Intelligent Tech Channels Issue 13 | Page 7
ISSUE 13
EDITOR’S COMMENT
www.intelligenttechchannels.com
PUBLICATION
Intelligent briefings for Middle East and Africa channel partners
2017 IN REVIEW
Key executives look at gains and
challenges for the channel across the year
(Left to right and top to bottom) Ali Saleh GE Digital,
Chris Wiese Credence Security, Christian Putz Pure
Storage, Jason Roo Mimecast, John Hathaway
BeyondTrust, Luis Ortega IFS, Mark Ackerman
ServiceNow, Monzer Tohme Epicor, Niranj Sangal OMA
Emirates, Ossama Eldeeb VMware, Savitha Bhaskar
Condo Protego, Shahnawaz Sheikh SonicWall.
Measured approach to
data management Rich Communication Suite
to displace WhatsApp Good and the
Bad of 2018
JOHAN SCHEEPERS, DIRECTOR, MEDHAT KARAM, CEO NICOLAI SOLLING, CTO
COMMVAULT
ARPUPLUS
HELP AG
EDITOR’S NOTE
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017 was still a good year. In this issue of
Intelligent Tech Channels, we present the
regional industry’s take on the year gone by.
Despite the hugely challenging market
conditions dominating the region, vendors
and tier-one distributors have continued to
invest in channel partner enablement and the
creation of opportunities for channel partners
to boost both their top and bottom line margins.
The upside and downside of cloud have been
equally spectacular across the year. Vendors
report seeing increasing interest levels in cloud
adoption from their enterprises and readiness to
go the cloud-first route.
But they also report all-round hesitation
in data privacy issues as also managing
the complexity of hybrid cloud adoption.
Governments and public-sector organisations
continue to take the lead in championing digital
transformation, an all-encompassing headline
that now stands for technology solutions built
around the convergence of IoT, smart solutions,
mobility, software-defined everything, 5G, social,
analytics, 3D printing, virtual reality, robotics and
other such converged and enabling technologies.
Vendors and tier-one partners like Mimecast,
BeyondTrust, IFS, Credence Security, SonicWall
and Epicor ran aggressive partner enablement
programmes across much of 2017 and also
expanded their net new relationships with
channel partners. Credence Security launched its
forensic security business division and SonicWall
launched its professional services programme,
both meant to enable channel partners to grow
top and bottom line margins.
On the flip side, channel partners continue
to be challenged by the relentless changing
technology cycles and the need to keep pace with
the number of new vendors entering the region
with new platforms. The lack of solution depth
and specialisation among channel partners, the
Managing Partner
Richard Judd
richard@lynchpinmedia.co.uk
excessive numbers of vanilla channel players
and the need to continuously invest in skills
development, certifications, and number of
qualified engineers, has created a shakeout among
channel partners across the region.
Vendors continuously point out to channel
partners about their requirements for channel
partners to specialise in solution competency.
Adding to these challenges are the volatile
macroeconomic conditions that are inhibiting
vendors from investing in the regional channel
and increasing the lead times for generating
returns from the local environment, while
reducing the availability of funds.
Moving on, the plus side of cloud technologies
is creating a joyful rainbow for enterprises
promising them cost savings, removal of
organisational silos and business agility. In
a recent survey conducted by cloud vendor
ServiceNow, 52% of respondents reported they
are taking a cloud-first approach, a number
which is expected to grow to 77% by 2018. 76%
of businesses in the Middle East and Africa
region think that cloud and on-premise should
complement one another rather than compete.
ServiceNow believes it is just a matter of
time before all organisations will have a very
clear cloud adoption strategy. The vendor is
increasingly seeing adoption of cloud services as
a strategic driver in the private sector and to a
lesser degree in the public sector.
But ServiceNow also points to various reasons
for the start and stop cloud approach across
the region. Data sovereignty is still the biggest
stumbling block for SaaS solution providers in the
Middle East. While ServiceNow has seen massive
growth, there is still a long way to go for cloud to
be accepted as the new normal. Gentle reading!
Arun Shankar
Editor
Managing Partner
Stuart Lynch
stuart@lynchpinmedia.co.uk
Editor, ITC
Arun Shankar
arun@lynchpinmedia.co.uk
Editor, ICIO Middle East
Mark Bowen
mark@lynchpinmedia.co.uk
Editor, ICIO Africa
Emily Freer
emily@lynchpinmedia.co.uk
Editor, ICIO Europe
Alix Pressley
alix@lynchpinmedia.co.uk
Business Development Manager
Susan Paul
susan@lynchpinmedia.co.uk
+971 50 544 7141
Head of Design and Production
Pippa Sanderson
pippa@lynchpinmedia.co.uk
Marketing & Content
Development Manager
Nick Onyett
nick@lynchpinmedia.co.uk
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