PARTNERS ’ PERSPECTIVE
From an IT perspective , in most cases , SMB customers do not fully understand technology , but they do recognise the need for solutions and services . As it is a known fact , there is no one solution which fits all , hence resellers must be providing high quality , managed services , which includes an array of solutions that will drive down the total cost of ownership ( TCO ) and maximise the profit for their SMB customer .
That said , the SMB market is one of the strongest segments in the Middle East . The SMB is by far the strongest performing sector for many networking vendors and IT security firms and for this reason , it is important that the vendors have a partner programme dedicated to this market segment .
Having a partner programme will not only arm channel partners with the relevant solutions and training needed to increase profitability but will ensure that they serve their SoHo and SMB customers with confidence and competently .
Guiding customers to look at the OPEX model rather than CAPEX is one sure way of encouraging SoHo and SMB customers to spend on the latest technologies .
Given that the channel is the lifeblood that many vendors and distributors rely on to grow their businesses , to be successful in an increasingly competitive IT landscape , vendors and distributors should work to purposefully identify Value Add partners , provide necessary training for them to succeed and develop clearly defined goals that align with the vendor ’ s or distributor ’ s overall mission .
As the cloud has taken off with varying degrees of understanding of the what cloud really offers , most SoHo and SMB customers are looking for Infrastructure-as-a-Service ( IaaS ), Software-as-a-Service ( SaaS ), managed security services and Unified Communications-as-a-Service ( UCaaS ). To be able to use any of these services , SMB customers need to have a robust and secure network that enables their business to
In the Middle East , the SMB market is the most focused sector by all vendors and IT distributors as it plays a key role across all technology spheres .
access these services and I believe that ’ s where resellers come in .
There is no doubt in my mind that cost is a huge hindrance when selling to the SoHo and SMB market . I believe resellers can get around this by guiding their customers to embrace OPEX models that favour offerings that are supplied through cloud services , managed services or outsourcing , with customers only paying for what they use . This will help SoHo and SMB customers to save upfront costs of purchasing IT hardware and having huge in-house IT support teams .
The adoption of affordable technology is a key challenge for most resellers serving the SMB base . Many SMBs go for home products which are not secured or recommended for office network infrastructure . Convincing them on the basis of cost is a big challenge .
With SoHo and SMB customers looking for technologies that make their employees no longer be bound to their desks , the onus is on resellers to help their customers embrace latest networking , security , business apps and cloud-based offerings .
In the GCC market for example , there is currently big demand for networking solutions . With the hunger for fast and secured network and everything becoming digital , I see a lot of potential business in the SMB sector as most are using technology which needs to be refreshed with the latest offerings .
Add to that , the explosion in mobility and cloud computing is impacting enterprises of all sizes , including SMBs . And these changes are necessitating that SMBs refresh their network and IT infrastructure for Digital Transformation .
Looking ahead , I truly believe that the future of technologies targeted at the SoHo and SMB market is bright in the Middle East . In 2020 , despite a tough and challenging business climate , most resellers remained optimistic that a turn around is about to start , and I have no doubt it will start in the SMB segment . That ’ s where the competitive edge is . •
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS Issue 37
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