ENTERPRISE TECHNOLOGY
this , we have not seen a decrease in productivity . But what we have seen is that more people are using more of our digital solutions to get their work done .
Aside from the COVID-19 pandemic , what would you cite as the most challenging issue that your resellers and solution providers are telling you now ?
As already mentioned , the two major challenges have been managing vendor price increases and the extended lead-times due to the global chipset shortages .
What channel programmes and initiatives is Westcon-Comstor planning for its channel partners in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2022 ?
As we have been doing , we will further improve our digital tools . We are planning to launch several exciting programmes early in the new year that will enable our resellers to offer a fully-fledged marketplace offering to their customers without increasing their cost or risk footprint .
Furthermore , we will also encourage APIs with our partners to let them integrate their systems with ours and leverage cloud services even more effectively . partners . For instance , in those countries where we know will have growth opportunities , we will invest more in .
Given that some companies have adopted a hybrid working model , how is Westcon-Comstor positioning itself to ensure that businesses in the Sub-Saharan Africa market continue to utilise solutions within your stable that support remote working ?
Hybrid working is not new to us given how large the Sub-Saharan Africa region is . We have had a hybrid working model in place long before the pandemic and managed to deploy the rest of our teams within days of the hard lockdown .
For us it is important that we keep our teams motivated and engaged while also taking care of their emotional wellbeing . Our company has invested in programmes to train staff and managers on how to be more productive while working from home . Throughout
With any challenge it is important that we review our business and then identify how to adapt to stay relevant in continuously changing market conditions . Fortunately , we have been pushing the cloud and hybrid working agenda for many years .
What does the outlook for Westcon-Comstor look like in the next 12 to 18 months and where do you want your army of channel partners to be focusing on ?
Much as what we did , we want our channel partners to look at the market challenges and reinvent themselves to solve the challenges they face . This includes looking at the areas that need optimising and working with us to adopt cloud marketplaces . We want to remove as much as the complexity of doing business for our vendors and resellers . Going forward , we also want to upskill our partners with more specialist offerings and closely align to what our vendors are focusing on from a product perspective . •
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS Issue 47 23