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Contents
Dear reader, Congratulations to the winners of the 8th VAR COC Awards. I am quite pleased to present this special annual edition of the COC winners. The issue includes a compilation of conversations with spokespeople of some of the winners and there are snapshots of other winners. The event held at the iconic Meydan Hotel on the 27th of March was a gala affair. As with our past celebrations, this one was well attended by many senior industry people. We are happy to have hosted them and to have had the opportunity to salute the winners. The awards were contested in 35 Categories. The awards were given away to winning brands and companies that came out on top in our exhaustive survey that used a mix of three methods to make it as comprehensive. We had online surveys done on www.varonline. com for over a month’s duration and offline surveys that were executed by our delegated staff who made field visits to the reseller market. In addition, our tele-calling team executed the survey with a select database as well to buttress the survey. We are happy to note that the VAR COC awards are more recognized than ever before and have come a long way since they were first launched in 2006 as the Industry’s first ever recognition awards. They have always reflected the views of the channel and recognize Brands, products & individuals who showed leadership, consistency & achieved growth over the past year.
Vivek Sharma Founder & CEO VAR MEA Magazine Publisher: Vivek Sharma Managing Editor: R. Narayan Assistant Editor: David Ndichu Art Director: Faiz Ahmed
Overview Pg 4 Toshiba’s Partnership for growth Pg 7 Samsung productivity solutions with the NotePro
Pg 11
XTOUCH driven to succeed
Pg 15
D-Link forges forward linkages
Pg 20
Touchmate are masters of their own destiny
Pg 22
It’s all systems go at APC
Pg 26
ASBIS has all the bases covered Pg 29 Connecting the dots the Trigon’s way
Pg 31
Global Distribution’s formula for success
Pg 34
MES in worthwhile pursuits
Pg 38
Scantrans networking specialization
Pg 40
Arcad’s strategic vision
Pg 41
Sales Director: Alishan Zaidi Sr. Sales Manager: R. Subramanyan Business Development Manager: Mallika Rego Sales Coordinator: Smitha Jithesh
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P.O. Box: 121075, Montana Building 404, Zabeel Road, Near GPO, Karama, Dubai-UAE Tel: 04-3705022 Fax: 04-3706639 Disclaimer: While the publishers have made every attempt possible to get accurate information on published content in this handbook they cannot be held liable for any errors herein.
COC Awards Ceremony | Round-up 5
VAR honours channel’s best at 2014 COC Awards With the Meydan track as an apt backdrop, the top names in the MEA IT industry, as voted by the channel, were awarded by VAR at a glittering ceremony in Dubai. The 8th VAR COC (Choice of Channel) Awards were announced and presented at the Meydan Hotel on the 27th March 2014. Building on the success of the previous editions, the 2014 edition of the COC Awards, brought together a large number of C-Level executives within the UAE Vendor, Distributor and Reseller community. Commenting on another successful awards showing, Vivek Sharma, VAR founder
and CEO said, “When we began with the Awards eight years ago, we could not have anticipated the growth we have witnessed year on year. The MEA channel, through their enthusiastic voting, has yet again helped choose this edition’s deserving winners.” The voting process for the 2014 Awards was a three-pronged affair, with in-person surveys complementing offline and online voting as on www. varonline.com over the
COC Awards Ceremony | Round-up 6
Category Winner past couple of months. The shortlist of nominees was mostly drawn on the basis of historical data available with VAR from past surveys with new names included based on available market intelligence. The final winners list was drawn on the basis of maximum votes tallied. There were some new categories added this year with a few replaced. As the industry continues to change and evolve, it was necessary to bring recognition to more categories that are today more relevant to the IT channel Business. As in years past, some Editor’s choice categories were included as well with winners decided on the basis of consensus from VAR Editorial team of applauding the most deserving names in these categories. There were a record number of participants in the selection process with over a thousand people voting for their preferred Brands and companies. There were familiar names in this year’s final list from previous years while a few new brands made their debut. This is proof of the dynamism inherent within the IT market in the region and that the COC Awards fairly reflect the channel’s perception.
Networking Brand of the Year
D-Link
Security Software Brand of the Year
Kaspersky Lab.
Printer Brand of the Year
HP
Display Brand of the Year
Samsung.
Business Laptop Brand of the Year
Dell
Consumer Laptop Brand of the Year
Lenovo
Tablet Brand of the Year
Samsung
Power Solutions Brand of the Year
APC by Schneider Electric
Projector Brand of the year
Epson
Storage Hardware Brand of the Year
Seagate.
External Storage Brand of the Year
WD
Flash Storage Brand of the year
SanDisk
Accessories Brand of the Year
Logitech
Emerging Brand of the Year
Xtouch
Best Channel Initiatives of the Year
Toshiba
Best Channel Training Initiatives of the Year
Norton by Symantec
Product of the Year
Archer C7 from TP-LINK
Networking Distributor of the Year
MES Technologies
Components Distributor of the Year
Asbis Middle East
Retail Distributor of the Year
Trigon
Best After-Sales
Metra Computers
Mobility Distributor of the Year
BDL Gulf
Emerging Distributor of the Year
Global Distribution
Champion Distributor
Redington Gulf
Networking Reseller of the Year
Scantrans
Mobility Reseller of the Year
Computer Depot
Peripherals Reseller of the Year
Blue Bell Computers
Security Reseller of the Year
Arcad World Computer systems LLC
Champion Reseller of the Year
Computer care
ICT Accessories Retailer of the Year
Carrefour
ICT Retailer with Best Trained Staff
Emax
Champion ICT Power Retailer of the Year
Sharaf DG
Regional Brand of the Year
Touchmate
Best Value for Money Tablet by a Regional Brand Quantum Q- Wave A101 from BDL Outstanding Entrepreneurship
Khalaf bin Saif Al Otaiba CEO of the Al Otaiba Group of Companies
Best Channel Initiatives of the Year | Toshiba 7
Toshiba has been a mainstay of the Middle East channel for decades now and one of the most respectable names in it thanks to the continued evolvement of the channel programme. Santosh Varghese, General Manager of Digital Products and Services, Toshiba Gulf FZE discusses the latest updates in the programme Briefly discuss your channel partnership programme Our strategy is based on the Toshiba Profit for Performance (P4P) programme. The P4P has been positively welcomed and has been recognised to be the only program with the most consistent and immediately rewarding system. The number of partners signing up with Toshiba has been ever increasing since the program’s implementation. Please discuss details of the P4P Programme P4P’s success is collectively seen based on the following: • Toshiba has one of the
Partnership for Growth freshest channel inventories amongst all brands. 95% of the stock seen in the market is from the current product line-up. • The Days of Inventory (DOI) is less than 35 days. The channel partner gets extremely healthy returns while investing with Toshiba. • Finally, the number of partners dealing with grey market products has been significantly lowered, thereby reducing the impact of the
grey market on Toshiba. Toshiba has a defined structure that supports channel segment by providing a dedicated team to ensure efficient business growth, enhanced channel and marketing development. This has allowed for swift and effective responses to challenges faced by Toshiba’s partners, timely feedback in relation to product requirements, and ultimately better proposition
Best Channel Initiatives of the Year | Toshiba 8 development to support the sales and marketing activities conducted within each channel segment. Touch on some rebates/ promotions that you offer to distributors and finally to resellers/retailers Toshiba has a comprehensive programme of support for distributors, resellers and retailers. In particular we focus on the P4P engagement along with more tactical support for sell out. This includes various sales support initiatives and cooperation for joint marketing campaigns. The Windows 8 launch was followed some complaints about the OS. How did Toshiba handle this? Following the Windows 8 launch there was a number of issues concerning consumer unfamiliarity and expectations with the new operating system. Microsoft dealt with these issues directly as opposed to the channel. Toshiba have offered Win7 on its B2B range of notebooks ensuring the consumer has a choice of OS. Are there gaps still in the Middle East and African ICT markets that Toshiba can still fill? Africa has a huge potential for Toshiba, in particularly
the West, Central and SADC regions, which have increasing levels of consumer purchasing power, GDP and positive economic growth. An emerging middle class has seen an increase in the number of first time users for PC and Toshiba is at the forefront of these markets with its product portfolio. The Middle East continues to grow from strength to strength, a steadily maturing market which again offers real growth potential for Toshiba
and channel partners with new trends like mobility, cloud and big data As IT trends evolve over the next 5 years, hardware is likely to be seen more and more as a vehicle for service provision and mobile solutions. Toshiba has invested heavily in Cloud, Big Data and an increasing mobile product range to ensure we meet the demands of the market and our loyal customers. These changes will represent a huge challenge for venders
"Toshiba has a comprehensive programme of support for distributors, resellers and retailers particular focusing on the P4P strategy."
Where will growth come from for Toshiba in the coming year(s) Over the coming years Notebook and PC demand is expected to remain stable in many more mature markets with real growth expected in Africa which has tremendous opportunity and a double digit growth potential. Our H/W proposition is also a key area for growth in the future Discuss challenges and opportunities for Toshiba
not prepared for this paradigm shift in consumer behaviour and innovation. Are there new emergent segments as the internet of everything takes shape? IOT will be the next emerging segment with about 30 billion gadgets to be connected within 2020. However just selling the device alone will add no value for the vendor or channel. I.O.T devices with add on services and solutions will dominate the sector.
VAR COC Awards 2014 10
Security Software Brand of the Year
Strengthening its lead over the past couple of years in the market, Kaspersky emerged as a clear winner with a growing presence in channel, retail with consumer and Business products
Business Laptop Brand of the Year
It is likely there will always be a market for laptops in the Business segment for the foreseeable future, despite the growing popularity of tablets, benefiting companies like the winner of this Award, Dell.
Printer Brand of the Year
The printer Market continues to be steady and with refresh cycles of purchases as well as first time buyers in home and SOHO to corporate segments keeping the demand strong, more so for HP
Projector Brand of the year
The Projector Business is one of the more dynamic today with new innovations such as short throw, 3-D interactive etc with Award winner Epson recognized for its wide range of products in the segment.
Tablet Brand of the Year | Samsung 11
Tablet demonstrates Samsung’s strong legacy with innovative media consumption and productivity capabilities as part of the wildly popular Galaxy series in the Middle East
Samsung delivers on business mobility with the NotePRO Samsung Electronics recently launched the Samsung Galaxy NotePRO (12.2). Equipped with innovative technology, Samsung’s latest tablet is a powerful device, with features that pushes new boundaries in tablet performance. With a cuttingedge display, the device has been designed with a
sleek, light, slim frame that is both premium and highly portable. “The Galaxy Note PRO (12.2) is especially designed to offer best-in-class content consumption and productivity, as well as a stunning viewing experience by presenting the world’s first 12.2-inch WQXGA
Widescreen display”, Denzil D'Souza, Head - Business Planning Division, Mobility Group, Samsung Gulf Electronics commented: “The Samsung Galaxy Note PRO(12.2) truly demonstrates our commitment to providing our customers with exceptional product offerings, which meet the
Tablet Brand of the Year | Samsung 13
preferences of every single user in this region.� With the world’s first 12.2-inchWQXGA Widescreen (16:10) display, the Galaxy NotePRO (12.2) offers crystal clear resolution (2560x1600) with more than four million pixels, making it the ideal platform for every type of content creation and consumption. The larger viewing area allows users to enjoy stunning Full HD video play and view even more information at a glance. Adding to these benefits is the personalized Content Home feature, designed specifically with the large screen in mind. You can customize the Galaxy tablet experience by organizing your favourite content in an easy-to-use dashboard with automatic feeds and news updates. By utilizing a screen size that is more comparable to traditional magazine-sized material, content is easier to read in its original format when reading digital magazines or
e-books. The Samsung Galaxy NotePRO (12.2) comes equipped with a variety of productivity tools to help users to manage both their personal and professional lives. For the professional, the Galaxy NotePRO (12.2) comes pre-loaded with Cisco WebEx Meetings platform, a leading web-conferencing solution that provides users with an easy way to meet with anyone, anywhere. And now for the first time on Android tablets, users can share anything on their screen as well as starting a WebEx meeting from the contact list. Samsung e-Meeting provides collaboration capabilities by giving users the ability to share content during a meeting without having to access a central server or network. Individuals endlessly juggling tasks between work
and home will also benefit from Multi Window, which enables users to split the screen up into four different windows, as well as a Virtual Keyboard which provides ample space to type comfortably. With the Remote PC feature, users can access their home or office PC directly through the Galaxy NotePRO (12.2) to seamlessly edit and save files remotely, ensuring connectivity 24/7. Accessories include the Samsung S Pen, to deliver a more, productive tablet experience with access to features such as Action Memo, Scrapbook, Screen Write and S Finder. In addition, Pen Window enables users to simply draw a window of any size on the screen, and instantly access unique in-application features such as YouTube or a calculator. For additional value and productivity right out of the box, the Samsung Galaxy NotePRO (12.2) will feature up to
Tablet Brand of the Year | Samsung 14
approximately$700 worth of the premium pre-paid, long-term subscription offers from best-selling news, social media and cloud storage providers, including: Bitcasa, Bloomberg Businessweek+, Blurb, Dropbox, Easilydo Pro for Tablet, Evernote,
Hancom Office for Android, LinkedIn, NY Times, Oxford Advanced Learner’s A-Z, and Sketchbook Pro. Designed to extend productivity even further, the following optional accessories are also available for purchase with the Galaxy NotePRO
(12.2): Various Book Covers, USB LAN HUB, Universal BT Keyboard and S Action Mouse. The Galaxy NotePRO supports the ultra-fast LTE. It comes with an included S Pen out of the box and is available in all major retail stores for AED 3, 399.
Key Specs: Network
LTE : 800/900/1800/2600+850/2100 3G : HSPA+ 21 850/900/1900/2100
Processor
WiFi and 3G: Exynos 5 Octa (1.9 GHz QuadCore + 1.3 GHz Quadcore) LTE : Snapdragon 800 2.3GHz Quad
Display
12.2-inch WQXGA (2560 X 1600) Super clear LCD
OS
Android 4.4 (KitKat)
Camera / Flash
- Main(Rear): 8 Megapixel, Auto Focus Camera with LED Flash, Zero Shutter lag - Sub(Front): 2 Megapixel
Video
- 1080p Full HD video @ 60fps
S Pen Optimized Features
S Pen Experience - S Note(Easy Chart), S Planner - Air Command: Action Memo, Scrapbook, Screen Write, S Finder, Pen Window - Direct Pen Input
Connectivity
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac MIMO (2.4 & 5 GHz), Wi-Fi Direct, AllShareCast, BT4.0, USB3.0
Memory
3GB RAM, 32/64GB Internal Memory microSD (Up to 64GB)
Dimension / Weight
295.6 x 204 x 7.95mm 750g (WiFi version), 753g (3G/LTE version)
Battery
9,500mAh
Emerging Brand of the Year | XTouch 15
With a growing number of customers in the Middle East and Africa, XTOUCH can imagine a future of promise with customers from Abu Dhabi to Abuja proudly clutching their X-devices. XTOUCH Marketing Director for MEA Soultim Chen discusses how this vision should unfold
Driven to Succeed Discuss how XTOUCH is pushing the boundaries for the Middle East Smartphone and Tablet market We at XTOUCH are redefining the smartphone and tablet market from different dimensions. The first key point is innovation, every 3-4 months we have new products series launch in the market for Middle East X-fans/customers. Second is our suitable pricing structure. We aim to offer the best product
to all of our customers, and so for each XTOUCH product, we are keen to find the best affordable price for each X-fan based on market demand. Also, our marketing strategy is the third important factor we are targeting the smartphone and tablet market. We carry out a lot of advertisements in outdoor, online, in malls, etc., to let our customers feel that XTOUCH is with them all the time- we always try our best to offer positive energy and effect to the daily lives
of X-fans. In addition to the end user, XTOUCH also takes care of the requirements of its distributors and wholesalers by balanced Channel management and partnership. We always share our profits generously with our partners who in turn are able to share their profits to their wholesalers to retailers and finally these benefits will reach the end users. This positive supply and demand cycle ultimately enables value addition at each level.
Emerging Brand of the Year | XTouch 17
What are the trends you are seeing in the regional Smartphone/Tablet market in the first half of 2014? We have witness growth trends continuously during the first five months of 2014. In our opinion, this is a very vital phase in mobility where remaining consumers will shift their allegiance from feature phones to smartphone. This window will last 2-3years, with growth constant within that period. Discuss some of the challenges you have faced since establishing operations in the Middle East and how you are overcoming them? Perhaps the most challenging issue we experienced was uncertainties in the market over price structure, facing competition from mass brand that are already established in the Middle East market, which meant high market competition and pressure. To overcome this challenge, we have emphasised on quality products, driven by constant innovation and technical support from our headquarters, as they approach the upstream of
the supply chain. Another factor of success is the localization of our teamknowing more about market demand, preference and trends help our team a lot to grow together with our partners and offer best products and service to them.
established our after-sales service team in UAE, we have experienced technicians and engineers to operate service practice for end users and service training for our partner/distributor to make sure the quality of after-sales service so that we achieve high customer satisfaction.
What kind of investments are you making in terms of hiring new personnel, new
Discuss the market outlook for XTOUCH in 2014 moving to 2015?
"We have made significant investments on our talent pool and we continue to invest to build up our team, enhance service quality and innovation" stocking points, service centres, etc. We have made significant investments on our XTOUCH talent pool and we will continue to invest more to build up our professional team, enhance our service quality and innovation standards. In addition, we will seek to have more cooperation with financial organizations to get more support for our partners on the financial chain and cash flow. We have already
First, we aim to get well established in the Middle East Market, build a strong sales network so that we can bring high quality products and services to our customers. Meanwhile, in the Africa market, we already have branch set-up in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria, and in the coming year we will speed up business development in those three markets. In the coming year we will also pay attention to markets in North Africa, and Southeast Asia.
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VAR COC Awards 2014 19
Storage Hardware Brand of the Year
The Winner, Seagate is the top manufacturer of storage devices including hard disk drives, Multimedia storage devices, Flash storage devices, NAS Appliances for SMB and SOHO.
Accessories Brand of the Year
The accessories segment has thrived with the boom in the Tablet market with the manufacturer of choice among the channel being Logitech.
External Storage Brand of the Year
The consumer segment continues to clamour for more storage in order to hold content and other forms of social media content and their brand of choice for 2013 was WD.
Best Channel Training Initiatives of the Year
The winner in the category, Norton by Symantec, came on top of a close contest as it was engaged last year in several channel engagements including an enhanced partner portal.
Networking Brand of the Year | D-Link 20
D-Link has been a true pioneer in networking, responsible for some of the most innovative products in the space. Sakkeer Hussain, Sales and Marketing Manager at D-Link discusses how the company seeks to extend this leadership role.
Forward linkages What are some of the Trends in the networking industry in 2014? People are now considering speed more than ever before. Networking speeds have now reached 1900Mbps or AC. As a pioneering networking vendor, we were at the forefront to launch products in AC technology. Since then we have a variety of products in AC technology starting from 750Mbps to 1900Mbps. There’s no limit to how fast we can go and expect speeds to go further. Secondly everyone is now talking about Cloud. There are different levels
of cloud but from D-Link’s angle, we understood the need from the very early stage and we launched cloud platforms taking consumers to different levels of user experience. One of this is personal cloud which simplifies the integration of devices-whether it’s an IP surveillance system, or router or storage, cloud provides the customer with an incredible ease of use with almost zero integration required. Today, our cloud routers or cloud storage or IP cameras are simply Plug & Play. A few years back, buying an IP camera was a nightmare
for a normal customer who have to hire a third party and then integrate all kinds of software. D-Link has taken all this hassle away from the consumer. Today, a consumer just needs to buy a product from the retail store, bring it home, connect it through the router either through Ethernet or wireless and that’s it. Discuss some of these products and services you are offering in the cloud space D-Link has invested significantly on the backend to support all our cloud offerings. We have
21
installed a regional server which cost a lot of money for us but today, we are one of the vendors who can proudly proclaim cloud as the perfect solution for the forward-looking customer. To complement the Cloud, we have a lot of products coming in, one of which is an IP baby camera, very relevant to the modern day parenting, gives users the freedom of moving about and be able to monitor the baby wherever they are. These cameras also boast features such as temperature control, music and even messaging features. In the business side, we have a lot of new products we are bringing in including UC (Unified communication) particularly useful in the education segment. Today a lot of schools have already begun smart learning and D-Link is targeting this segment aggressively with innovative interactive leaning products. How is 802.11AC technology picking up in the region? AC has picked up very fast compared to other protocols before it. All we need now is to create awareness. A
few years back, internet was primarily being used for emails, with requirements only for KB speeds. Then games starting coming into the picture and speeds increased to MBs levels. Today people are streaming movies online with sizes of up to16GBs. So such people need these gigabit speeds. The future for wireless is clearly AC which can easily replace 1GB fixed line, a figure unimaginable just a few years ago. Discuss how D-Link is enabling the next generation of technology consumers in an increasingly connected world We have a wide range of networking products. Previously, networking was associated with technical people. Not the case today. Everyone is associated with technology today at some level. Today, smartphones and tablets that are the devices readily associated with technology. In the near future, with the Internet of Things (IoT), we are going to see everything from doors to white goods at home all connected. So IT will
become more and more relevant in all our lives. At D-Link, we understand this technology and we work to create products according to customer demands which the market will see in a couple of months. Discuss D-Link’s regional roadmap in the coming year In the next year, we are going to see a lot of AC products coming in including baby monitors in different models. Significantly, we will be launching 4G products, being one of the first in the market to introduce a portable mobile 4G router with its own battery. We also have a IP camera in the works that also doubles up as a range extender which provides added advantage for the customer. We already have several prototypes and in the next few months, you will see a lot of 4G/LTE supported products coming into the market that support of 150Mbps download and 50Mbps upload. These are routers that can download a movie in a just a couple of minutes. This is where technology is headed.
Regional Brand of the Year | Touchmate 22
With a catalogue of mobility products and a quarter of a century behind it, Touchmate has proven that a regional brand can take on the international giants and thrive. Vasant Menghani, Founder and CEO of Touchmate shares the story behind this tenacity.
Masters of own destiny As Touchmate celebrates 25 years in business, discuss some highlights in that quarter century We started our business in 1988 by then sourcing from the big IT markets then in Singapore and Taiwan. Our strategy has always to meet market requirements at a particular time. When the market demanded we engage in showroom sales we did; then came wholesale. Later big retailers set up shop in the UAE and we were among the first suppliers at Carrefour because the need was there at that time. After this, I realised the potential
for manufacturing and set up our own factory and today we are a respected vendor. Testament to our credibility as a vendor is that we are in talks with Microsoft where for us to start making Windows 8 smartphones under the Touchmate brand and supply those to the Gulf countries. How does Touchmate leverage its status as a reginally-based company? Although we are based here, Touchmate has today become an international brand with products available in 65 countries. With our roots here, we are able to
understand the local market and local demand in a way that multi-nationals cannot do. Our service centres are also all over the UAE. We had a choice to sell multinational brands but we settled for our own and proud of what we have been able to achieve. And ours is a story of Dubai which has also strived to become a global city. The government has offered us great support in our own quest to put Touchmate on the international digital map. The authorities for instance dropped custom duties from 5% to 1% ensuring that Dubai remains an internationally
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Regional Brand of the Year | Touchmate 24
recognized ICT Hub. Which market is proving the most exciting one for Touchmate mobility products right now? Africa is a very important market for Touchmate with almost 40% of our revenues emanating from the continent. The tablet market, which had not matured yet, is now coming up strongly as prices for these devices lower. This year and 2015 will be very good for Africa. User requirements are picking up all over Africa with smartphones and tablets in increasing demand. We are actually exploring the possibility of open outlets in African countries soon. You have a long-running relationship with Intel extending from your PC business and today, tablets. Discuss Touchmate has been a long-term partner for Intel, a relationship running to 25 years now. Back then Intel had only a small presence here in Dubai, but Touchmate was running an assembly factory in Al Awir and supplying Intel-based PCs to retail chains and the corporate sector. That PC production business is still
going strong as evidenced by a recent order for supplying 500 PCs to DEWA. So PCs have been a mainstay for our business for a very long with Intel supplying us with all their versions of CPUs to us since then This is backed by our ever-increasing consumer focus where we have opened many retail showrooms as well. Retail is also a major source of business for us with lot of marketing activities always going on with
Touchmate will also be launching a new smartphone line, home appliances and solutions. Mobility will always be a growing area; the only things that will change will be clarity, performance and sizes. Discuss some of the key mobility products in your portfolio Some of our key products include our glass-free 3D tablet, which when it came
"We will continue being a very aggressive brand and the new stateof-the- art 85,000SqFt headquarters at DIP is part of this vision." promotions, new product launches at power retailers and supermarket in the region What does the future hold for the brand? Touchmate will continue being a very aggressive brand in the future and the new state-of-the- art 85,000SqFt headquarters at DIP is part of this vision. We are also in the process of recruiting new people who will be looking at different portfolios.
out was a pioneer in the space and whose demand is still high. After that, we launched our 3G tablet, a 7-inch, feature-rich tablet with 3G support. But we have a whole range of tablets and it all depends on how much customers wants to spend. We even customize tablets with local themes and also design corporate tablets as turnkey projects for companies by designing these devices from top to bottom.
Arcad World Computer Systems Nahda Road, Bur Dubai, Dubai, UAE Phone: +97143511250 Fax: +97143511253 Email: firos69@hotmail.com MSN: firos69@hotmail.com
Power Solutions Brand of the Year | APC by Schneider Electric 26
Mention power backup and the name APC by Electric Schneider comes to mind. Thierry Chamayou, Vice President – IT Business, MEA at Schneider Electric discusses how the company is company many of the region’s IT and data centre operations.
All systems go Discuss briefly on your SMB focus in the region for UPS products. APC by Schneider Electric carries a range of Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) in the region for Small and Medium Businesses. APC continues to provide SMB with innovations to address the high demands for maximum uptime in the region. Upcoming enterprises have server rooms which need a solid UPS and power distribution unit (PDU), cooling options, racks, physical security and monitoring, lighting and software management
systems to ensure smooth functioning of their operations. Over the last year, APC has introduced several products to enhance their SMB offerings, such as the ‘Containerised Power and Cooling Facility’ modules, which enable data center power and cooling capacity to be included in 500 kW increments. APC also developed ‘ISX in a Box,’ a preconfigured and pre-tested data centre solution. It features racks, UPS, cooling systems and the StuxureWare management software available in four
sizes to deliver varying IT loads. What are the growth markets for UPS systems in the region considering many countries in the GCC experience fairly reliable power supply? There has been significant uptake of UPS systems in the region since 2011. Although the GCC receives fairly reliable power supply, APC’s UPS systems integrate other vital features for a company’s internal IT ecosystem. UPS offers: • Flexible and space-saving
27 solutions due to their high power density • Energy and cost efficiency within datacenters • Protects expensive electrical equipment against voltage fluctuations, disruptions etc Discuss some emerging segments as demand for connectivity spreads to many other areas. The region’s diversifying and growing telecommunications, manufacturing, finance, transportation, enterprise networking and healthcare industries all require a reliable IT infrastructure to complement their core operations. Connectivity is a large part of this infrastructure, as companies cannot afford the consequences of downtime. How do you ensure that ambitious SMBs can scale up with APC if and when the need arises? APC recognizes companies’ dynamic business needs and subsequently, an evolving IT landscape to support it. Such scaling-up should be convenient, riskfree and cost-efficient. Recently, Schneider Electric released an upgrade for its UPS management solution called ‘PowerChute Network Shutdown v3.1’,
in order to lend enhanced virtualization support for its network-based server equipment shutdown solution. This solution enables automatic virtual machine migration in VMware and Microsoft Hyper-V clusters. APC experts designed this to protect mission critical equipment even in cases of an extended power failure. In today’s data-driven business models, APC’s offerings guarantee continuous uptime, scalability and security. Discuss APC’s solutions in the key datacentre space APC by Schneider is constantly researching and upgrading the lineup and capabilities of all backup and recovery power systems. UPS systems now provide high density, true double-conversion on-line power protection for servers, voice / data networks, medical labs, and light industrial applications. APC invests in R&D to be the trusted connectivity provider for IT professionals. We provide a range of standard and entry-level models to address the varying requirements for SMBs and larger corporations. Discuss some challenges
and opportunities in the regional power solutions sector. To a large extent, legacy power solutions are unable to address all the needs of SMB owners and homeowners. An IT system usually demands maximum electrical system uptime, good power quality, energy efficient backup systems -all at optimized costs. Regional SMBs are now requesting a highly efficient, cheaper and smaller system to service all their business needs. Discuss your go-to market strategy for the SMB market in terms of distribution channels. APC has long been known as a channel champion and we continue to strengthen our channel across segments and geographies. We have our carefully chosen distributors who are the main contact for sales for our resellers, system integrators, etc. We also have our well established channel partner program which includes four levels of partnership – Registered, Select, Premier and Elite. Premier and Elite partners go through a well defined selection policy which enables them to provide turn key datacentre and power protection solutions to their end users.
VAR COC Awards 2014 28
Product of the Year
Archer C7 from
The winner in this category, Archer C7 from TP-LINK was one of the first launches in the region in the Wireless AC category and came with several innovative features.
Mobility Distributor of the Year
An editor’s choice category, the award recognizes BDL Gulf for a strong focus in Mobility as a domain and is associated with the Technology leaders in the space.
Best after Sales
The channel votes for the distributor, Metra Computers, who delivered best in class after sales service to its partners with a sound RMA policy and faster turnaround for warranty.
Champion Distributor
The award recognizes the channel’s most favourite distributor of the year, Redington Gulf, for their efforts at channel development and facilitating sales and profitability through their initiatives.
Components Distributor of the Year | ASBIS Middle East 29
Covering all the Bases ASBIS’s extensive product portfolio, and its dual identity as both a distributor and a vendor, means it can weather challenges better than most. Hesham Tantawi, V-P META Region discusses this unique strategy What are the challenges confronting components distribution and how well do you reckon ASBIS is coping with those challenges? With PC Growth slowing down the market for components continues to be highly competitive and margins are on decline. Finding the right mix of solutions to take to the
market can be the difference between failure and success. How key is components in your distribution portfolio? What are the brands/ products you are associated with in components? Components still account for our major business where it’s a key for volume distribution. We have Intel,
Seagate, Toshiba, HGST, AMD, Sapphire and VTX as our vendor partners in this segment. Which are the largest market segments for the components? Geographically, it’s the export market as local consumption is minimal. When it comes to market segments, assemblers, system builders, system integrators, and the SMB market account for much of our business. For the gaming community, they always look for high-
Components Distributor of the Year | ASBIS Middle East 30
end specifications, while professionals demand quality and reliable machines. Discuss ASBIS’s mobile focus with the Prestigio smartphone and tablet brand Prestigio now is a leading vendor name in the mobility and solution industry, and we extended our portfolio to include the latest technology based on Intel processors and Windows OS for both tablet and smartphones. We are amongst the pioneer in the Windows Smartphone space in addition to having the latest connectivity –NFC-in our devices and accessories. With our strong presence in GCC countries, Egypt, Levant and South Africa, we do believe we can introduce to the end user the latest trends in mobility technology with the best quality and prices that end users look for and can satisfy their needs. What is ASBIS’s major value proposition that makes you the preferred distributor for many resellers? One of our key differentiators for us is that with Prestigio and ASBIS Middle East, we
have both a Vendor and Distributor mentality which gives us a leading edge over other companies and the ability to understand our customers and support them in different ways. We also have in our portfolio an extensive range of products including Windows and Androidbased Mobility products (tablets and smart phones), Accessories, Smart accessories SmartHealth
and events extending to rules and regulations. In the last six months we’ve been working on projects and supporting different sectors including: • Supporting education sector with Prestigio solutions including the Prestigio MultiBoard, (AllIn-One PC with LED large screen Interactive White Board) plus Visconte tablet (Windows-based tablet) in five schools and
"With our strong presence in the region we can introduce to the end user the latest trends in mobility with the best quality and prices that end users look for and can satisfy their needs." solutions, GPS Navigators , E-readers , Digital Signage & Solutions among others. This means we are able to meet our customer needs for all their electronic and smart devices requirements. In addition, ASBIS, the Prestigio’s mother company, is the only distributor registered at DCG (Dubai Chamber of Commerce) and has always played a major role in supporting the channel and retailers through different activities
one university in Sharjah • Supporting the health sector with smart devices such as pedometers, smart scale weight, among others • As part of our social responsibility we supported the first Global Conference on Partnership for Action on Green Economy where more than 350 ministers attend the event with Prestigio tablets being used for documents and presentation
Retail Distributor of the Year | Trigon 31
Connecting the dots What are some of the challenges and opportunities specific to the retail channel? Challenges in the retail segment include intense competition between the brands. Right now in any power retailer or supermarket you have literally hundreds of similar brands fighting for the attention of the customer. Differentiation is the key. With so many brands in the Middle East market, getting customers to buy your products is a clear challenge. In addition, the selling cycle
Trigon’s retail focus is one of its key strengths thanks to a marketing strategy centred not just on the retail partner but also on the end customer. Rohit Bhatt, AVP Sales-Retail at Trigon LLC, explains how the company continues to empower their retail partners. for accessories business today takes a bit longer. Having said that, there are also great opportunities to be had in terms of good profitability as well as brand visibility. As more people prefer to shop in power retail stores, are there plans to empower retailers to offer
more value added services. Definitely. Retailers are offering products at a very competitive price and the buying conversion rate has gone up. Retailers are offering promotions almost every month in addition to special promotion of the products through the major events like GITEX/DSF etc. Every retailer is working is
Retail Distributor of the Year | Trigon 32
offering sales through online portals today which makes the buying process much easier for end users with deliveries made available at their door steps. Give us a brief outlook for the rest of the year for Trigon in terms of any expansion plans and review of the product portfolio Trigon has been involved in the Retail business since 1998 and today trigon has become a true force to reckon with that any vendor can bank upon. Trigon might be the only company listed with each and every retailer here in UAE and Bahrain. Based on our strength in retail in these two countries, we are planning to implement the same strategy in Saudi Arabia by the second half this year. Although markets are different, we have realized we can rely on tried and proven strategy for market development and growth. Discuss your general strategy for the retail
segment with contrasts to your resale strategy Our strategy in retail business is simple. Display and availability followed by effective promotion and price. Although simple, this strategy has kept us in good stead over the years with growth throughout our existence. We support our
approach to support their efforts and that is why we have remained their preferred distribution partners. Are there any plans to expand on your retail network in the region, and if so, which retailers would you like to add?
"Our retail partners are themselves always expanding by opening new stores, so we have to keep up with this expansion ourselves" retail partners accomplish all these by making sure that goods are available at the right time and at the right quantities. Secondly, to differentiate with all the other brands on the shelves, we help with branding activities for better visibility. We carry out regular promotions as well in conjunction with our retail partners as well as competitive pricing of our products. Our partners appreciate our hands-on
The only major retailer in UAE who isn’t listed with us is Dubai Duty Free. We are doing business with them through our partner at the moment and we are in the process to get there very soon. Otherwise we are represented with all the major retailers in the UAE. Our retail partners are themselves always expanding by opening new stores, so we have to keep up with this expansion ourselves.
Emerging Distributor of the Year | Global Distribution 34
With a global pedigree and a strong vendor portfolio, new entrant into the Middle East ICT distribution scene Global Distribution is poised to shake up the local market. Mario Veljovic, VP Solutions MENA, and Rohit Mathur GM Solutions MENA, discuss how the company plans to do this
Formula for Success What gaps existed in the market that Global Distribution sought to fill? MV: As consumer buying behaviour in GCC shifted over the last couple of years from the traditional computer “Souqs” to shopping malls and large format retailers, traditional IT resellers are challenged to develop new channels. Increasingly more complex requirements from their SMB clients accelerated the need to change. Global Distribution has identified this gap and will bring solutions tailored to the SMB vertical to the Computer
Streets, Plazas, Centres and traditional IT Souqs in the Region. All Solutions are addressing specific verticals in the market. Global’s reseller partners are assessed by their individual strength in those specific verticals and mapped accordingly. In depth understanding of the market and continued Channel Analysis and Assessment is key to success. Furthermore, Global has seen a requirement to bring new technologies and enterprise solutions vendors to the region. Global has invested into System
Integrators (SIs) over the last few years to ensure we have the technical capabilities at hand, which can be used to “ease the pain” of our Resellers to invest upfront. Those capabilities cover Lead Generation, CIO Events, Pre-Sales Support, Installation & Deployment Services, as well as Managed Services & Annual Maintenance Contracts. Global Distribution, and so does the Global Technology Distribution Council (GTDC), sees this as the next evolution of Technology Distribution, which is beyond the
35 traditional, and now commonly adapted, VAD model. Discuss the level of investment that you have made in the period that you have been here in terms of infrastructure and personnel MV: Global has been in business since 2001 and grew steadily over the years in the region & beyond crossing the USD 1 Billion in revenues last year, which was a major milestone for the Company. As mentioned above, Global has diversified its business over the years, with significant investment into SIs, Retail and Private Label. For the Solutions Business specifically, Global has assembled top talent from the industry and into local technical resources, as well as strong backoffice operations in India to support a lean cost structure. Global Distribution in the Middle East is part of a worldwide network. How do you make sure solutions are localized to local market conditions? MV: Think Global, act Local, as the saying goes. Although Global Distribution operates on six continents, we fully live up to this mantra.
The local teams are fully empowered to do what’s right for their individual markets or segments. Discuss key vendors and segments in your area of focus MV: There are plenty of opportunities and we don’t envision a slowdown in innovation. What we currently see shaping up for Global is a much stronger vendor portfolio to address Big Data, Datacentre
Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) as per industry standards within 3-4 years. Global’s track record makes us convinced this objective will be achieved. Discuss you resale partner strategy and your value proposition to your partners RM: Developing a clear and compelling value proposition is the first phase of an effective market opportunity assessment. We believe in delivering
"The mission for Global is clearly defined-we aim to be recognized as one of the fastest growing technology distributors in the world" Infrastructure and Mobility Solutions. Furthermore, we are evaluating networking and security, as well as “Internet of Everything” solutions as areas to grow. Discuss the market outlook for the company in the region in coming year and beyond MV: The mission for Global is clearly defined-we aim to be recognized as one of the fastest growing technology distributors in the world, crossing USD 2 Billion in revenue with the highest
value to our partners with a combination of the following three: Market Intelligence, Technology and Services; We are always on the lookout for product offerings that are not only disruptive in nature but also those that offer enterprise class technology to address the SMB sector as well. We then ensure that we build our solution delivery capabilities around it to help enable the partner network to fully gauge and untap the complete value that the product has to offer.
VAR COC Awards 2014 37
Mobility Reseller of the Year
The award goes to Computer Depot for being among the most focused in the channel on reselling of Mobility products including Tablets and has a comprehensive portfolio of top brands.
Champion Reseller of the Year
The award goes to Computer Care for being a top performer in sales and profitable growth and comprehensive in terms of product portfolios offered across multiple domains.
Peripherals Reseller of the Year
The award goes to Blue Bell Computers for being perceived to be quite focused in the channel on reselling of peripherals and has a comprehensive portfolio of top brands.
ICT Accessories Retailer of the Year
The Award applauds Carrefour for having a comprehensive assortment of Branded accessories for ICT products on offer through a wide network of outlets and has great offers.
Networking Distributor of the Year | MES Technologies 38
Worthwhile Pursuits MES has been in in the IT business for almost three decades now, a kind of longevity that puts the distributor in a particularly strong position moving forward as Omar Lutfi, Business Development Manager, MES Technologies explains. Discuss your channel partnership programme in terms of how you identify, enable and reward your resale partners We are committed to our partners as they are the backbone of our achievements. To this end, we have a range of reward schemes that recognizes and rewards best performance
and practices. We reward our resellers based on: • Sales Target Achievement • The Services the reseller provided to his customer • Committing and following the provided price structure • Product Display This has been an effective way to motivate our resellers and we’ve seen
improvements throughout. Discuss what other services you are able to offer in terms of VADs in combination with your traditional distribution business model The last few years have seen the traditional distribution model pave way to the Value Added Distributor model driven by customer and market demand. We have not been left behind here at MES. Our VAD offerings include demo products for live demonstration for customers; a team of
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qualified presales people for technical presentation and Technical Support for after sales services. Discuss some current trends in distribution business in the region Demand is clearly moving towards value products and smart devices. This provides an opportunity for MES, one of the most recognized names in MEA distribution to meet these demands and grow our market share. With our extensive geographical reach and our experience in the markets means that we are able to rise to any new market opportunities that may arise. Discuss how MES has been able to maintain strength especially in the highly competitive and specialized networking solutions distribution sector. Our strength lies in doing several things right. MES staff is always available on the ground with our customers with almost daily visits. Our qualified and experienced
personnel are able to provide any assistance required. We also ensure that we always have enough stock available in our warehouses at any given time. This means that we are able to provide goods in a timely and effective manner. We are also constantly monitoring the prices as ICT has become
of any product launches with the latest technology at hand at any given time. Discuss MES market outlook for 2014 moving to 2015 in terms of increasing your market share and expanding the product portfolio We are always on the lookout
"We have strong and long-lasting relationships with our vendor partners ensuring that we are on top of any product launches at any given time." very competitive with prices falling frequently as technology and efficiency improves. We can then adjust fairly quickly to these changes and price our own products appropriately. In addition, we monitor our competition regularly to ensure that we have the most up-to date products and services in relation to the competition. We have strong and long-lasting relationships with our vendor partners ensuring that we are on top
for new territories after we develop and maintain the business level with existing areas we handle. We have been successful in many parts of the GCC and the larger Middle east market and as opportunities open up elsewhere, we will use our experience and vendor relationships to move into these areas. Places like Africa are opening up with fast-growing economies and these are areas we may consider in the future.
Networking Reseller of the Year | Scantrans 40
What are the challenges and what are the opportunities that you see in this year for Scantrans? One of the serious challenges confronting the reseller market is that it is now being dictated by price. We have seen many new brands entering the market in 2013 and we have seen customers
Scantrans is a leading reseller focused on networking products . Anil Beriya, Director, Scantrans Computers LLC discusses the company’s focus areas in the interview.
Networking specialist shifting from known brand to new brands. For the year 2013, the biggest challenge was profit margins. Due to direct involvement of vendor in the export market, our volume business has declined. Discuss Brands of networking products that you focus on? We have a specialist focus on networking products and are associated with several leading brands. We focus on several brands including TP-Link, D-Link, Linksys, Cisco, Netgear, Kuwes, Linkcomn etc. What are the strong product lines of focus for
Scantrans? Scantrans is purely focused on networking products. We are equally focused on several networking product line-ups from various brands. You also have an in-house brand for structured cabling. Discuss demand for this? Our cable products are high quality & reliable for data & audio/video Connectivity. In terms of performance, our product offers value for money compared to known brands. We have seen an increase in volume on year to year comparison and are feeling quite confident that the trend will only further improve.
Do you have SMB clients locally? What is your go to market strategy? Yes, that is a focus areas and we have many customers in the SMB segment. This requires a separate focus and therefore we have had a dedicated sales team who take care of requirements from SMB customers. Where are your major overseas customers from? We have buyers from different markets and many of them have been customers of ours for a long time. Mostly customers come from across the GCC as well as the CIS countries and many parts of Africa.
Security Reseller of the Year | Arcad World Computer systems 41
You cannot go wrong being in the security business in the Middle East where security remains a constant concern. Arcad World Computer Systems is in this very opportune position as Firos Ismail, MD at Arcad explains Discuss on your operations in the UAE We have been in operations for several years and are a growing company. We have two retail outlets in Dubai. We focus on an extensive range of products, mainly accessories as well as security and networking products. We have our own in-house brand, CRYSTAL, for all kinds of computer accessories and a brand that is seeing growing demand for this range of products. What are the major areas of focus and what are the prospects for growth in those areas Our main focus remains security and networking products. Despite slowdown in some other areas of
them. Kaspersky’s strength is in their technical capabilities especially in proactively identifying and targeting threats before they happen. For us this translates into increased sales. Discuss the key highlights for Arcad for 2013 Sales of security products
Strategic Vision the IT market, these are areas where opportunities are plenty and growth guaranteed over the long term. IT security for instance is very crucial in this region as a result of numerous targeted attacks as well as a highly tech-savvy population. So security products will be in high demand in the region. Discuss the growing demand for Kaspersky products and how this Business has grown for your company over the past year? Kaspersky is one of the largest security brands in the world and we are very proud of being associated with
were the main highlight for us last year. This remains the major segment for us where the growth is concerned. Security software sales are a sustainable business model because customers will return to the seller for upgrades and new versions. Online sales of security software are picking up in the region as well. Driven by trends like cloud, many people are opting to buy products online. This is a slightly different sales model than we are used to, but as Arcad, we have upgraded our strategy to be able to offer these services to our customers.
VAR COC Awards 2014 42
ICT Retailer with Best Trained Staff
The award goes to Emax for having the best informed staff on shop floor to guide buyers through their purchase decisions.
Best Value for Money Tablet from a Regional Brand
Champion ICT Power Retailer of the Year
The recognition goes to Sharaf DG for building a strong all around ICT retail portfolio, has a widespread network of stores and is a top destination for buyers of Technology products.
Outstanding Entrepreneurship Khalaf bin Saif Al Otaiba
CEO of the Al Otaiba Group of Companies
The winner of this category, Quantum Q-Wave A101 Wave from BDL is a feature rich 10� tablet that is affordably priced and has received an overall 4 star verdict from our editor.
The winner in this award, Mr Khalaf Al Otaiba is a Business leader who has shaped the growth of a company and continues to be actively involved with further expansion.