CHANNEL CHIEF
ME
Giving people the chance to be creative and air their ideas is an important
part of management to PAUL POTGIETER, Managing Director at
Dimension Data Middle East. Clients are also crucial to defining what is
relevant to the organisation he works for.
Describe your current job
role and the parts that are
somewhat challenging?
I have the immense privilege to represent one
of the top global technology brands locally
in the Middle East. Due to its relevance and
differentiation in the region, it is one of the
most instrumental enablers of technology
known in our industry. Therefore, as
Managing Director at Dimension Data Middle
East, the epicentre of my focus and energy
is invested in how we can do more – more
in terms of creating value for our clients, our
technology partners and our people. Bringing
our people and our vast organisational
assets together to allow our clients to gain
value in a dynamic technology and business
environment presents several challenges
which must be turned into opportunities.
These often can be daunting due to their
overall risk, however, the most challenging
part is to remind oneself of the prioritisation
of what is needed. Essentially taking the time
to zoom out, see the bigger picture and then
zoom in to execute at an operational level.
Can you explain how your company
works with vendor partners?
Our market efforts, investments and
strategies are essentially fully immersed and
integrated with our partners – this narrative
was established right from our inception
and remains in our DNA today, 37 years later
and vital in the Middle East. As a system
integrator with capabilities across the entire
ICT value chain, our value is solidified in the
partnerships we have to actualise the level
of technical specialisation and integration
needed for clients to realise true business
value at scale and across the region.
How do you ensure your
organisation flourishes in a
highly competitive market?
In the information age, whereby our
markets, our economic and social
constructs are all interconnected, our litmus
test concerning our competitiveness is
defined by our relevance and differentiation
in the market place. A source of value in this
regard is our clients: our clients define if we
are relevant to their objectives, whether we
are able to differentiate and instil value in
their businesses.
Therefore, we are accelerating our
investments in the region which amplifies
our ability to manifest a greater degree of
business value. As an outcome, we are able
to localise transformational solutions that
bring organisational agility to our clients
to optimise their operations, productise
and monetise new product offerings,
notwithstanding leveraging new business
models due to our ability to embed
technology into the core of their businesses.
What are the latest trends you see
emerging across the channel?
There are many. However, I believe that in
the Middle East, our CXOs are inundated by
demands from their businesses concerning
how they leverage data. One of the major
shifts in the regional market pivots around
how we are moving from ‘data visualisation’
to ‘data actualisation and automation’.
In essence, the influx of different data
types, levels and constructs of data has
left many CXOs with a perplexing scenario
– first, how does my organisation make
sense of these insights in a sustainable
and repeatable way. Second, what does
Paul Potgieter, Managing Director at Dimension
Data Middle East
INTELLIGENT
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS Issue 29
TECH CHANNELS
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