Aditya Sahaya, the Director for Business Development at Prologix, speaks about the opportunities and challenges ahead in 2014
How has 2013 been for your company business-wise, strategy-wise, growth-wise?
2013 has been a fantastic year for Prologix as we have seen a revenue growth of about 40%. We also expanded our global reach by opening offices in Kenya, Sri Lanka and Qatar.
Through the year, we also expanded upon our extensive solutions portfolio and struck strategic alliances with leading companies in the field of test and measurement, RF, wireless and telecom. Major partnerships this year include Cambium Networks, Digital Lightwave, Agilent Technologies, Totolink and Level One.
Our customer base also grew as we kicked off massive projects with companies such as Hilton, Globacom, Access Kenya, Aujan Industries, Jotun Paints, Abu Dhabhi Education Council, Air Miles, LifeCare International and many more.
Our goal to kick start the power retail division became a reality in 2013 with brands like Totolink, Aztech, RedAngel, ADDCOM, Nxware.
It has been a rewarding year as well. We won the best partner of the year award from Avaya and best test and measurement distributor of the year award by CPI, a leading publishing house in the region.
What sort of challenges were addressed by your company in 2013?
We have been trying to partner with companies who are the leaders in field of test & measurement, RF, wireless and telecom and this has been a challenging task. It was very important to meet the right partners so that we deliver the right mix of technologies to our clients.
Finding channel partners in the Middle East and Africa region has been the major task this year but I believe we have successfully overcome this as we have added about 1500+ partners who market and sell our products in the region.
What opportunities does 2014 bring along?
We have already witnessed a new wave of IT investments in the region. Connectivity is really a prime focus for governments with each country addressing its needs in a unique manner. This will permit channel players to deepen their engagement and introduce new and specialized technologies in the market.
What sort of challenges need to be addresses in 2014?
To continue to remain competitive, channel players will have to increase both the breadth and width of their business. This is to include more services which are now being demanded by clients and also to include more specializations. The ambitious projects that are likely to get underway in the new year will require excellent customer service and support.
One of our strategies is to work on brand recognition and recall so as to have Prologix at the top of the customer’s mind while making decisions.
How will the technology market shape up in 2014?
We will continue to see strong demand for services. I believe that customers will give this prime importance. With the increased utilization of cloud services, device revenues will suffer but new revenue streams will emerge from support services with high SLA demands. Essentially, as IT budgets free up, every organization will begin to look at bringing innovation into the way they operate.
We are strongly placed to address the requirements of the telecom and communications sector. In the coming year, wider wireless connectivity and improvements to the quality of services are two major trends that we expect to see. This is why, we have tied up with new vendor partners, increased our skillsets and recruited new partners in order to deliver the very best wireless connectivity and test and measurement solutions in the MEA market.
Do you have plans for any major initiatives or announcements for 2014?
At the onset of this new year, we will begin with a mega event for Cambium Networks wherein we expect to have around 200+ CXO’s to be present. The scale and significance of this event is so great that Atul Bhatnagar, CEO & President Cambium Networks will himself be present.
Our 2014 task list includes opening a service and RMA center to provide excellent service to our clients. Also, as we have done so successfully this year, we will continue to identify and tie up with more partners and enable them to support this region.
Have you planned for any special channel-related engagement for 2014?
Yes, definitely. We will be focusing on events, seminars and workshops for all our partners. Furthermore, we will continue our deep investment in regional ICT events and exhibitions. We already made a significant impact on the market though our participation at INTERSEC in January 2014.
As far as end user products are concerned, what according to you will be the top 10 technologies for 2014?
For end users, the advancements in mobile computing power and the relatively low entry cost for smart devices will make 2014 the year of smart apps. We will continue to see the expansion of the mobile workforce.
Industry experts have also rightly predicted the ‘internet of things’- the next phase of advancement wherein we will see more and more devices connected to the internet. We have long been tracking this trend and it is clear from the increase in machine to machine communication.
Modern security and surveillance technologies are also among the end user products we will see greater uptake of.
