Channel Post speaks with Mario M. Veljovic, General Manager at VAD Technologies about the company’s strategy for growth amidst a transitioning IT channel.
Briefly outline your current focus in the Middle East market?
The transition of the distribution channel is in full swing. VAD Technologies is as always focused on redefining value-added distribution in the era of disruptive technologies and like any other distributor in the market we are also working on finding our niche in the channel ecosystem.
Our aim is to provide enterprise class technology products and solutions to enterprises and SMEs in the market through a strong channel across Middle East and North Africa region.
What is the status of the Middle East IT channel?
The last 12 months was a ‘final call’ for all distributors that it is time to change. Those who resisted this change are now forced to do so in a hurry, if they still want to stay relevant. After reviewing what really “adds value” to their business and what should be reconsidered, in the past year, many distributors have diversified their business by adding solutions and new vendors, as well as opening completely new sales channels altogether.
Has business been growing for your company in the region?
Our focus on digital transformation of businesses in the Middle East and the need for tailor-made IT infrastructure solutions has helped us gain solid year-on-year growth. Many technologies like all-flash storage showed record highs, as the technologies got widely accepted by enterprise customers across the region. Physical security solutions got upgraded to IP-based solutions due to regional security concerns.
What according to you is the priority for your company in this region?
Our priority is to continue adding innovative solutions to our portfolio to support our partners in meeting their customers’ demand for reliable and efficient ICT Solutions.
What sort of products and solutions do you offer in the region?
Our portfolio consists of wide range of ICT Infrastructure products and solutions such as server & storage, HyperConverged and Converged, physical security, enterprise data management, IoT & digitization, collaboration, private & pubic cloud and many more.
Which brands/companies do you represent in this region? Which markets do you focus upon?
We have an extensive range of products and solutions in several technology areas like server, storage, surveillance networking and cybersecurity, and many more. Currently, VAD Technologies is working with a number of leading vendors like Assmann, ZyXel, Aventura, Vasco, FibreNetix, Pure Storage, Fujitsu, ExaGrid, etc to name a few.
Our business operations cover the entire Middle East & North Africa region with strong focus on GCC Countries and local offices in UAE and KSA.
There are a lot of transitions happening in the Middle East IT market. Which are the most significant for your company in the region?
For us, the most remarkable change is an increased interest from partners in the region signing up with vendors from our portfolio, due to the fact that our range of solutions are apt at addressing the challenges of today’s businesses in the region. These days the customers have become very knowledgeable about IT and need solutions that meet their requirements exactly. Hence partners are forced to look at alternatives to ensure their customers remain happy.
In what ways is your company creating a more positive experience for channel partners working with the company?
We have a strong focus on providing the best solutions and continue to add even more disruptive technologies to our portfolio that will allow our partners to offer a strong ROI (Return of Investment) and lower TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) to their clients. Furthermore, we’ve forged new alliances between our partners and various key industries to help digitalize their product and services offering.
Which market verticals in the Middle East will drive majority of your growth?
Cybersecurity will continue to take center stage during the next 12-18 months, but ‘real’ cloud solutions blended into all aspects of ICT will show the biggest potential.
