Navigating the Rapid Technological Landscape

The rapid pace of technological advancement presents both opportunities and challenges for distributors in the Middle East. Staying ahead of the curve and identifying emerging technologies relevant to their customer base is crucial for maintaining a competitive edge. This feature explores the strategies employed by leading distributors in the region, highlighting their diverse approaches to technology scouting, evaluation, and implementation.

Market Research: A Proactive Approach
A common thread among successful distributors is a proactive approach to market research. Mario Veljovic, General Manager of VAD Technologies, emphasizes a multi-faceted strategy, incorporating extensive market research, customer feedback, and a dedicated scouting team. This comprehensive approach ensures VAD stays ahead of trends and understands their customers’ evolving needs. Their process involves in-depth market analysis, leveraging industry reports, attending tech expos, and engaging directly with customers through surveys and focus groups. This dual approach allows VAD to identify broad industry trends and specific customer pain points.

Melwin Dsouza, CEO of Securenet FZC

Similarly, Melwin Dsouza, CEO of Securenet FZC, highlights the importance of closely monitoring industry trends, attending key tech events, and collaborating with leading vendors. He stresses the crucial role of feedback from channel partners and customers in aligning their focus with real-world needs. Securenet’s commitment to thorough evaluation, including pilot testing, ensures that any new technology introduced is reliable, scalable, and impactful. This rigorous approach minimizes risk for both the distributor and their customers.

Ilyas Mohammed, Chief Operating Officer at AmiViz, describes a structured process that includes continuous market research, monitoring industry trends, and engaging with leading vendors and analysts. AmiViz actively participates in global technology conferences, gaining valuable insights into cutting-edge innovations. Their internal team evaluates technologies based on relevance, scalability, ROI, and alignment with customer needs. Like Securenet, AmiViz also prioritizes customer collaboration to understand their challenges and future goals.

Strategic Partnerships and Industry Involvement
For some distributors, strategic partnerships and industry involvement play a key role. Nicholas Argyrides, Vice President for Gulf & East Africa at Mindware, explains how their leadership maintains continuous dialogue with industry experts and participates in influential advisory boards, such as the GTDC council. This high-level engagement provides valuable strategic insights into emerging technologies. Mindware also boasts a robust solutions and services team that conducts thorough analysis before adopting any new technology.

Customer-Centric Approaches of Distributors
Some distributors also emphasize the importance of customer-centric approaches. Laurence Elbana, Director for Middle East at TRINEXIA, highlights their focus on gathering feedback from customers and resellers to assess their needs and challenges. This ensures that the technologies they evaluate directly align with customer requirements.

Anastasia Platon, Regional Channel Manager of emt

Anastasia Platon, Regional Channel Manager of emt, echoes this sentiment, emphasizing their robust research framework, leveraging market intelligence, vendor collaborations, and customer feedback. Regular technology evaluations and partnerships with innovative vendors ensure emt can offer relevant and agile solutions to their partners.

Empowering Channel Partners: Education and Training
The rapid evolution of technology demands that channel partners possess a deep understanding of emerging solutions to effectively serve their customers. Process tech distributors play a crucial role in bridging this knowledge gap, equipping their partners with the necessary expertise to confidently navigate the complex technological landscape. This article explores the various strategies employed by leading distributors to educate and empower their channel partners.

A cornerstone of successful partner enablement is comprehensive training. VAD Technologies Mario, emphasizes the creation of detailed curriculums, including hands-on workshops and certifications, ensuring partners are fully versed in new technology benefits and usage. VAD’s approach combines interactive webinars featuring live demos and expert talks with hands-on workshops for practical experience. Their online channel hub provides a wealth of resources, including whitepapers, video tutorials, and FAQs, fostering continuous learning.

Melwin highlights the importance of effective communication and education through regular training sessions, webinars, and workshops tailored to their needs. Securenet complements these initiatives with easy access to resources like product guides, case studies, and whitepapers via their knowledge portals. Dedicated account managers provide personalized updates and support, while live demonstrations and proof-of-concept sessions showcase the real-world value of new technologies.

Ilyas Mohammed, COO at AmiViz

Ilyas Mohammed, COO at AmiViz describes a comprehensive enablement program that includes regular workshops, webinars, and hands-on training sessions. AmiViz provides customized content, such as product guides and case studies, and utilizes partner portals to share updates and learning materials. Certification programs and demo labs further enhance technical proficiency, ensuring partners are well-prepared to drive innovation.

Additional Resources and Support
Beyond formal training, distributors often provide additional resources and support. Laurence Elbana, Director for Middle East at TRINEXIA, explains how they offer comprehensive training programs, informative webinars, and access to a dedicated partner portal. TRINEXIA also supports joint marketing initiatives, empowering partners to effectively communicate the value of new technologies to their customers.

Nicholas Argyrides, Vice President for Gulf & East Africa at Mindware

Nicholas Argyrides, Vice President for Gulf & East Africa at Mindware, emphasizes the role of specialized programs like the Mindware Academy, which delivers hands-on technical workshops and certifications. Their technology-specific initiatives, such as the Cloud Webinar Series, provide focused learning opportunities. Mindware’s dedicated demo center allows partners to experience technologies firsthand, solidifying their understanding.

Anastasia Platon, Regional Channel Manager of emt, highlights the importance of simplifying complex technologies through targeted webinars, workshops, and certification programs. Tailored training sessions, technical resources, and collaborative marketing campaigns empower partners to understand the benefits and deployment strategies of new solutions, particularly in the cybersecurity domain.

Driving Technology Adoption: Incentive Programs
Successfully introducing emerging technologies into the market requires more than just education and training; it demands active engagement and enthusiastic promotion from channel partners. Distribution companies in the region understand this and employ a range of incentive programs to motivate their partners to embrace and champion new solutions. This article explores the various strategies used to drive technology adoption within the channel.

Mario Veljovic, General Manager of VAD Technologies

Mario Veljovic, General Manager of VAD Technologies, emphasizes a multi-faceted approach, combining performance-based bonuses for partners who excel in promoting new technology lines with collaborative marketing support, including co-branded materials and targeted campaigns. VAD also recognizes the value of early adopters, providing them with special access to limited-time discounts and priority support. This comprehensive framework positions VAD Technologies as a trailblazer in the ever-evolving tech sector, ensuring efficient and impactful transitions from discovery to delivery.

Melwin Dsouza, CEO of Securenet FZC, focuses on creating meaningful incentives that encourage partners to embrace new technologies. This includes attractive rebates and improved profit margins for early adopters, coupled with co-marketing initiatives to help drive demand. Securenet also provides priority technical support and recognizes partner achievements through awards and acknowledgments, fostering a sense of pride and strengthening relationships within the network.

Ilyas Mohammed, Chief Operating Officer at AmiViz, highlights the importance of aligning incentives with mutual growth. AmiViz employs joint business planning and co-selling initiatives, combined with a mix of financial rewards, recognition, and growth opportunities. Competitive margins and rebates encourage active engagement, while access to demo units, pilot programs, and marketing funds supports early adoption. Certification programs with tiered benefits further motivate partners to develop expertise and stand out in the market.

Laurence Elbana, Director for Middle East at Trinexia

Support Programs Beyond Financial Incentives
Beyond financial incentives, distributors often offer a range of support programs. Laurence Elbana, Director for Middle East at TRINEXIA, explains how they provide competitive pricing, tiered rewards, incentive programs, and co-marketing opportunities. TRINEXIA also offers access to customized solutions and new features from their vendors, enabling partners to gain a competitive edge. Recognition and certifications further incentivize partners to embrace the latest solutions.

Nicholas from Mindware, describes a multi-faceted incentive program that includes early adopter benefits with preferential pricing, performance-based rewards tied to technology adoption, and joint marketing funds. Mindware also provides special financing options to help partners manage new technology transitions, ensuring sustainable growth and commitment.

Anastasia Platon, Regional Channel Manager of emt, highlights the use of performance-based rewards, exclusive promotions, and rebates. emt also provides comprehensive technical support, joint go-to-market strategies, and co-branding opportunities, driving partner engagement and ensuring the successful adoption of advanced cybersecurity technologies.