heal as an anti-virus security vendor and as a brand?SM: The response we have got so far is

overwhelming, despite being a new brand

in this market. We have been well accepted

by the channel and this has resulted in the

company generating good sales in the year

2010 and extensive product positioning in the

Middle East region.

RME: How many partners do you have ever since Quick Heal entered the region?SM: Currently Quick Heal has direct

partnership in seven countries in the region

and indirectly we are covering the entire

Middle East except for a few countries.

RME: How is Quick Heal building it channel base in the Middle East and North Africa region?SM: We are a very channel centric organisation

and firmly believe that true success lies in the

entire supply chain performing well. We are

building our channel base with a policy of one

partner one country with an exception to the

Saudi Arabian market. This is how we empower

our partners to give their best to the brand.

RME: What do you see as major hurdles to growing Quick Heal’s business offerings in the Middle East? SM: The current geo political situation in

the Middle East region has restricted us in

our quest to grow operations and footprint in

some countries.

RME: Which markets in the Middle East are key for your channel growth this year and why?SM: It’s difficult to pin point one specific

country but currently our focus of strategic

importance is on Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia

and UAE. These countries have the market

dynamics and ability to set trends for other

countries in the region to follow.

RME: What product solutions will be high on your agenda for channel partners in the Middle East in 2011?SM: We are in the second year of our operations

in the Middle East and we will stay focused on

the retail sector and offer technologies that are

tailored more at the retail sector. This year, we

have also introduced two technologies – Laptop

Tracker and Parental control.

RME: With parts of the Middle East experiencing political instability, is this going to affect your business this year?SM: Hope things will settle down sooner

rather than later. As we already got effected

in Bahrain and Libya, the company has

witnessed a slowdown in business in other

countries, but these are short term issues and

have no impact on our long term strategies

and plan for the Middle East region.

RME: One of the key strengths that some of your competitors like Symantec and Kaspersky have in the region is the ability to work with higher learning institutions such as colleges and universities. Is Quick Heal actively working with institutions of higher learning as a way of popularising your solutions offerings?SM: As mentioned earlier, our current focus is

on retail and will remain like this throughout

this year. However, we will not lose any

opportunity if it arises in any other area.

RME: Is there a specific vertical that Quick Heal is focusing on in the Middle East region?SM: Corporate and government sectors in the

Iranian market and retail segment in the rest

of the Middle East region.

RME: Where do you see growth coming from in 2011 for your business in the Middle East?SM: Our growth will come from our

expansion strategy. We have lots of ground to

be covered in terms of territory and increasing

our market share in the areas where we are

cuurently present. If we are able to implement

this, which we will, then growth is assured for

Quick Heal and its channel partners.

Shobhit Mathur, Director, Quick Heal

interviewQuick Heal


KSA’s IT market, the biggest in the Middle East, was worth around SAr 12.4 billion last year and should grow to SAr 17.25 billion in three years time. As a lucrative market for IT products and services, the Saudi IT sector is driven by key factors such as several major IT projects by both the public and private sectors; unhampered growth of the national economy; and high demand for IT products and services among the overwhelmingly young population.

cover feature Channel growth

Keys to the Kingdom

The Saudi IT market is an enigma. Despite

being the largest in the region, the potential for

growth seems limitless.

A recent report from the Business Software

Alliance said that in the Kingdom, the

commercial value of unlicensed software stood

at $304m (an estimated Sr1,140m) in 2009.

Although the situation is improving, software

piracy remains among the most significant

threats to the IT industry in the region.

Now the Saudi Ministry of Information,

working with Autodesk, has launched a new

license compliance initiative. With a market

as large as the Kingdom's, the possibility of

legtimising even a small percentage of current

unlicensed software would bring major benefts

to the Saudi channel.

It's a market that certainly repaus investment

and commitment. Storage player SanDisk, for

example, has just reported 38% year on year

increase in unit sales. In fact, with the consumer

electronics market to approach $5b by 2015, a

5% CAGr for digital devices looks a caustious

estimate.

Consider this. Computer hardware accounted

for about 46% of Saudi consumer electronics

spending in 2009 and that sector may top $2b by

year end. Stronger demand for notebooks is seen

as the main factor driving retail segment growth,

but the explosion in smartphone, iPad and other 3

and 4G devices may make any analyst estimates

seem hopelessly out of date very quickly. Mobile

handset sales accounted for 22% of consumer

electronics spending in 2009 - sales are now

expected to grow at a 6% CAGr to $1.1b by 2015,

as mobile subscriber penetration reaches 220%.

The Saudi IT sector is being driven by key

factors such as the commissioning of several

major IT projects by both the public and private

sectors; the unhampered growth of the national

economy; and the high demand for IT products

and services among the predominantly young

and tech-savvy Saudi population

The government sees ICT development as a

national priority. The governing Shoura Council has

a strategic objective for the IT industry to raise its

contribution to GDP to 20% by 2020, as well as

raising broadband penetration to 31% by 2013.

And major projects keep being announced.

The Medical Services Division (MSD) of the

Ministry of Defence and Aviation (MODA) is

implementing a nationwide unified medical

system, to link all 26 MSD hospital and 68

medical centres and clinics across six regions.

The government is implementing a $3.1bn plan

to improve the education system - the King

Abdullah Project has allocated around half the

funds (SAr 4.2bn) to improve the education

environment and another SAr 3.58bn for

extracurricular activities.

All of this provides both an opportunity and

a challenge to channel players in the Kingdom.

The rewards are there. The question is: can the

channel raise its game to claim them?

We talk to two players in a quick overview of

channel activity in Saudi Arabia.

with very positive growth in teh Kingdom backed by spectacular sales in other regions, Bdl is feeling bullish at present. ceo Tamer ismail explains why.

What's the Group's focus in the channel for this

year and beyond?

Our focus will be on our best clients, increasing the

numbers of clients, working to achieve profit for

our partners and providing appropriate service for

them. And understanding their problems, of course.

What growth are you seeing in the Saudi

market?

Some 25% year over year which is fuelling our

expansion plans. We opened two additional

branches in Khmis Masheet, Tabuk, and Qassem to

cover the northern and southern region as well as

our existing head office in riyadh and branches in

Jeddah and Alkhubar.

What are the factors that will drive growth for

the BDL Group?

We have a clear strategy that leads the company

- we concentrate on adding value and working

through an innovative approach in addition to

efficient relation management with suppliers and

leadinG The MarKeT


working close to customers.

What are the challenges that resellers and channel

partners are facing in the Kingdom?

reseller are facing increasing competition in the

corporate space, which affects volumes and market

development.

Visions aren’t clear for resellers in terms of annual

sale rates, identifying expectations, volumes for

purchases and sales - all that limits development

opportunities. And some resellers leave markets

continually - from time to time that harms markets

and competition significantly.

What do you see as key business opportunities

this year?

Smart phones.

How is the channel maturing in Saudi?

Over time. Distribution companies are adopting

proper policies including not to over use credit,

accurate pricing and prics control. That will get rid of

bad sale channels and customers will then depend on

real resellers who target the end user.

How important is GITEX Riyadh to you?

There is no great importance because we don't see

any attractive marketing activities and suppliers and

distributors don’t provide anything new. Importantly,

there are many computer markets in malls and

markets (Hyper Market Power retail) in riyadh - a

continual gallery outside of GITEX.

SuPPorTinG The channelFvc has ambitious plans to extend its reach into the Saudi market as Md KS Parag explains.

What is your focus this year in the Kingdom?

Ensuring that the company increases its pre-

sales, sales and technical resources in the

Kingdom. Our coverage of the KSA market is

two fold: vertical and geographical expansion.

Vertical expansions will focus on government,

defence, financial services, education and

healthcare sectors. Here, the company

will be beefing up resources to support

channel partners with training, certification

and demand generation activities. And

geographical expansions are planned for the

Western, Central and Eastern regions of the

Kingdom. We have opened offices in riyadh,

Jeedah and Al Khobah.

What's your strategy for partner training?

FVC has taken the responsibility to train its

internal sales and technical teams to ensure

that they can train partners in the various

technology focus areas. We are also educating

the end user market and these activities are

helping the company to create demand for

channel partners. We want our SI partners

in KSA to develop deeper knowledge in UC,

network security, cloud computing and data

centre technologies.

Where do you see the growth opportunities

for FVC and its partner ecosystem?

This will come from government and public

sector IT projects. There's also a momentum

around cloud computing and next generation

data centres.

How is that emphasis changing?

In 2010, most revenues came from government

and public sector projects which accounted

for 60% of the total revenues; in 2011, there

will be a further boost as the government

moves to accelerate the roll out of IT projects

and private sector enterprises are looking to

refresh and upgrade their IT infrastructure.

Partners that will benefit from this growth

are those with certiications, have specialised

and are able to bring value and a services

component to the table.

What are the specific channel challenges in

the Kingdom?

A lack of knowledge and expertise in the

channel. Partners not adapting to technology

changes fast enough. It's difficult to retain

trained and certified staff. Long sales cycles

and the reluctance by partners to jump onto

the services bandwagon.

What other Saudi activities are you

planning?

We recently launched the CHEEr Partner

programme and through this, we are able to

offer services to SIs which they can go and

resell. We'll be hosting annually the Channel

Partner Conference which we launched last

year and we'll beef up roadshows in the

Kingdom aimed at helping raise awareness

around our channel programmes, products

and technologies.


into enterpriserME spoke to Di Liu Qi, Vice President for Huawei Enterprise Business, about how the model is faring.

How has this new business unit been received so far in the channel?Huawei Enterprise Business has already

built a portfolio of projects all over the world

to demonstrate its strength in building

next-generation ICT infrastructures across

industry verticals. We are very excited about

the growth potential and look forward to

seeing how we can leverage the enormous

market opportunities in the region. The

feedback from the channel so far has been

extremely positive. Through vigorous

product training, workshops, forums

certification sessions and more, to help

our channel partners fully understand our

enterprise business portfolio, we already

have local channel partners on board.

We believe that it’s all about creating a

support system for our business partners.

However, we need to deliver our products

and solutions in more ways than just directly

selling to the customer. We need to focus our

energies on channel partners in the region.

By engaging with our channel partners,

we can leverage their local knowledge and

experience. The idea is to give our partners

room for Huawei’s strategic growth. We

have ambitious plans to drive our enterprise

business and aim to become the region’s

first choice solutions provider for building

next-generation ICT infrastructures. As we

approach each opportunity, our target will

apply the same rigorous strategic approach

and discipline that we have applied in the

telecoms sector, to ensure our customers

receive returns on investments. We are

excited about the growth potential for

Huawei Enterprise. We are confident that we

can create value for our customers.

Where do you see most of your growth coming from this year?Cloud computing, data centres, IT and

communications technology convergence

will be key areas in the enterprise business.

How are you positioning Huawei Enterprise given that your core strength in the Middle East is in the telecoms space?Huawei’s proven track record in the

Middle East building next-generation ICT

infrastructures in the telecoms market

is a testimony of the capabilities we can

also provide in the enterprise market. We

believe our core strength lies in focusing

on customer-centric innovation that creates

values for customers to meet their business

needs. Innovation is a key component of

Huawei’s mission. That’s why we have

invested nearly half of Huawei’s global

resources into research and development,

with over 10% of revenue spent on R&D

every year. In 2010, Huawei filed 49,040

key technology patents globally with cross-

licensing agreements in intellectual property

rights for major multinational companies

in the industry. In the next decade, Huawei

will transform itself from a pioneer in

communications technology to innovators in

ICT. Driving the enterprise business will form

a key part of Huawei’s road map over the

next few years.

the flexibility to sell our products and

solutions how they see fit. Ultimately, we

want to create a win-win situation for all.

How many SIs have you recruited in the Middle East?Currently we are partnered with 11 local

channels in the region, one of which is INTC,

our regional level master system integrator

and ‘go-to-market’ partner for our Enterprise

solutions.

Can you briefly explain how Huawei is rolling out its partner training programmes to SIs?Huawei Enterprise delivers pre-sales and

post sales training for reseller partners

in three different cities - Dubai, Doha and

riyadh - so that every partner in each

country is well briefed on the product

portfolio, the installation and configuration

as well as given an understanding of the

need to focus on service delivery. We offer

certification training to ensure our partners

meet the industry standards required to

fully engage with the product and solution.

Fast track programmes are also set up for IT

consultants and specialists who come with a

technical background.

What are your growth expectations for your enterprise business in the Middle East?With the emergence of cloud computing and

the convergence of IT and communication

technology solutions, the transformation

of the entire industry has offered Huawei

unprecedented new opportunities and the

enterprise business will provide enormous

analysisHuawei


LabelTag DVD RW Series

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Digital Plus Co. (Syria:)East Sok El-Intaj St., Al-Mohafaza P.O.Box 8676 Tel: 21 225 0600 #601 Email: [email protected]

Authorized Distributors:

FDC International FZE P.O. Box 17543, Dubai, U.A.E. Tel: +971 4 3978035 #205 E-Mail: [email protected]

Liteon ODD Web http://www.liteonodd.com/en/MAy 2011 rESELLEr MIDDLE EAST 35

www.alfalak.com


www.eaton.com/powerquality

Breaking out of consumerDealing with new business opportunities is a key way in which channel players differentiate themselves in the market, explains Sakkeer Hussain, Sales & Marketing Manager at D-Link Middle East.

How many distribution partners does D-Link have in the Middle East and which specific countries do they address?Since January 2011, D-Link Middle East has

taken over the responsibility of the operations

for D-Link Africa (excluding South Africa), hence

D-Link Middle East has evolved to D-Link Middle

East & Africa since the beginning of this year.

D-Link Middle East & Africa are currently working

with more than 50 distributors in the entire

Middle East and Africa region. Countries in which

we are directly collaborating with signed-up

distributors are: the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar,

Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Syria, Tunisia,

yemen, Libya, Morocco, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq,

Algeria, Cyprus, Afghanistan and Africa (Kenya,

Uganda, Tanzania).

Facebook and Twitter friends the media files

Boxee users most like. Apart from that we have

a wide range of IP cameras, 3G and power line

products. On the business solutions segment

we offer the latest series of smart, PoE, chasis

switches and storage.

Is there a specific product set or technology that you’re pushing strongly through the channel in the Middle East this year and why?Since March 2011 we started to sell cabling

solutions in the Middle East & Africa. This is a

new product line which will help us to position

ourselves in the cabling market as well.

What sort of channel initiatives and training programmes are planning on rolling out this year in the Middle East market?With view to sales and marketing initiatives, we

are planning to conduct plenty of promotions

throughout the year in order to support the

channel. Additionally, during the year there

are plenty of product seminars and technical

trainings being held in order to keep everyone

updated and - the technical departments

respectively - well-trained.

How important is your retail/consumer business in the Middle East region?

The retail/consumer business has always

been a major pillar helping us to achieve

our targets to sell consumer products to the

various consumer target groups. D-Link has

always been strong in the consumer segment,

but has also managed to successfully take

on networking solutions that cater to large

corporations.

If it is important, what power retailers are you currently working with and with what products?We are currently working with all major

power retailers such as Sharaf DG, CompuME,

Carrefour, Lulu and Emax to sell wireless

routers, IP cameras, the Boxee Box and many

other networking devices to consumers.

You work with both distributors and System Integrators. Briefly outline how the company is able to minimise any conflict of interest between the two segments?It is true that we are working both with

distributors and SIs to bring our products

to the market. However, these two are not

competing with each other in terms of having

certain interests met. With the distribution

model we have in place, deals that have been

closed by our teams with System Integrators

are still routed to our distributors, who sell

our products to the System Integrators.

This ensures a win-win situation both for

distributors and System Integrators.

Which markets in the Middle East are key for your channel growth in 2011?We certainly hope to progress further in the

virgin markets, such the Levant countries. The

current political condition in many Middle

Eastern countries however keeps us hoping

that the demand for networking solutions will

not decrease.

What product solutions are you pushing through your channel partners in the Middle East?On the consumer segment we have recently

launched the Boxee Box, an amazing Social

Network Media Centre which plays back movies

in Full HD 1080p. This device is not just a media

player, but also a great tool to share with your

Sakkeer Hussain, Sales & Marketing Manager at D-Link Middle East

analysisD-Link


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The balancing actAlthough SonicWALL has a global policy of only selling through the channel, its introduction of a 'direct touch' model should not be seen as changing that, insists newly appointed EMEA VP, Andy Zollo.

What will be your channel focus this year in EMEA?First of all, SonicWall has this as the fastest

region we have so that's why we'll put in

investment. For instance, we're just starting

a technical resource in Saudi which will be

starting any time now. We're also looking

for a direct touch because, as we expand

into the enterprise market, we need more

of that customer touch ourselves and that

should then deliver more opportunity to the

channel. It's all about getting a balance.

On the overall partner landscape, we need

to balance working with distributors to

improve our market base - and they're

typically those who adopt the SMB range of

products - then for the enterprise there will

be fewer partners, typically gold and silver,

where our guys will also be involved in the

account management of these partners and

then outside of that, as we grow the direct

touch business, that will identify partners

we should be speaking to. We have a very

clear global two tier policy, everything goes

through channel - so even as we deploy

direct touch, the channel can be reassured

that everything goes through distribution.

And investment?Clearly, technical resource. As we train

people up, quite naturally they want more of

our technical input. Also when the channel

needs help in an engagement, typically its

a technical rather than a sales person they

want along with them. That's our priority now.

process in that the more they do that, the

more the sales guy picks up what we're

doing and away he goes. Next, growing the

installed base business. Or should we pick

some vertical markets where we become the

experts in that market? When we identify

them and research them, we can then support

our channel - these are the decision makers,

these are the buying patterns, these are the

sales triggers and so on.

What solutions do you see as priorities for the market this year?We'll continue to push UTM - we've added

visualisation recently which makes it a

lot easier for management to see what's

happening on the network. relating it to

granularity - we want you to use Twitter

for business but not Farmville, for instance

- is a very appealing message because of

productivity issues. We've also scaled to the

carrier level. Then, on the SMB side, we've

revamped our back-up/disaster recovery

products which should make it easy for the

channel to go and get MSP type of business. If

we can make something easy for the channel

to sell, they'll sell lots of it; if we make it too

difficult, then they'll tend to shy away.

Are you encouraging your partners to sell consultancy services on top of the technology?Absolutely. The channel owns the

relationship with the customers and maybe

50% of a lifetime revenue with a customer

comes from services.

What's the most important thing you do for your channel?The thing we always focus on with our

partners is training. Whilst we have a strong

market condition, there's still a large market

out there.

We're seeing a lot of vendors encouraging their partners to specialise. Is that something you do?We leave it up to them.

Which territories will recive more technical support?Saudi is the priority - we have an offer out

already. Then the UAE.

Can there not be a conflict of interest with a direct touch model?Oh yes, we always have to use the term

carefully. The impression always is, 'Oh no,

they're going direct!' The difference however

when you're moving from SMB to enterprise

is that, at the enterprise level, the customer

expects to see the manufacturer. That's a

cost of getting into that market, we recognise

that. The direct touch guys kind of work in

three areas. Firstly, assistance of channel -

going out with resellers to end-users to help

the sale and that becomes an education

Andy Zollo, VP, SonicWALL EMEA

analysisSonicWALL


Get in your system.

Radeon™

©2010 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. All rights reserved. AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, Radeon and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Microsoft, Windows and DirectX are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/ or other jurisdictions. Electronic Arts Inc. EA, the EA logo, Medal of Honor and Danger Close are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. The DICE logo and FROSTBITE are trademarks of EA Digital Illusions CE AB. Other names are for informational purposes only and may be trade-marks of their respective owners.

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Putting up the umbrellaThe security sector remains one of the most buoyant in terms of customer spend, but increased revenues for the channel depend on resellers trading up and looking for game changing opportunities. reseller Middle East discusses the issue with Anthony O'Mara, Senior VP of Trend Micro MEA.

From a regional perspective, what can your channel partner community expect this year? We will always be two tier - that's written

in stone for us. We always take care of out

partners - that's the big picture. Today, in

the security space, there's always a real

opportunity for channel partners who are

willing to make an effort and maybe change. I'd

say over the last three or four years. the security

industry was coming to the end of a cycle -

people were buying legacy desktop materials

and gateways. A whole new opportunity has

opened up with cloud computing and if partners

are ready to move with that, then they've got

a great new opportunity; if they don't, they're

gonna get stuck in a position where they just

I look back at previous platform shifts and it's

very hard to find the same partners at every

stage. The guy who's awake can make money.

How has the market been for Trend?We've been lucky and, I think, lucky because

of the leadership at the top. With each shift,

at the beginning of the shift, we may not

make as much money as we'd like but we

do lead. However, we do focus on where

the security market is going. For example,

we were the first in the server sector, the

gateway, we were the first in the cloud. It's

about leadership. So with cloud, for example,

the market may take three years, four years

but it's coming, you know. It's an evolutionary

thing. I know our competition will be there

too but, partnering with Trend, you're part of

something important. you know, at times in

this industry, you get the sense of something

important happening - I remember Scott

McNealy back in the 1990s with his 'the

network is the computer' idea - and I think

much the same is happening now with our

senior management and technical people.

They really believe in what they're doing

and it's not just about making money. With

researchers with initiative, the possibilities

are amazing.

At present we're seeing a lot of services being offered around the cloud - Software-as-a-Service, Security-as-a-Servioce and so on. Is that where Trend is focused in training its partners? How are you helping

compete on price and the margin game. Some

of them will go out of business, that's what they

need to be awake to. If you've ever read that

book, 'Who moved my cheese?', that's one of

those situations right now.

So what can you do to support that?Hopefully, as a company, we can either

provide our existing channel to move or fix

up new partners that will go with us. Partners

who are - dare I say? - lazy, well they're going

to get left behind. Whether they're Trend's

partners or competitors' partners, that's

what's going to happen.

We're looking a a platform shift then?yes and it gives everyone a great opportunity.

Anthony O'Mara, Senior VP of Trend Micro MEA

analysisTrend Micro


them to identify those business opportunities?If we're looking at a definition of cloud

security it could be private cloud, or it could

be public cloud. We're in the evolution

now and I believe it will end up as public

cloud eventually but at present there's still

scepticism - 'Why would I put everything up

there?' There's a big opportunity with our

partners in that evolution. I read recently

from one of the analyst groups that, for every

dollar spent on virtualisation, eleven other

dollars are spent on other products around

that - maybe hardware, software and so on.

And so, as a reseller, I know that if there's a

virtualisation product for $100,000, I know

there's a million dollar opportunity as well.

That's the kind of stuff that the reseller needs

to be aware of. In EMEA, we have created

an umbrella programme but it's important

that such a programme isn't just thrown out

there because one size doesn't fit all, but

you can have the core that does work. Then,

hopefully, we can adapt those programmes

to make sure that they work for channel

partners here in the Middle East. I think that

if we don't take that approach, if we just say

'here's the Trend approach', then they don't

stick. The measure of our suceess is not a

partner making a good deal, but them making

a second or a third one.

What areas are you asking them specialise in as part of your umbrella programme?Virtualisation - I think everyone should be

moving there so that's top of everyone's

book. There's still money to made around

the gateway space - we have a new hybrid

appliance, for example. All companies now

want simplification - take it out of the box,

fit it and then not have to worry about it.

Delivering on that, that's our job.

We're seeing a lot of reports on mobile opportunities. What opportunities are there for you as a security provider?We already have products for the mobile

market but we don't yet really know how

widespread the threat is going to be. The

walls are there but we don't yet know what's

going to be thrown at them. Look at criminals

and money - it used to be in the banks then

it shifted to the desktop and as soon as they

realise it's now in smartphones and devices,

that's what they will target. The threat today

is there but it's not yet huge.

Are vendors ready for it?I think so but it's a matter of integration.

That's a chance for the channel to ensure

that all gates are secured not just the mobile

device - after all, that's just another way in.

We're seeing a lot of interest in the endpoint security space. How are you positioning yourselves there?We evolved our desktop solution over the

last couple of years as a lighter solution

than our comeptitors. you can argue that

we don't cover the last 1% but the answer is

that you have to answer the question, 'How

can you predict what happens?' For us, it's

about stopping things before it reaches up

your machine so we never have to clean up

your machine. This market is no longer about

competing on price - you want to trust a

company with security in its DNA, right?

What's the revenue split between your enterprise business and your consumer business?In EMEA? Consumer's quite small. We have

some sales to the consumer market in the

Middle East but, frankly, it's not the most

important part of our business. However,

in the Far East, we're the leading consumer

player, in the US number two or three so, as a

company, it's important.

Has your business slowled down because of political instabilities in the region?We saw some slowdown in Q1, but we're

not going away. We take a longer view.

We can ride the cycle and the companies

we're dealing with, they're not going away

tomorrow. If you compare that to Europe, say,

companies there just disappear. I wouldn't

say we're relaxed but…

Is Trend looking at DLP (Data Loss Prevention)?yes, but what we've tried to do is, instead

of having it as a standalone product,

integrate it into a product set. However,

this is a consultancy sales and, if you talk

about the channel, that's a real opportunity

- consultancy.

Where do you see your real opportunities at present?On the technology side, I think the pace

of change towards a virtual environment

represents a real opportunity. On the

business side, I think there are always

opportunities when companies go back and

review their polciies and update their security.

We still think we can outgrow the market.

"on the technology side, i think the pace of change towards a virtual environment represents a real opportunity. on the business side, i think there are always opportunities when companies go back and review their polciies and update their security."

analysisTrend Micro



www.merunetworks.com

[email protected]

For Corporate & Retail Distributorinquiry in Middle East & Africa

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expanding the businessEmitac has built an entire VAD business on the back of one vendor relationship, with HP. Now it's starting to grow the model with the addition of Azeti Networks, as Patrick Mulligan, GM of Emitac Distribution, explains.

Why Azeti? What's the main motivation?We're moving into the solutions area and Azeti is

one of early successes in terms of this shift, where

we're able to offer extra products to resellers so

they can provide solutions for their customers.

In terms of this partnership, are the solutions offered based on the entire portfolio or just value solutions?It will be the entire portfolio but it's a

solution sell based on value, rather than a

box sell.

Are you going to focus on geographies or sectors with these solutions?No, we'll carry them across all parts of our

business activity in the same way that we

address our existing VAD business.

In the past you've said you'd be very selective in value-add solutions. How is the business progressing?It's very strong around HP solutions, so we're

primarily focused on expanding our offerings

Patrick Mulligan, GM of Emitac Distribution

analysisEmitac

enTerinG The MarKeTJose Bustamante, vP Mea, azeti networks talks us through the new relationship.

What made you select Emitac as your entry

into this market?

Well, it has a massive ecosystem so it was

an ideal choice for us to enter the market,

allowing us to target many different kinds

of business. We really needed to work on

a solution level so, when we had our first

meetings and they explained this new VAD

approach, for us it was a great combination

- working with a big company and a strongly

focused group within the company. That allows

me to move in a very agile way and target

resellers effectively. As a foreign company, we

around HP - servers, storage, networking and

the products and services around that. That's

our main thrust today though we're talking

to other vendors and Azeti marks our first

expansion outside of the HP space.

What other solution could you add to this value-added business?Our position is to build the VAD business

slowly and credibly, so we're building internal

competencies before we go to other vendors

to expand. It's a more slow way of building

a business but it's very much our style. We

have no plans to announce other vendors,

until we've digested the Azeti solutions and

then we'll start to look for complementary

solutions. We want to be effective from an

operational standpoint.

couldn't have established ourselves

here in such a way.

Value-added requires a lot of

support - training, certification,

etc. What sort of support have you

lined up?

Firstly, local sales and consultancy.

More importantly, wider resources

within Emitac. We're still in the initial stages.

In Emitac's solid territories with broadband

distribution, what type of resellers would

be ideally placed to take your solutions to

market?

That was the first question we asked! Because

of the nature of our solutions, the extension of

IT monitoring to operational and environmental

issues, virtually every enterprise is a

potential customer. Azeti also allows

the extension of HP's OpenView.

Do you have a certification

programme? Will you be rolling it

out in the region?

yes, we have. We'll be doing it in

co-operation with Emitac.

This partnership opens up doors clearly in

terms or reach and markets. Which vertical

markets do you see as priorities?

Healthcare. Hospitality. Communication. Here we

can create solutions, but in every industry you

can adopt a solution thanks to the open nature

of the software. The most important thing now is

to pick the right resellers, starting in the UAE.


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featurePeripherals

The power of peripheralsWith the increase in PC penetration rates in the Middle East, the demand for peripheral devices has been growing rapidly. Find out how you can use peripherals as a starting point to land that lucrative deal.

resellers not to stop with a hefty printer

sale but to instead use that deal as a

starting point.

Though optional in nature, a peripheral

is used to expand the ability of the host

computer. It includes scanners, printers,

displays, projectors, etc.

With the increase in PC penetration

rates in the Middle East, the demand for

peripheral devices has been growing rapidly.

In addition, the growing trend of using a

computer as a photo album, jukebox and

video recorder/depository is also leading to

the growth of peripheral devices. It has also

been observed that the increasing demand

for printing and scanning in the various

industries (such as manufacturing, banking

and finance, and services) is driving the

growth of the peripherals market. That said,

how can resellers turn these commoditised

products into deal breakers? How can

reseller move away from a revenue driven

peripheral business to one that guarantees

them some profit?

According to research and analyst firm

Gartner, global mobile device sales to end

users totalled 1.6 billion units in 2010, a

31.8% increase from 2009. Smartphone

sales to end users were up 72.1% from

2009 and accounted for 19% of total mobile

communications device sales in 2010.

"Strong smartphone sales in Q4 of 2010

pushed Apple and research In Motion (rIM)

up in our 2010 worldwide ranking of mobile

device manufacturers to the No. 5 and No.

4 positions, respectively, displacing Sony

Ericsson and Motorola," says Carolina

Milanesi, research VP at Gartner. "Nokia

and LG saw their market share erode in 2010

as they came under increasing pressure to

refine their smartphone strategies."

Shortages continued to affect popular

components, such as camera modules,

touchscreen controllers, and active-matrix

organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED)

screens, in Q4 of 2010. "This situation will

not ease until at least the second

half of 2011. Shortages will be a >

Because printers, imaging solutions

and displays are the most common of

all PC peripherals, resellers often seek

opportunities to sell all three products in a

single deal.

The major shift toward the use of MFPs

has helped resellers push the power of

peripherals in organisations. Corporate

buyers are also finding they can cut back on

paper if employees have enhanced monitors

or more than one display on their desks. They

are less likely to print e-mail, information

from the Internet and other items that will be

read once and simply discarded.

The proliferation of MFPs, imaging

equipment and displays is due in part to

dramatically reduced prices. While stepped

up sales of MFPs and other peripherals

have created opportunities for channel

partners, resellers must become more

creative now more than ever.

While corporate customers are buying

more MFPs, there are even more significant

surrounding sales of the multipurpose

units. Major imaging vendors are urging

“combating grey imports is not anyone’s strategic ideal or plan but rather a collective effort on the part of the vendor, distributor and reseller.” – Patrick Hayati, Belkin


number of resellers and dealers selling

peripherals as companies move away from

a revenue strategy and more towards a

profitable strategy.

Hayati says although the market size

of peripherals in the Middle East maybe

difficult to determine as many products

are sold to countries outside of the region,

the market has continued to grow steadily.

Globally though, the hardcopy

peripherals market enjoyed record

shipments in Q4 2010, with vendors

shipping more than 36.5 million units,

up 7% versus Q4 2009, according to

market-research firm IDC’s Worldwide

Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker.

IDC notes that this is the highest number

of shipments since Q4 of 2007. At the

same time, MFPs continued to win out

over single-function devices, with MFPs

accounting for 67% of shipments, up four

points from the previous quarter.

According to IDC’s Phuong Hang,

programme manager for the firm’s

Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals

Tracker, the worst is over for the hardcopy

market, “It’s time for the market to return

to normal. For 2011, we anticipate that the

recovery will continue at a slow and steady

pace. The return to growth will not be

uniform across all countries and segments

as developed regions are expected to

show gradual or steadier activity, while

developing regions are projected to show

faster and higher growth levels.”

“The return to growth will not be uniform across all countries and segments as developed regions are expected to show gradual or steadier activity, while developing regions are projected to show faster and higher growth levels.” – Phuong Hang, IDC

long-term consideration for mobile device

and peripheral vendors, because other

fast-growing categories of connected

consumer devices, such as media tablets,

are competing for the same components,"

says Milanesi.

White-box sales exceeded 115 million

units in the Q4 of 2010 and 360 million

units in 2010 overall. Although white box

sales helped boost mobile device sales

to 1.6 billion units in 2010, it would be

misleading to interpret this as market

"growth" in the strictest sense. "What

we see is an increase in addressable

market for mobile device manufacturers as

consumers shift their behaviour to buying

new phones from legitimate channels over

second-hand and black market devices,"

adds Milanesi.

In order to reduce cost and remain

competitive, many peripherals vendors are

now adopting contract manufacturing. A

few of the large vendors have also set up

their offshore design and manufacturing

units at low-cost countries and locations

across the globe. However, despite

an impressive growth, certain factors

like severe competition, increasing

level of commoditisation, and product

obsolescence are hindering the growth

of peripherals. With the improvement

in technology, the peripherals market is

undergoing a rapid transformation. The

vendors of the peripherals market (such

as vendors for scanner, graphics card,

speaker, microphone and Webcam) are now

launching many products and incorporating

more sophisticated technologies and

improvised functionalities.

Patrick Hayati, MD, emerging markets

at Belkin Middle East, says due to the well-

developed PC channel within the Middle

East the peripheral channel has naturally

grown at a similar rate. Hayati adds that

there has also been an increase in the

featurePeripherals


www.lexmark-me.com

www.medmark-me.com




"This situation will not ease until at least the second half of 2011. Shortages will be a long-term consideration for mobile device and peripheral vendors, because other fast-growing categories of connected consumer devices, such as media tablets, are competing for the same components." – Carolina Milanesi, Gartner

As is usual, the top three vendors—

Hewlett-Packard, Canon, and Epson—

continued to capture the lion’s share of

the market, with more than 75% share of

the total market in Q4 2010. HP shipped

15.5 million units in the Q4, and enjoyed

the highest year-over-year growth of 10%,

followed by Canon’s 5%, and Epson’s 2%.

IDC says that with the exception of Western

Europe, HP enjoyed positive year-over-year

growth across all regions.

FacTorS drivinG GrowThHayati says although the PC growth is

one of the main drivers of growth in the

peripherals space, other factors helping the

market to grow include: availability, steady

flow of stock and more vendors entering

this segment and in the process prices have

come down. “Obviously the PC installed

base in the Middle East contributes to the

demand significantly,” he notes. “There is

also demand for products that would enable

consumers to avail all the added features

and tools that today’s PCs allow for.”

MarKeT challenGeSHayati points out that one of the most

significant trends that is emerging in the

channel today is that of versatility, products

are moving towards multi functionality in

order to cater for more requirements and

it’s a means for vendors to differentiate

themselves from competitors. The

challenges include commoditisation and

compatibility. Despite the commoditisation

and peripheral compatibility issues, Hayati

says resellers need to be innovative in

the way they take on these products to

market. “Competition is something that

is continually changing and evolving.

Some of the latest strategies seen

recently by resellers include additional

services offered such as free technical

support, additional warranty period, free

replacement and added value through

freebies and/or giveaways. The consumer

has become more demanding and the level

of expectation has increased,” he says.

According to Hayati, another challenge

that the channel faces has to do with grey

and fake peripherals products. “Combating

grey imports is not anyone’s strategic

ideal or plan but rather a collective effort

on the part of the vendor, distributor and

reseller,” he reiterates. Hayati says simple

business practices if executed correctly can

ensure the channel minimises the demand

for grey. These according to Hayati include:

competitive pricing, stock availability,

channel programmes for dealers and

resellers, rMA and after sales service,

warranty and most importantly being first

to market.

“We fight fakes by way of constant

feedback and presence in the market,”

he says. “This is a collective effort by all

parties within the supply chain. Identifying,

informing and sharing of information helps

identify fake products early and limit

their penetration of such product into the

authorised legitimate channel.”

Hayati adds that another peripherals

opportunity has opened up as a direct

result of Apple products that have graced

the consumer gadgets market. He says with

the number of Apple users increasing daily

and the huge success of the iPad tablet this

is undoubtedly one of the fastest growing

platforms and one that many companies

would look to capitalise on.

reTail channel Hayati states that as the IT retail sector has

grown so has the demand for Peripherals.

He explains that retailers were quick to

realise that the peripherals segment was

ideal for increasing the overall margin

basket and an opportunity to upsell. “Why

would a retailer want to sell a laptop for

$1000 at a margin of 3 to 5% only for

the customer to walk across the road to

purchase a hub, cooling fan and media card

reader from a competitor who would stand

to make an average margin of between

20 to 25%,” he asks? Hayati explains that

traditionally retailers would sell only a

specific range or segment whereas today

retailers prefer to carry a range within

each segment catering for all needs. “This

has obviously created huge competition

between the vendors over space restraints,

promotions and pricing,” he observes.

Over 85% of globally shipped

handsets will include browsers by 2011,

say Gartner analysts. In mature markets

such as Western Europe and Japan, 60%

of handsets will be smartphones with

advanced browsing capabilities. The mobile

Web, along with associated Web adaptation

tools, will be a leading technology for B2C

mobile applications through 2012, and

should be part of every organisation’s B2C

technology portfolio.

featurePeripherals


www.fdcinternational.com

Mobile boomWith the anticipated boom in handheld devices, industry pundits share insights on how channel partners can benefit from business opportunities arising in this segment.

Global mobile (voice and data) revenue will

exceed US$1 trillion a year by 2014, according

to Gartner. Mobile will generate revenue from

a wide range of additional services such as

context, advertising, application and service

sales, and so on. Each of these will be a

significant business worth several tens of

billions of dollars per year.

In mature markets, smartphones will

dominate device sales for the foreseeable

future. However, the dominant mobile device

type shipped globally will be feature phones

without an identifiable OS because emerging

markets dominate handset demand.

>

Organisations operating in emerging

markets such as the Middle East should

assume smartphones will be a niche device

beyond 2014. Many new device types such

as tablets and e-book readers will emerge

through 2012 and some will find a role in

enterprise organisations.

Arthur Wang, head of emerging market

business development at MediaTek , says the

company’s focus is to help its partners increase

market penetration in the Middle East. “We

have set up local presence to provide local and

on-time support to our channel partners. Our

new office will also help us further strengthen

our regional presence and better serve one

of the fastest growing mobile markets in the

Middle East,” says Wang.

Wang says with an experienced technical

and services team, MediaTek is bringing its

expertise to the region to better support

local handheld brands. “We have started to

conduct a series of technical seminars for the

local channel to help them position and sell

our products better,” he says.

Chandan Mehta, product manager,

Fujitsu Technology Solutions, says mobile

or handheld security is definitely gaining

momentum in the corporate space because

CIOs are increasingly cautious about personal

devices gaining access to networks, or the

misuse or theft of the company’s devices.

Mehta says at Fujitsu Technology

Solutions, the company believes in building

security from the ground up, so that it meets

the most stringent IT security requirements of

organisations and businesses.

Bulent Teksoz, channel technology officer,

emerging markets at Symantec Middle

East, says today more power lies with the

individual than ever before with the massive

proliferation of mobile devices bringing

contemplated freedom to the consumer.

Teksoz says the “consumerisation” of IT

means more control to the individuals.

However, Teksoz agrees with Mehta and

points out that this ubiquitous, inexpensive

device is presenting a challenge to all Middle

East businesses who want to give their

customers what they want and where they

want, while using the device of their choice.

He says that Symantec aims to ensure

such enterprises embrace consumerisation,

allowing users to use the device of choice

while enforcing governance and securing

corporate data. He remarks that while

consumers attempt to bring new mobile

devices into the workplace, enterprises are

ill-equipped to secure and manage the rapidly

expanding mobile device landscape. “Unlike

the PC market where a single OS dominates,

the mobile market has multiple players

with significant presence,” he says.

“The launch of the iPhone has changed the handset user experience as well as expectations and set a new standard for a series of handsets features including user interface, speed of connectivity and application variety.” – Arthur Wang, MediaTek

featureHandhelds


Learn more about DCC MEA atwww.dcc-mea.com

14 Countries

63Vendors

17th - 19th MAY 2011Fujairah, UAE

165Retail Executives

1,000+ One-on-One Meetings

Vendors at the ‘sold out’ 2010 exhibition included:

Top retailers attending in 2010 included:

COMPUTING / ELECTRONICS / IMAGING / GAMING / MOBILITY

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RESEARCHPARTNER

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AD_DCCMEA_207x270-Reseller World.indd 1 03/03/11 13:02

He points out that enterprises lack

an all-embracing solution for the plethora

of mobile OSs that can both keep enterprise

data safe and allow use of personal devices.

This, says Teksoz has caused enterprises to

either disallow access for personal devices

or to allow access, which puts corporate

data at risk. “Mobile devices should be

equipped with features such as Advanced

Theft Protection (ATP), a system platform that

is resistant to deep-level hacking and the

optional embedded Trusted Platform Module

(TPM) help ensure that even if the slate is

lost or stolen, the data it carries remains

protected,” says Teksoz.

MarKeT driverSTeksoz says it has been predicted that half a

billion smartphones will be sold globally by the

end of 2011, with almost 50% of those buying a

new mobile phone now choosing a smartphone

over a standard cell phone. He adds that the

key driving factor here is convenience. “Merging

work and play, handhelds and smartphones

are becoming increasingly accessible and

affordable,” he says. “Downloading many

control; they are being pushed to such

devices,” he says. “Now, corporate sectors

will have to protect, manage, and police

people and information, regardless of device

and regardless of location. In order to protect

personal or business-critical information,

endpoint security, network access control,

and centralised management solutions need

to be in place.”

Ashish Panjabi, COO at power retailer

Jacky's Electronics concurs and says there's

been so much going on in the world of

technology of late and so many innovations

appearing constantly, it sometimes gets

difficult to actually understand what is

the way forward. “We get so engrossed

everything gadget related, we tend to spot or

realise trends of where we're heading only

when we take a deep breath, step back and

slow ourselves down so we can comprehend

what exactly is happening,” he says.

Panjabi says whether it's a mobile phone,

smart phone or a phone that's one day

embedded under your skin, one thing is for

sure, the processor in here is probably what

is going to drive a lot of what a user does or

how a user works.

“In some senses we've already seen

this happen with the way we use our

BlackBerry, Apple iPhone or Android-powered

smartphone,” he says. “We use the phone to

check our messages on Facebook or Twitter,

SMS, chatting over BBM or What'sApp,

browse the Web, play games, check stock

market updates or weather forecast, get

restaurant reviews or even, make phone calls.

However, inspite of using a mobile phone,

we still end up using during the course of a

normal day, other devices like a computer

of some sort, a TV screen and increasingly a

tablet. Panjabi says in essence, most

people are moving towards towards

>

>

featureHandhelds

“Mobile or handheld security is definitely gaining momentum in the corporate space because cios are increasingly cautious about personal devices gaining access to networks.” – Chandan Mehta, Fujitsu

“with the traditional business network now as big as the global network, cloud computing presents an opportunity to deliver on customer expectations.” – Bulent Teksoz, Symantec Middle East

useful apps as well as allowing the user to

browse the Internet and check and reply

to emails quickly and sufficiently is a very

attractive trait for all consumers.”

With the traditional business network

now as big as the global network, cloud

computing presents an opportunity to deliver

on customer expectations, he says. “Key

information and applications no longer sit

inside businesses data centres under their

Learn more about DCC MEA atwww.dcc-mea.com

14 Countries

63Vendors

17th - 19th MAY 2011Fujairah, UAE

165Retail Executives

1,000+ One-on-One Meetings

Vendors at the ‘sold out’ 2010 exhibition included:

Top retailers attending in 2010 included:

COMPUTING / ELECTRONICS / IMAGING / GAMING / MOBILITY

...165 Retailers in total

T: + 971 4 391 35 26E: [email protected]

RESEARCHPARTNER

...63 Vendors in total

AD_DCCMEA_207x270-Reseller World.indd 1 03/03/11 13:02



www.gitex.com/businessbenefits

“we get so engrossed everything gadget related we tend to spot or realise trends of where we're heading only when we take a deep breath, step back and slow ourselves down so we can comprehend what exactly is happening.” – Ashish Panjabi, Jacky’s Electronics

featureHandhelds

> the stage that they've got four

screens in front of them at most times and

more often than not, they're using more than

one screen at at time (e.g. watching TV and

playing a game on your tablet).

FocuSApart from slate and tablet PCs, Mehta

says Fujitsu’s focus in the Middle East will

continue with the Lifebook offerings, as well

as the efficient, scalable, and secure storage

and server technologies. “Fujitsu mobile

solutions include slate PCs such as Fujitsu’s

new Stylistic Q550, which is a full-fledged

machine that has the portability of a tablet,

yet offers more functionality.

Teksoz adds that Symantec provides

complete protection for mobile devices,

regardless of the number of devices, as the

solutions can scale from just one to millions,

meeting the demands of enterprises and

communication service providers. He says

Symantec also provides the first unified

security and management solution, supporting

the most popular mobile operating platforms

such as iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry, and

Android with centralised management to

ensure business resources are optimised and

information stays protected.

SecuriTyTeksoz says Symantec protection mechanisms

leverage the Symantec Global Intelligence

Network to deliver an unparalleled view of

the entire Internet threat landscape. This

intelligence results in actionable protection

and peace of mind against evolving attacks,

says Teksoz

Additionally, he explains that Symantec can

aid in improving enterprise customers’ user

experience, while providing stronger network

security through the new cloud-based device-

agnostic Symantec Next Generation Network

Protection. “Communication service providers

have little security differentiation in their

enterprise mobile connectivity offerings, which

causes a decreased average revenue per user,

while network infrastructure costs continue to

rise,” he says.

Security is important to communication

service providers as it can improve quality

of experience and reduce cost of operations.

According to Teksoz, the next generation

network protection is a device-agnostic

security offering for communication service

providers that helps enterprise customers

protect their mobile devices through content

control, device security, and clean connectivity.

Content control enforces Web content

policies for all mobile handsets as well as

mobile data cards. “Device security provides

malware protection, antispyware protection,

infected notification, and remediation tools.

Clean connectivity scans on all inbound and

outbound traffic, which provides a malware-,

spam-, and virus-free connection,” he says.

As the economy and market situation

continues to put continuous pressure on

lowering margins which is an obstacle to

growth, partners that will win in the handheld

devices market will be those that offer services

and bring value to the devices they sell.

Wang agrees and adds that from ultra

low cost single chips and 3G to smart phone

solutions, MediaTek is striving to provide

channel partners with solutions characterised

by high performance and differentiation,

through a rich product line. He adds that

MediaTek’s diverse product offerings can

better serve the multi-cultural society in the

Middle East and African market. “We have

recently introduced the MT6236 platform, to

address the accelerating demand for high-end

feature phones, at price points that meet the

needs of operators in developed markets and

consumers in emerging markets,” he says.

Wangs adds that the launch of the iPhone

has changed the handset user experience as

well as expectations and set a new standard

for a series of handsets features including user

interface, speed of connectivity and application

variety. “Smartphones will drive the launch

of new application and device sales for the

foreseeable future,” he says. According to ABI

research, feature phones with messaging and

internet access enabled will represent a third of

the overall handset market until 2015.

Wang says with over six years of experience

in the handset industry, MediaTek knows that

users in emerging markets want feature phones

with certain functions at an affordable price.

We are confident to deliver handset solutions

with a similar user experience, which can

deliver fancy user interface, Internet access,

rich applications without compromising speech

quality. And most importantly, we will deliver

these handset solutions at an affordable price,”

he concludes.


AWARDS2011

For more information please visit:www.resellerme.com/awards2011

Presents

For nomination enquiries please contact:

Richard JuddTel: +971 55 772 1519

Email: [email protected]

For sponsorship opportunities please contact:

Rajashree R KumarTel: +971 50 173 9987


Dave ReederTel: +971 50 450 6745


Merle CarrascoTel: +971 50 922 5866


SUBMIT YOUR NOMINATIONS NOW

Sunday, 12th June 2011The Westin, Dubai, UAE

Platinum Partner

Survey PartnerSilver Partners

Innovation Perfection Quality

Gold Partners

wd expands external hard drive

ZoTac intros GeForce GTX 580

hP integrates 3Par utility storage Western Digital (WD), a global provider of external storage

solutions,has unveiled its My Book Studio Edition II dual-drive

storage system with a massive 6TB of storage to meet the capacity

needs of creative pros and Mac enthusiasts who create, store,

edit and archive large HD video and photo files. The new capacity

provides users 33% more storage than the previous capacity, while

maintaining the same footprint.

Combining its extended 6TB storage capacity and compatibility

with Apple Time Machine, the new My Book Studio

Edition II drive becomes an instant storage

solution for a variety of professions including

art and design, photography, legal and

medical, and a host of other small businesses.

The system offers a quad interface

providing maximum performance and

flexibility including eSATA and FireWire 800

when maximum performance is essential;

and FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 when system

flexibility is most important.

ZOTAC International, a manufacturer of

graphics cards has introduced the ZOTAC

GeForce GTX 580 AMP edition,a single GPU

graphics card. The ZOTAC GeForceGTX 580

edition is designed to amplify cooling

performance and gaming at extreme

high-definition resolutions.

A custom high-performance heat-

pipe heatsink enables the ZOTAC GeForceGTX

580 to stay cool and whisper-quiet while dual

orange 92mm fans add a stylish ZOTACtouch to create

an enthusiast-grade graphics card that combines performance and

style in a single 2.5-slot graphics card.

The ZOTAC GeForceGTX 580 boosts gaming performance by

doubling the video memory of standard ZOTACGeForceGTX 580

graphics card for a total of 3GB of video memory. The 3GB of video

memory ensures the ZOTAC GeForceGTX 580 is able to render the

latest Microsoft DirectX 11-enabled games and applications with

maximum details and performance at resolutions up to 2560x1600.

HP has announced the integration of 3PAr Utility Storage across

the HP Converged Infrastructure portfolio to simplify scalable cloud

computing, and introduced new storage solutions for virtualisation

and data deduplication.

This integration enables clients to optimise cloud delivery with

features like automated storage tiering to improve performance,

and thin storage offerings to eliminate over-provisioning.

The combination also helps clients seeking to consolidate storage

hardware and respond to explosive data growth to address both of

these challenges with converged block-and-file storage on a single

storage array. HP also has simplified data management with solutions

built on converged storage, server and networking platforms to provide

clients with unified management and a lower TCO.

“Our clients tell us their journey to the cloud will be one of the

most critical transitions for them this decade,” says Walid Gomaa,

StorageWorks business unit manager and sales manager at HP

Middle East.

aSuS releases automobili lamborghini vX7 notebookThe powerful new 15.6” ASUS-Automobili Lamborghini VX7 offers

a completely revamped notebook experience. It embodies the

excitement of Automobili Lamborghini’s supercar grand touring

traditions and offers users a fresh take on portable computing.

Crafted to reflect the ultra-sporty and aggressive look of Automobili

Lamborghini models, the VX7 is available in distinct orange, black

and carbon fiber colors.

The ASUS-Automobili Lamborghini VX7 features the power

of quad-core generation Intel Core i7

processors and clocks in as the first

notebook with discrete NVIDIA GeForce

GTX 460M graphics, supported by

a massive 3GB of dedicated video

memory. Users also benefit

from a speedy solid-state

hybrid drive of up to 1.25TB in

capacity, rated at approximately

10,000rpm for super-fast access

and performance.


WORLD

PRODUCTS

axis intros network cameras

Toshiba extends notebook portfolio

Xerox increases printer speed

canon unveils the iXuS 220 hS

Axis Communications, a provider of network video solutions

has launched the palm-sized AXIS M31-VE network camera

series that enables discreet surveillance for customers at an

affordable price.

“The AXIS M31-VE series is ideal for cost-conscious

business owners and managers who would like to have high-

quality discreet surveillance of entrance areas,” says Baraa Al

Akkad, regional manager, Axis Communications Middle East.

The outdoor cameras can operate in temperatures from

50°C (122°F) down to -20°C (-4°F) and the impact-resistant

casing comes with a weather shield for protection from

sunlight, rain and snow. Models without the weather shield,

which have a greater tilt

range, are better

suited for ceiling

mounted

installations

such as in cold

storage rooms or

under porches.

Toshiba Computer Systems,

a division of

Toshiba Europe

has announced its new

r800 series, a range of thin and light

laptops targeted at the corporate, middle-sized and SMBs. The

new laptop family includes the 13.3 inch r830, mainly targeted at

business travellers and managers, 14.0 inch r840, the ideal device

for the occasional travelling executives and the 15.6 inch r850 for

those who prefer a bigger screen. Despite being thin and light,

the r800 series devices are fully-featured and powerful enough to

run the most-demanding professional applications. The attractive

price performance ratio allows equipping the entire workforce

from management down with Toshiba r800 series devices to meet

the need for workforce mobilisation. The new business laptops

are expected to be available during the second quarter of 2011

throughout Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Xerox has ramped up productivity in the

office with two new black-and-white

printers – the Xerox Phaser 4600

and Phaser 4620. Designed for large

workgroups, these new printers offer

advanced features and print speeds of

up to 52 and 62 pages per minute.

“In today’s fast-paced office

environment, no one has time to wait for

their documents to print,” says Dan Smith,

head of integrated marketing for the Middle East and Africa region of

Xerox’s developing markets operations. “These two new Xerox printers

are ready to keep up with any busy office or workgroup.”

The Xerox Phaser 4600 and Phaser 4620 offer printing capabilities

on a wide range of media, from transparencies and cardstock to

envelopes and labels.

Security features include secure print and image overwrite that

electronically “shreds” information stored on the printer’s optional

hard drive.

Canon Middle East has enhanced its renowned IXUS series with

the launch of the IXUS 220 HS, a strikingly elegant compact

digital camera that blends classic IXUS design with leading

performance. Sleek, slim and undeniably stylish, the new model

is the latest in a line of premium, ultra-slim IXUS models, and

balances greater style with a more advanced specification than

ever before.

Canon’s HS digital camera provides

consistently high image quality in all

conditions, while the inclusion of a 12.1

Megapixel CMOS sensor provides high-

speed shooting functionality. Perfect for

taking everywhere, the IXUS 220 HS also

packs a 24mm ultra-wide angle 5x optical

zoom lens into a sleek, stainless steel

body just 19.5mm thin, making it the

slimmest camera of its kind. The ability

to shoot Full HD (1080p) videos with

stereo sound also allows users to capture

moving images in stunning quality.

WORLD

PRODUCTS

liteon external dvd/cd writer

liteon internal dvd writer with labelTag

For many netbook users, the lack of a CD/DVD drive is one of the biggest

setbacks they have to encounter regularly. Whether it’s for listening to music

or installing software, a CD/DVD drive plays an important role. If you have

a PC with a DVD drive at home, you can map to that drive using your home

network, but what if you’re not at home? Thankfully, external USB-powered

drives are available and recently LiteOn provided us with the 24x external

DVD/CD writer.

This DVD writer jointly made with Philips and weighs less than 350g. It

works with dual layer DVDs, writing at 4x speed, single layer at 8x and CDs at

24x. CD reading is at 24x.

The writer comes with a USB cable and a plastic bag containing a quick

installation guide and a software disk. In addition, the disk contains Nero 8

Essentials for Windows and Nero Linux 3 Essentials.

Some other features that the Lite-On external writer has, which makes this

product attractive, are the ability to perform limited dual layer DVD burning,

read various types of CDs and interface with the USB 2.0 port.

The slowest part of this DVD burner pertains to rewriting to a CD or

burning a DVD using the DVD-r Dual Layer format. This burner only allows

you to burn this type of disk at 4x instead of 8x. Every other type of media that

you might be interested in using with this burner will perform much faster.

By and large, the LiteOn external DVD burner performs most of the

functions that you would be looking for in a DVD burner.

LiteOn recently sent rME their latest internal DVD/CD writer. Although

there is nothing jazzy about DVD burners, this one has a unique twist,

LabelTag. LabelTag works with any standard optical storage disc to burn

data and create a label in the same session – quite cool and much neater

than a marker.

This drive also has the ability to label discs during the burning process.

Many drives feature LightScribe, which allows for direct disc labeling by

the drive itself when using specially made LightScribe media. The LiteOn

writer uses a technology called LabelTag.

This allows users to create a circular label on the data side of a regular

DVD disc, with no special media required. However, with LabelTag, only

the data side of the disc can be labeled and you can't use CD-r, CD or DVD

rewriteable discs. And because LabelTag uses the data side of the disc, the

labeling doesn't have as much contrast compared to a LightScribe capable

disc, mainly because LightScribe media uses a special coating on the front

of the disc. Another limitation of LabelTag is that area available to label is

limited to how much space is left on the disc. For instance, if you record a

small amount of data, then you will have a larger area to label. If your disc

is completely full, then you will not be able to label at all. With LightScribe

capable drives, this is not a problem, since only the top side is used for

labeling, but of course specialised media is required.

This LiteOn internal drive is a capable DVD/CD writer. From a read/

write standpoint, this drive offers good performance. The LabelTag

feature is unique, allowing for creating, burning and labeling of standard

DVD disc in one continuous session without having to spend extra money

on special media.


WORLD

REVIEWS

snapshot Chitchat

COMPANY: Iomega International SA

AGE: 45

MANAGEMENT STYLE: Leading by example

MOST ADMIRED COMPANY: EMC

MOST ADMIRED IT EXECUTIVE: Mohammed Amin

WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT THE MIDDLE EAST CHANNEL: Market dynamism and the ease of doing business.

MOST PRESSING CHANNEL BUSINESS ISSUE IN THE

MIDDLE EAST: Receivable and employee education investment.

KEY TO SUCCESS: Focus, having clear goals and objectives

FAVOURITE CAR: Porsche GT3

YOUR CAR: Lexus

WHAT ARE YOU READING: Generally I read two books a month (last book was the Big Switch)

BIRTHPLACE: Syria

HOBBIES: Reading

SAMER SAYED

0

5

25

75

95

100

ASBIS_ME_207x270

10�� 2011�� 9�52�50

www.asbis.ae

Reseller Middle East

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