Intelligent Tech Channels Issue 28 | Page 60

We believe in focus and quality. I like to invest in A+ players and empower them to play their parts. Do you work differently with channel partners in the Middle East compared to Africa? Each region is different in certain ways – but overall our strategy in both the Middle East and Africa is to work with some key channel partners who understand the local market and are good at bringing differentiated emerging technologies into the region. How do your partners deliver your solutions to end-users? Komprise is a 100% software solution that runs in a virtual environment. Most of our partners sell Komprise as part of an overall data management solution that also includes secondary storage and Flash. How do you ensure channel partners flourish in a highly competitive market? Channel partners need to differentiate their offerings and add value for customers rather than just selling off-the-shelf solutions – one way to do this is by bringing strong emerging technologies to the customer. For instance, a key challenge for businesses today is the explosive growth of unstructured data. Komprise channel partners help customers address this pain point by first giving the customer visibility into why and how their data is growing, helping them plan a modern storage and data protection strategy that cuts 70%+ costs while providing better outcomes, and then helping them implement this strategy. 60 What are the latest trends you see emerging across the channel? As customers are grappling with the cloud, channel partners are trying to figure out their own cloud strategy and how they can be relevant in a hybrid cloud transformation. Which regions do you see offering the most opportunities for your company? Komprise is growing rapidly in both North America and EMEA. We expect our EMEA business to more than double this year as customers are grappling with the massive growth of data, coupled with new regulations like GDPR that create new data privacy and retention requirements, and the need to do more with less. ˜ Our strategy in both the Middle East and Africa is to work with some key channel partners who understand the local market and are good at bringing differentiated emerging technologies into the region.