Computer Reseller News July 08

July 2008

www.crn.co.za

Iomega

Inside This Issue Getting government business right p17>> Fujitsu Siemens touts Select Programme p19>> Are grey imports undermining channel legitimacy? p30>> Ingram Micro has new CEO p41>> 2008 CRN Partner Excellence Awards p45>>

engages gear Iomega is ramping up channel initiatives locally. Find out how the removable storage products vendor plans to woo solution providers that target the SoHo and SME storage market. p14>>

PUBLISHER’S: NOTE

From the Publisher’s desk

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uilding, growing and, most importantly, maintaining a successful channel strategy is no simple undertaking. We know this well in the publishing world, thanks to the relationships that CRN has built with the South African channel community over the past 13 years. We are also aware that it’s our responsibility to you, our readers (IT solution providers), to continually evolve and innovate so that we remain relevant to you and committed to our mission of helping vendors and distributors to drive sales through the channel. It’s precisely this mission of helping to drive channel sales and maintaining sustainable channel relationships that has led to the birth of the CRN Channel Partner Programme Guide Book. The guide book is the first ever pointer highlighting vendor and distributor partner programmes on offer to the local solution providers. The guide book aims to give solution providers programme elements on the various channel programmes they need to be joining. We understand the challenges that solution providers are faced with on a daily basis. Choosing the right partner programme, be it at vendor or distributor level, can be the differentiating factor between success and failure in the IT solutions selling game. The guide book not only aims at enhancing and facilitating channel partnerships between vendors, distributors and solution providers, but also helps resellers in recognising channel programmes that are worth joining. As CRN is celebrating 13 years in the South African channel market, it wants to continue cementing its premium position with investments that aim at expanding its coverage in print and online in its quest to serve readers’ growing dependence on vital information about products, technology, business trends, vendors, distributors and the general IT channel marketplace. We realise that this guide book does not in any way reflect all the partner programmes out there. There are so many other companies that have programmes but did not list for one reason or the other. We would like to thank all the winning partner programmes and companies that listed in the inaugural Partner Programme Guide Book. Drop me a line if you would like more details about this initiative and the many others we are undertaking in the course of the year.

Manda Banda – publisher

Contents News & Analysis 4 – What’s News 8 – Comings & Goings 10 – HiFive 12 – Demand Generator takes a look at how OfficeNational uses HansaWorld ERP. By Dominic Khuzwayo

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13 – Pinnacle Micro signs a deal with Lexmark. By Dudu Shaba CRN Contacts: Publisher: Manda Banda

17 – Faritec talks to CRN about getting government business right. By Kaunda Chama

[email protected]

18 – HP taunts its new channel initiatives. By Manda Banda

Online editor:

19 – Siemens reaffairma its channel focus. By Kaunda Chama

Kaunda Chama [email protected]

39 – Fujitsu Simens touts its select programme. By Manda Banda

Journalist:

41 – Ingram Micro gets a new CEO. By Dudu Shaba

Portia Shaba [email protected] Intern: Dominic Khuzwayo

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Features 22 – Application development tools: With application development tools, developers are able to create a range of applications and services that are easy to use, enabling rapid development of Web services as well as traditional applications. By Dudu Shaba

[email protected]

25 – Consumables: Consumables offer channel players enorBrand executive: Hellen Murahwa [email protected]

mous profit opportunities on an ongoing basis, ensuring recurring revenue. Besides this, a growing concern in the channel has always been the emergence of refills or generic consumables as a cheaper alternative to genuine products. By Dudu Shaba

Sub-editor:

30 – Grey marketing: They call themselves “independent” distribu-

Jenny Bastomsky

tors not grey marketers and say they are seeing dramatic sales growth as more solution providers turn to them to source products. Is this the case in the local channel given these tough economic times? By Manda Banda and Stanley Chishala

[email protected] Designer:

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Spencer van Graan [email protected] Database and subscriptions: Daisy Mulenga [email protected]

copyright notice CRN Southern Africa is published monthly by Systems Publishers (Pty) Ltd. The copyright of all material in this publication is reserved by the proprietors, except where expressly stated. The publisher, however, will consider reasonable requests for the use of material by others on condition that the source and author of the report are clearly attributed. Due to the nature of the newspaper print process, Systems Publishers cannot be held responsible for colour variations in printed advertising. Printed by Ultra Litho. CRN Southern Africa is a licensee of CMP Media LLC.

Private Bag X12, Rivonia, 2128 Tel: (011) 234 7008 Fax: (011) 234 7025 Registered with the Audit Bureau of Circulation

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34 – VoIP: Voice over IP (VoIP) and wireless fidelity (WiFi) continue to be viable communication options for organisations of all sizes. Recent years have seen the two merging into what is being called Voice over Wi-Fi (VoWiFi). By Kaunda Chama and Dominic Khuzwayo

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Product and technology 43 – Samsung G800, Magix Photos on CD & DVD 6 Deluxe

Parting shots 80 – Snapshot: Deyan Stojcevski, Bytes Document Solutions 80 – Dilbert

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JULY 2008

Scans in this publication have been reproduced on the EPSON PERFECTiON 2450 photo

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WHAT’S

NEWS

VMware announces Lifecycle Manager Workgroup has announced the local availability of VMware’s Lifecycle Manager. Angeline de Castro, business unit manager, Workgroup says, users can now automate the virtualisation workflow to improve efficiency and productivity while ensuring strict corporate compliance with company policies. “Lifecycle Management offers an easy-to-use Web interface for managing interactions throughout the entire lifecycle of a virtual machine,” says De Castro

Nology introduces all-in-one router Nology, distributing agent of broadband and networking products has introduced Billion’s 7300N all-in-one router. Optimised for South African home and small office, home office (SoHo) users, the router provides broadband access with ADSL (ADSL2+ ready as well). The 7300N features an integrated draft 802.11n wireless access point which offers speeds of up to 300 megabits per second (Mbps). Riaan Leuschner, managing director, Nology says: “With the Billion 7300N router, users can expect up to three times the wireless coverage of a standard 802.11b/g network device.”

MicroStrategy announces new partner programme MicroStrategy, one of the leading worldwide providers of business intelligence software, has announced a new partner programme targeted at the South African market. The new partner programme was developed locally by MicroStrategy channel manager, Sandy Redgate, and Gary Broomberg, country manager. The 2008 MicroStrategy partner programme is set to allow channel partners to forge a foundation for a strong relationship with MicroStrategy. The programme will introduce technology training resources to facilitate successful deployments. “As part of the new programme we are offering technical training at substantially reduced rates as well as free pre-sales and sales training to all signed partners,” explains Redgate.

COMINGS Red Hats appoints Seyffert

&

Red Hat, one of the world’s leading open source solutions providers has appointed Louis Seyffert to head its new office in SA. Seyffert says Red Hat’s official entry into SA has come at a time when things are truly looking positive for Linux and open source in the country. “It’s clear that more customers are moving their enterprise systems from Unix to Linux every day and that the overall proliferation of enterLouis Seyffert prise open source solutions is on the increase, he adds. “Over the coming months, we plan to engage closely with our customers, reseller partners and vendor partners in SA and drive the value of our portfolio into their businesses,” concludes Seyffert.

Delepine heads APC APC by Schneider Electric has appointed Olivier Delepine as its new sales and operations services manager for Africa. “As the Africa sales and operations services manager, Olivier will be based in SA with the regional management team and will be in charge of implementing and managing our services policy all around Africa,” says Carl Kleynhans, regional director. Delepine has worked for the company for more than 10 Carl Kleynhans years, joining MGE in France as a service sales engineer in 1997. He also held several positions within the business, including products sales engineer, account manager, contractor and partnership manager.

New face for HP’s SMB HP has announced Desmond Mokondo as the new face of SMB. Mokondo is a small business owner, who through the use of HP products and tools has reached great heights. According to Thierry Boulanger, IPG Country Manager, HP SA, this announcement marks the commencement of the South African leg of HP’s global campaign-“What do you have to say”. He says the campaign aims to engage with Desmond Mokondo small and medium- business (SMB) customers through its Print 2.0 strategy. “Everyone has good ideas, but as Desmond Makondo will tell you, ideas are nothing until you turn them into something”, he says

Serima has left Microsoft Toshiba launches new tablet PC Toshiba has launched the new Portégé M700 tablet PC. The Toshiba Portégé M700 Tablet PC replaces Toshiba’s Portégé M400 adding a number of new features making it a worthy addition to any business’ mobile workforce. Weighing in at 2kg, the Portégé M700 is based on the latest Intel Centrino Pro mobile platform for maximum performance while using the minimum of battery life. Incorporating the convertible form factor design, the Portégé M700 can be used as a regular notebook with a full QWERTY keyboard.

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CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JULY 2008

Microsoft SA’s MD, Pfungwa Serima has resigned from his position. Serima says, “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Microsoft, I have wanted to pursue business interests outside of Microsoft for some time and I believe it is the right time to seek pastures new and embark on fresh challenges.” Microsoft has confirmed that it is to deploy Fernando de Sousa as acting MD for Microsoft SA. De Pfungwa Serima Sousa is one of the senior executives in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region.

G O I N G S

WHAT’S

NEWS

AMD unveils new processors AMD has introduced three new Quad-Core AMD Opteron 1300 Series processors for one-socket servers and workstations. The new QuadCore AMD Opteron 1352 (2.1GHz), 1354 (2.2GHz) and 1356 (2.3GHz) processors are designed to empower small to mid-market customers to meet growing IT and budgetary demands and increase business productivity. Patrick Patla, director, server and workstation business, AMD says: “AMD is committed to helping commercial customers who rely on 1P server and workstation solutions to take advantage of the same enterprise-class performance and energy efficiency that powers large global businesses.”

Annex expands mobile solution Annex Distribution has increased its range of mobile products with the release of the new Fujitsu Siemens Lifebook and Esprimo Series notebooks. The latest products to be shipped in for distribution include models within the Lifebook S Series as well as the Lifebook E8310; the Esprimo V5545; the Esprimo V5535; the Esprimo V5515 and Esprimo V5505. Bill Gradwell, director, Annex Distribution says, “The professional notebook space is growing rapidly and we see a surge in product development and supply within this environment.”

Iomega drives to Terabyte Iomega Corporation, one of the global leaders in data storage, protection and security, recently announced the Iomega eGo 1TB Desktop Hard Drive. The eGo Portable is available in 160GB, 250GB and 320GB capacities, and in several different colours, including new camouflage and leather-wrapped models. The new eGo Desktop model houses a 1TB, 3.5-inch hard drive with USB 2.0 connectivity that holds up to 4 000 000 photos, over 18 500 hours of music or 1 500 hours of video.

Pinteq invests in new production line Pinteq, the services division of ICT distributor Pinnacle Micro, has invested more than R1 million in setting up a new production line and configuration laboratory. This follows the acquisition by Pinnacle Micro of Tri-Continental, one of IBM and Lenovo’s biggest distributors. Mike McGee, general manager of Pinteq, says the company now operates as an authorised warranty service provider for Lenovo in SA, including carry-in warranty, on-site warranty and extended warranty. “For the first time, Lenovo users now have access to nationwide support thanks to our national footprint’ adds McGee.

ments, particularly those using entry-level systems,” says Rajen Naicker, Adaptec product specialist, DCC.

HP unveils new stuff HP recently announced a series of e next-generation personal systems at the HP connecting Your World media event in Berlin. The new broad portfolio of products featuring elegant design and new digital experiences are aimed at customers in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Among the announcements was the new HP TouchSmart All-inOne, a new generation of touch-enabled PCs that brings digital entertainment to life through a natural user interface. Also launched were 11 new notebooks and a breakthrough display co-developed by HP colour scientists and DreamWorks Animation animators that can bring more than one billion colours into view.

Horizon announces Sun Fire Workgroup’s dedicated Sun division, Horizon, has announced the local availability of Sun’s first Sun Fire and Sun Blade systems. Powered by quad-core AMD Opteron processors, Sun Fire X4140, Sun Fire X4240 and Sun Fire X4440 servers are set to give customers higher energy efficiency. Additional systems announced with quad-core AMD Opteron processors include the Sun Fire X2200 M2, Sun Fire X4100 M2, Sun Fire X4200 M2, Sun Fire X4600 M2 and Sun Blade X8440 servers. The X4140 and Sun Fire X4240, with eight and 16 disk drives respectively, can function as mini-storage systems ideally suited for scale-out applications such as database, HPC and business intelligence/data warehousing.

Esquire announces Intellinet wireless access point Esquire Technologies has announced the local availability of Intellinet’s 503679 wireless access point. The product is ideal for service providers looking to deliver wireless services to multiple market segments, like campuses, hospitality, health care, warehousing and wider metropolitan areas. “The unit helps to extend mobility and wireless security to small and medium businesses,” says Mahomed Cassim, sales and marketing director, Esquire Technologies. “It’s a high-performance, singlebox solution that integrates all services required to extend secure broadband access to mobile users, including QoS features for multimedia support like voice, video and audio technologies,” adds Cassim.

Microsoft continues with piracy crackdowns DCC launches Adaptec controllers DCC has announced the immediate availability of Adaptec’s new family of entry-level unified serial series 2 RAID controllers. The 800 MHZ dual-core controllers are aimed at smaller organisations that want to enhance the performance and scalability of their data storage systems. The controllers offer the performance usually associated with advanced hardware RAID 0, 1 and 10, independent of the server and the operating system. “Adaptec provides system integrators and value-added resellers with the ability to meet their customers’ data storage require-

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Microsoft announced the filing of 21 lawsuits in 14 states in the US against resellers allegedly engaged in selling pirated software, including some alleged repeat offenders. This follows Microsoft’s global crackdown on counterfeit and illegal software that shows no sign of slowing down. In addition, Microsoft SA recently reached settlements totalling hundreds of thousands of rands with 21 local computer dealers found to be selling computers to customers loaded with unlicensed Microsoft software. Microsoft SA’s Mark Reynolds says the global crackdowns are designed to protect honest consumers and resellers.

ANALYSIS: DISTRIBUTION

MOVES

SOLUTION

PROVIDERS

Pinnacle Micro now Lexmark disti Lexmark has appointed Pinnacle Micro as distributor of its full range of printing, imaging and document management solutions. Branislav Zivkovic, MD, Lexmark SA, says that the partnership will facilitate the company’s growth and bring value to the market place. “This will allow our company to expand to the southern African region, including Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Angola through 5 500 Pinnacle Micro resellers. Arnold Fourie, CEO, Pinnacle Micro agrees that the agreement is a strategic move for both parties. “This relationship will diversify and extend our offerings to satisfy the needs of home users, SMBs and the public sector,” says Fourie.

Sony appoints Ingram Micro Ingram Micro SA has been appointed a distributor for the Sony tape media range. Hilton Haefele, product manager, Ingram Micro SA says this means that the company can meet the storage demands from its existing and new customers with a complete range of hardware and media offerings. According to him, Sony has strong brand awareness within this market and the requisite respect required for mission-critical components of this nature. He adds that this will position Ingram Micro SA quite nicely as a one-stop shop when it comes to meeting the exacting storage requirements of its customers.

Sahara, Cyret join forces Sahara Computers has announced its joint venture with Cyret Technologies, a US-based company to establish Cyret Technologies SA. Cyret is a global consulting and solutions company specialising in value-added service delivery around JD Edwards- and Oracle-based implementation solutions. In terms of this agreement the joint shareholding company will leverage off local market expertise, infrastructure and presence of the Sahara Group, incorporating its associated companies. The new entity will be headed by Rajan Deshpande. “This strategic venture considerably expands our resources and significantly increases our bandwidth, thus improving our ability to grow the company’s customer base into a new territory in Africa,” says Deshpande.

Bytes SI partners with Axis Bytes Systems Integration (Bytes SI), integrated and managed information technology business solutions and services specialist, has signed a deal with Axis Communications SA. The deal will see Bytes SI becoming a reseller of Axis’ range of security products. Dave Hunter, divisional managing director of Bytes SI’s Kronos division says: “The decision to become an Axis solutions partner was made as these global IP network video solutions will enable us to provide top security for the server room or any other high-security area. This further extends our existing offering of true end-to-end IT solutions.”

M-IT to handle HP benches HP SA recently appointed M-IT an EOH company, as a second bench repair service provider. Operational in Durban and Cape Town, with expansion into other regions in the pipeline, M-IT will ensure that HP customers enjoy hassle-free repairs on commercial products. M-IT, the

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CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JULY 2008

only HP on-site warranty service provider, has a national footprint and says it is committed to providing HP customers with exceptional repair services. M-IT Shared Services Manager Carl Stighling says the appointment of M-IT as a bench repair service provider enables HP SA to provide its customers with greater choice and flexibility when it comes to submitting products for repair.

Mig33 signs Lutiek Mig33, one of the leading global mobile networks has signed Lutiek to distribute its prepaid international cards in SA. As an appointed distributor, Lutiek will provide Mig33 prepaid cards to the South African market so that mig33 users can easily buy credits. With Mig33’s partnership with Lutiek, prepaid services will be made available at retail stores throughout the country. Steven Goh co-founder and CEO of Mig33 says: “Mig33 is the first global mobile social network to bring the power of the Internet and a global community to anyone with a WAP-enabled cellphone.”

Fujitsu Siemens Computers shares with Thuthukani Fujitsu Siemens Computers has announced the successful conclusion of the sale of its 25 per cent plus one share to the Thuthukani Investment Consortium (Pty) Ltd. According to Idris Suleman, MD, Fujitsu Siemens Computers, this consortium combines the resources of Thuthukani Information Technology Services (Pty) Ltd and Amava Holdings (Pty) Ltd with an additional broad-based black economic empowerment trust. He says the transaction is unique in that Fujitsu Siemens Computers is the first multinational tier-one IT vendor to sell equity in its local operation to an SME empowerment group.

VMware appoints Square One Square One Solutions Group has been appointed an enterprise partner and reseller by the international US-based VMware group. “VMware is the only organisation that has developed technology to the point that it allows companies with 20 servers to reduce that total to just five – without impacting on capacity, capability or security,” says Greg Fagan virtualisation specialist, Square One Technology Solutions. “We are taking the technology into our existing customer base and are also qualified to conduct VMware installation audits for best practice as well as assessments of existing server physical environments and estimations of return on investments for those environments,” concludes Fagan.

HP appoints Pinnacle Micro HP has appointed Pinnacle Micro as an authorised HP distributor. Under this appointment, Pinnacle Micro will distribute HP’s Personal Systems Group (PSG) products. Mark Perry, SPO Manager, HP RSA, says HP’s distribution strategy in the region is to ensure the right product, at the right time and at the right price to the channel. He says that Pinnacle Micro has the necessary framework in place to ensure delivery of this strategy and also to add significant benefits to its reseller community and customers. “Adding Pinnacle Micro to HP’s existing line-up will bring a new customer base to HP and accelerate our growth in SA,” says Perry.

HIGH FIVE: RED HAT SOLUTION

PROVIDERS

Red Hat opens office in SA Expanding open source solutions. BY DOMINIC KHUZWAYO Red Hat, one of the world’s leading open source solutions providers recently opened a new office in SA. To head the office, Red Hat appointed one of the IT industry’s veterans, Louis Seyffert as the country manager. In this month’s High Five Seyffert takes us to the new office.

CRN: Is it the first office in Africa and why South Africa? LS: This is the first Red Hat office in Africa. Prior to opening the office Red Hat was represented by distributors and OEM partners supported by Red Hat out of Europe. Red Hat is based in Raleigh, North Carolina, and has nearly 60 offices in over 28 countries. The South African office forms part of the Red Hat United Kingdom and Ireland territory. Several factors such as the worldwide move towards open source, the growth of Red Hat business through existing South African channels, and the adoption of open source by business and government in SA have prompted the investment in the country. As with the appointment of a local country manager, Red Hat intends expanding the office by employing suitably qualified people in SA as business requirements grow.

CRN: What benefits are you offering your customers? LS: Red Hat offers enterprise open source software support service through service subscriptions according to customers’ requirements. Customers pay for what is most important to them -service. This reduces overall costs while maintaining customers’ ICT departments’ ability to meet their required service levels. Red Hat products are used in business-critical applications deployed in the data centre as well as on the desktop and in the developer community. In addition, Red Hat-certified training and examinations are delivered by authorised training partners in SA as well as specific customer training by Red Hat directly. This will continue and be expanded as required.

CRN: Looking at the current situation (economic crisis) in SA, are you expecting a downturn in the future? LS: Customers’ ICT departments are under continued pressure to reduce costs. This is even more evident in the current economic situation. Red Hat provides the ability for customers to eliminate the costs of purchasing software licences and still maintain their service levels through support subscription services in accordance with the quality of service required by each customer or individual server. We see our commercial open source service model as ideal for customers to reduce costs while maintaining expected service levels at significantly reduced costs.

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CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JULY 2008

CRN: What other challenges are you facing in the open source solution industry? LS: One of the major challenges faced by the open source solution industry is customer and industry misunderstanding and uncertainty about what open source software has to offer and the services that are available. This is often exacerbated by misleading information communicated by organisations that have a vested interest in delaying the acceptance and deployment of open source solutions as well as the myriad of different models and offerings available from various open source providers.

CRN: As the new manager, what do you think will drive the success of Red Hat in SA? LS: The current success of Red Hat in SA is a result of focus by local partners and the worldwide growth of Red Hat as the world’s leading provider of commercial open source software. The future growth of Red Hat in SA will be driven by a significant increase in customer and partner education. This includes education about the capabilities of Red Hat products and services, and how the subscription delivery model provides customers with the ability to meet expected service levels at lower overall cost.

DEMAND

GENERATOR:

HANSAWORLD SOLUTION

PROVIDERS

HansaWorld ERP ERP a solution for Office National BY DOMINIC KHUZWAYO

H

ansaWorld, a business solutions provider with nearly 20 years of experience in the international software market scores high marks, according to OfficeNational, one of the largest independently owned providers of office products in South Africa. This follows a big tick, when OfficeNational selected HansaWorld Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software to run its national operations.

no really integrated solutions on the market.” “OfficeNational plans on implementing HansaWorld at all its stores within 18 months. Investments like these are long-term. The average shelf life of an ERP system is six years,” he says. Clarke explains that HansaWorld has introduced a few new mechanisms to handle large customers (more than 2 000 users). “Our integrated telephony is a first for any Kevin Clarke, HansaWolrd

“I believe there is a need for ERP in this segment of the retail industry. There are many front-end POS systems, but no real integrated solutions on the market.” – Kevin Clarke, HansaWolrd.

Ryan Bidgood managing director, OfficeNational says the company needed a business solution that would improve efficiencies in its 57 retail outlets and 500 staff around SA. “We evaluated several different ERP systems over six months and did a full interrogation of the HansaWorld system one of our suppliers was running, before deciding to implement it,” says Bidgood. The integration between HansaWorld’s Webshop functionality and its business software database was a major factor in OfficeNational’s decision “Because the Web system and the business software access the same database, we can maintain our Webshop with completely up-to-date stock and price information without ever needing to synchronise between databases,” adds Bidgood. Kevin Clarke country manager, HansaWorld says, “I believe there is a need for ERP in this segment of the retail industry. There are many front-end POS systems, but

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CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JULY 2008

ERP system. You can now use our ERP client software as a phone interface to initiate and receive calls. The calls are logged and stored against the customer’s or supplier’s record, which in turns, complements our CRM functions and facilitates increased efficiency.” In addition, HansaWolrd prides itself on its modern technology, like integrated Webshop and content management, telephony, multi-platform, document management and the proprietary object-orientated database. “Our broad range of modules enables us to provide solutions in most industries and in all segments of the market,” says Clarke. According to Bidgood, over 70% of OfficeNational’s sales are set to be to commercial customers, making online buying particularly important. Walk-in retail customers account for only about 24% of sales. All the systems evaluated had similar standard accounting features, but Bidgood says OfficeNational was attracted by HansaWorld’s modular layout, the HansaWorld Application Language (HAL)

and pricing. “We needed a system that made commercial sense for all outlets to implement. HansaWorld’s mix of functionality and price made it a good fit for our business,” he adds. In terms of security, Clarke says HansaWorld uses a propriety technology and has nine built-in security mechanisms, which are configurable in many ways. The data sent over networks is encrypted and can only be decrypted with the right application or security tools and access rights. The first of OfficeNational’s 57 retail outlets was scheduled to go live on 1 July and the second on 1 August. The next phase will be about electronic document interchange between OfficeNational’s head office and its members, customers and suppliers. “We will use our Web technology to automate their buying and selling operations. HansaWorld Communicator (VOIP Telephony) will also be implemented in the next phase,” says Clarke. “In addition, we are busy with a few exciting development projects that will revolutionise the ERP industry – projects like ‘Hybrid ERP’ and ‘SmartApps’. “We have a good customer base in most of African countries. In SA we are focusing on the upper segment of the mid-market, especially in the retail industry,” concludes Clarke. Do you have demand generator stories to share with us? Please e-mail Dominic Khuzwayo at [email protected]

ANALYSIS: PINNACLE MICO SOLUTION

PROVIDERS

Pinnacle Micro signs Lexmark deal Incentivising channel partners.

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BY DUDU SHABA

innacle Micro has been appointed by Lexmark as a distributor of its full range of printing, imaging and document management solutions to further its market penetration through the national footprint that the broad-based ICT company offers. Tim Humphreys-Davies, national sales and marketing director, Pinnacle Micro, says that this complements their product offering as Pinnacle Micro. “We now have a Tier 1 offering in the laser space,” he comments. Humphrey-Davies says what drove

growth and market penetration beyond South African borders,” says Zivkovic. Humphrey-Davies says Lexmark recently launched a partner programme to select resellers that Pinnacle Micro will also benefit from. “Other than that, we want to have the right products at the right price for resellers. In addition, we will offer product training to select resellers once our staff members are up to speed. Generally, our technical teams also give pre-sales advice but we can also pull in Lexmark product specialists if there is a need,” says

“Our partnership will facilitate Lexmark’s growth and market penetration beyond South African borders” – Branislav Zivkovic, Lexmark SA.

Pinnacle to sign the deal with Lexmark is that its product range is well respected and the company only has Canon in the printer sector of its business. “Before the agreement, Pinnacle Micro did not have access to top-end laser products, we clearly identified the need to diversify and extend our offerings to satisfy the needs of the home user, SMB and government sector. Lexmark complements the Canon offering we have very well,” he says. Branislav Zivkovic, MD, Lexmark SA, says this agreement offers Lexmark the opportunity to tap into the southern African region to include Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Angola through the established network of 37 agencies and 5 500 Pinnacle Micro resellers. “Our partnership will facilitate Lexmark’s

Humphrey Davis. For resellers to make the right material choice, he says that Pinnacle Micro will provide them with market intelligence and also display product information and comparative product specifications on its website and price list. “We also send cheat sheets on competitive products so the dealer is well informed and normally makes good choices. For the future, we are hoping to sell lots of Lexmark product” says Humphrey-Davies. According to Zivkovic, this is the third significant

appointment Lexmark has made in 2008, which is proving to be a year of continuous improvement and growth for the company that has recently appointed Smart Box Services and Call Centre Nucleus to optimise the company’s after-sales service and National Technical Helpline.

COVER

STORY: IOMEGA

SOLUTION

PROVIDERS

Iomega

gets into gear

Storage vendor moves to woo partners. BY MANDA BANDA

W

hen EMC and Iomega finally came to terms, with EMC agreeing to acquire Iomega for about US$213 million earlier this year, analysts and pundits predicted a new player in the SoHo, SME and consumer removable storage market had been born.

“With the merger with EMC, the channel is expecting stronger, unrelenting support from Iomega.” – Ryan Moodley, Data Shuttle

Iomega is one of the better-known names in the SoHo, SME and consumer storage market, with a range of removable storage products, including its Rev line of disk drives which can be removed and rotated like tape cartridges. The widely reported deal, which was concluded in March 2008, makes Iomega a wholly owned subsidiary of EMC. In addition, pundits say the acquisition is a move by EMC to ready itself for an explosion in consumer-created content. Industry experts say about 70 per cent of all storage is being created by individuals and by acquiring Iomega, one of the best known removable storage product brands, EMC has made clear its intention to dominate the SoHo, SME and consumer market much like it has done in the higher end enterprise storage segment.

Business Products division, which is centred on the Iomega offerings. In addition, the new division includes a variety of hardware and software products as well as storage services for the consumer and SME markets. This includes the existing Iomega-branded hardware products, many of which are now being bundled with EMC’s LifeLine software for OEM vendors of NAS appliances. Intel also bundles LifeLine with some of its NAS appliances. The new division includes EMC Retrospect data protection software. Retrospect came from EMC’s acquisition of Dantz in October 2004. In a deal worth nearly US$50 million, EMC obtained Dantz’s Retrospect data protection software, including products for the Macintosh platform, and the software became the foundation from which EMC’s Insignia small-business initiative was launched in February 2007. In addition to the product bundles, the new division will also include at least two service offerings that include Mozy online backup service that EMC received with the US$76 million acquisition of Berkeley Data Systems last October. The second is a service to create, repurpose, store, share and access personal information online via technology EMC got with the February 2008 acquisition of Seattle-based Pi.

Product bundles

Ryan Moodley, Data Shuttle

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CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JULY 2008

In terms of the deal, Iomega will continue to operate independently from EMC locally although its channel partners will have access to the EMC product array and vice versa. Jonathan Huberman, CEO at Iomega now heads EMC’s new Consumer and Small

Product breadth Michelle Kasselman, key account manager at Iomega SA, says all these technologies will be available through Iomega’s retail and distribution channels in SA. Kasselman adds that the company is also ramping up chan-

COVER SOLUTION

STORY: IOMEGA

PROVIDERS

nel marketing activities and will assist solution providers and retailers with their direct marketing needs. She says the acquisition has resulted in an expanded product line that should be of interest to small business solution providers in the local channel. Kasselman explains EMC’s channel partners will have access to Iomega’s NAS appliances which are not only suitable for small businesses, but also for the distributed data infrastructure of many enterprise customers. She says although the company’s focus in SA has mainly been on the retail space, Iomega’s solution providers that buy products from its distribution partners Comztek, Data Shuttle and Ingram Micro typically do not touch the larger customers that EMC deals with. “What this merger means is that these smaller solution providers will now have access to some of the products and services that EMC bundles with Iomega-branded products that are targeted at SMEs,” she says. Kasselman says as the company is now part of EMC, a well known high-end storage brand, it will leverage off this and enhance its own brand.

Retail strength Karyn Lovesay, GM at Digital Planet, an Iomega retail partner based in Johannesburg, says Iomega has taken the market by storm. Lovesay says Digital Planet has seen large quantities of Iomega products leaving its premises on a daily basis. Lovesay says the quality of the products is great and the fact that the vendor has made it easy to work with makes a huge difference. “Iomega is our current top selling external hard disk drive brand,” she says. “Our customers have moved into home entertainment and store thousands of music files, photos, videos and data. As a result, Iomega is well placed to deliver offerings to this market.” Ryan Moodley, MD at Data Shuttle, an Iomega distribution partner, agrees that the strength of the brand in the retail space can be replicated in the traditional solution provider channel if the vendor works closely with its distribution partners. “With the merger with EMC, the channel is expecting stronger, unrelenting support from Iomega,” he says. “This should be complemented

Michelle Kasselman, Iomega

“What this merger means is that the smaller solution providers will now have access to some of the products and services that EMC bundles with Iomega-branded products targeted at SMEs.” – Michelle Kasselman, Iomega

by holistic offerings from the two wellknown brands.” Moodley says both the Iomega and EMC brands are well known in the local channel and it is imperative that the two entities maintain their standards. “Certainly, from a

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distribution perspective we would like to know which products EMC will give access to Iomega solution providers,” he notes. Moodley believes that if EMC allows access to some of its products to smaller Iomega solution providers in SA it would strengthen the Iomega brand in markets where its products where not sold in the past. “There have to be cross-selling opportunities for the two companies’ channels and not just product bundles,” he says. He adds that although it is early days, Iomega will have to communicate clearly on its IO Club initiative, swap-out policies, marketing co-op funds and reseller recruiting if it is to attract solution providers to start selling it products in the local channel. Kasselman agrees, and goes on to say that the main motivation behind the appointment of Comztek as its latest distributor is precisely to address issues around product and service support.

“Iomega is our current top selling external hard disk drive brand. “Our customers store thousands of music files, photos, videos and data. As a result, Iomega is well placed to deliver offerings to this market.” – Karyn Lovesay, Digital Planet

Michelle Kasselman, Iomega

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She says because the product focus with the EMC merger is on NAS, the company felt Comztek was the best option to complement existing distribution partners because of its strong networking focus and solid retail footprint. Kasselman adds that the company is working on a strategy in which all three distribution partners will have to supply not only the dealer channel but the retail space as well. “This is all in an effort to reduce price wars and any suggestions that the retail sector is favoured over the dealer channel. Data Shuttle’s Moodley concurs and says Iomega should do more to protect distributors from price wars. He says this can be achieved by not going direct and selling commercial products in the channel, while leaving the consumer-targeted Iomega products for retailers. Digital Planet’s Lovesay says, as a consumer-focused retailer, the company will definitely benefit from any consumer-focused

products that EMC and Iomega introduce to the local market. “Iomega is a strong brand that I feel will do well locally,” she says.

IO Club Kasselman says as the company moves to replicate the success it has enjoyed in the retail sector, it is vital that its loyalty programme is easily accessible to all channel partners. To this end, Iomega has enhanced features of the IO Club that include exclusive promotions, sales and certification tools for existing and would-be channel partners. “We do everything to support our resellers with their Iomega sales,” she says. “Furthermore, we have the online RMA tool to return products or request a swap out. “We provide our privileged IO Club partners with an advance swap-out warranty in order to minimise downtime for their customers.” In addition, she says custom marketing, which has been ramped up, has enabled Iomega’s solution provider partners to get instant personalised marketing materials with their branding on it. “All they need to do is upload their company logo to their profile, enter contact details and promotional text, check the layout and download their customised marketing material,” she says. Kasselman adds that the company will be stepping up its recruitment drive in the channel as it would like to have direct solution provider management going forward. “This means we will have direct interaction with partners and not just through our distributors,” she says. She points that the aim of this initiative is to woo solution providers that target the consumer, SoHo and SME markets. With the EMC-Iomega merger finalised, the two companies are going to have to build out a channel and marketing structure that is focused on particular markets. Each of these markets and channel partners has different needs and objectives, and a single, blended channel structure won’t work. Although it is too early to tell if Iomega can emulate the success it has enjoyed in the retail sector in the hard to please IT solution provider channel, the yardstick against which it will be measured is if it can deliver on its promises to distributors and solution providers. That is the line the vendor will have to walk.

ANALYSIS: FARITEC SOLUTION

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Getting government business right Faritec shares the secret of winning in the public sector. BY KAUNDA CHAMA

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any local companies, especially systems integrators, are doing a lot of good business in the private sector and to most it seems as if that is the only space that is doing well. However, others such as Faritec are doing well with government business. It seems a lot of companies tend to opt for the private sector because of perceptions about the public sector that make it an unfavourable area in which to do business. If it’s not about the late payments and red tape, it’s the tender processes that some companies see as being flawed or just too tedious. CRN had the opportunity to sit down with Faritec’s man about the public sector business, Vincent Williams, to gain some insight into how a company can win good business from government and what it takes to do so. The first question to Faritec was to find out why it chose the public sector as a major focus area as opposed to the private sector, and on top of that how the company is managing to do so well. According to Williams, the reason that Faritec is doing well with systems integration in the public sector is that it offers a difference. “While everybody is selling a product, we have found a niche in that what we sell to government is a workable solution to solve a need, such as document filing solutions,” he explains. Naturally, working with the public sector comes with challenges as Williams explains: “The most important thing in the public sector is patience. If you are in a hurry then the public sector is not the place to be. You have to be able to understand the government’s business and the requirements of citizens, and have your ear to the ground at all

“One of the biggest challenges is waiting for a tender to be issued and then for it to be awarded. At a certain point, you do not know what is happening to the tender. This is frustrating as impatient bosses start putting pressure on their employees to bring in business from the public sector.” – Vincent Williams, Faritec

Vincent Williams, Faritec

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times.” He adds that one has to walk the corridors of the government departments to understand the pain points and find a solution to address them. He admits that there are some unique challenges in doing business with government.

“Remember, the salesman lives on commission and if the customer does not pay, he does not get his commission it is therefore very important that the salesman follows up on payments as well,” – Vincent Williams, Faritec

Vincent Williams, Faritec

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“One of the biggest challenges is waiting for a tender to be issued and then for it to be awarded. At a certain point, you do not know what is happening to the tender. This is frustrating as impatient bosses start putting pressure on their employees to bring in business from the public sector,” explains Williams. Currently, Faritec is selling a lot of integration enterprise content management (ECM) and service-oriented architecture (SOA) to government as well as security solutions. Faritec has one of the biggest security competencies in SA with a Security Operations Centre housed at its head office in Woodmead. “With this facility we are able to monitor the security events of a lot of companies. We also have a contact centre solution that was developed by us. Over and above these we still sell hardware and software as well as availability solutions, including backup and recovery using Symantec products,” he says. When asked about the sectors the company is targeting, Williams explains it is targeting the whole of government, including all government-controlled entities. “We are also going to make an effort to target local government and municipalities as we are an exclusive reseller of a local municipality solution called Hansen, which is an asset-management solution that can assist in the efficiency and effectiveness of local municipalities,” Williams explains. He further says that Faritec chose to put a lot of its focus on the public sector as opposed to the private sector because of the potential it saw in the sector.

“Faritec has been working in the private sector since its inception. It has been a business that has put us where we are now. Every company has to grow and, strategically, the public sector is a growth area identified by recent BMI reports. “That was the reason we chose to invest in the public sector and play in that space, knowing very well that it was not going to be easy. We are now entering our second year of focus on the public sector and we will still make investments where necessary, but we also need to start reaping the benefits of those investments,” he explains. Williams believes that the only way a company gets business in government right is by playing the game by the rules. “You need to understand that there are tender and procurement processes. You need to have meaningful relationships and have the right solutions,” he notes. With this focus the company has managed to target all government verticals. When asked how the public sector differs from the private sector in terms of needs, payment procedures and demands on a system integrator, he says: “The public sector/government services the country’s citizens. “Unlike in the private sector where you can be paid immediately on delivering a service, it might take longer to be paid in the public sector. It is therefore very important to know the people in the procurement offices and to follow up with them continuously to ensure payment for services rendered happens on time. “Remember, the salesman lives on commission and if the customer does not pay, he does not get his commission it is therefore very important that the salesman follows up on payments as well,” explains Williams. He holds his cards quite close to his chest when asked about the projections the company has made for the amount of revenue it will generate from government this year. “I cannot publicly disclose the revenue we are targeting for this year; it is safe to say we are poised to achieve our number in FY09, taking into consideration that we have now been included in some key SITA transversals that we were not part of for a number of years,” he concludes.

ANALYSIS: SIEMENS SOLUTION

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Siemens reaffirms channel focus Communication company appoints new channel head.

BY KAUNDA CHAMA

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iemens Enterprise Communications recently appointed a new channel divisional manager to further boost its indirect strategy to market. Marlon Naicker has taken up the position and is quite bullish about the communications company’s potential in SA and on the continent. The company has always had a two-tier approach to the market and has a very strong channel focus through its distributors and resellers both locally and regionally. Siemens Enterprise Communications distributes its solutions through Centratel, TSS and Nashua in SA, and has two distributors in Mozambique as well as another in Botswana. Even with this presence, Naiker says the company is still looking to expand its channel presence and to take on additional channel partners. Although the company has its “Go For Growth” incentive programmes for its channel partners, Naiker says it is planning to launch another partner programme called “Go Forward”. Naiker explains that the programme will be quite comprehensive but declines to outline any specifics and claims that there will

Marlon Naicker, Enterprise Communications

At the end of the day, South Africa is becoming a freer market by the day and competition is getting stiffer as margins get smaller and the only way a distributor, system integrator or reseller will get and stay ahead is to be more competitive with products and services it takes to market.

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be a comparatively low cost of entry for Siemens Enterprise Communications partners, adding that they will enjoy numerous benefits. “We are looking at significantly growing the amount of business we do through our partners and to give the end-user solutions for today and tomorrow at the best possible prices,” he explains.

At the end of the day, South Africa is becoming a freer market by the day and competition is getting stiffer as margins get smaller and the only way a distributor, system integrator or reseller will get and stay ahead is to be more competitive with products and services it takes to market.

He adds that the company is actively looking for more resellers and system integrators with adequate sales and technical skills to deal in the company’s communications technologies. With unified communications being the way forward, Naiker is confident that the new programme as well as new technologies from the company will do very well in the global and local market. “Historically, on the communications side, Siemens has focused on selling large enterprise systems and has done well in the SOHO and SME space. We are currently working on creating a channel that caters specifically for the end-user as well as large enterprise solutions,” he explains. In addition, he says that now that the bandwidth improvement and availability are a reality in SA, Siemens communications solutions are due for a boost, which should see the company’s business grow. The company provides both hardware and software solutions in that it sells soft phones as well as switches and routers. To this effect the company recently announced the availability of a new concept in unified communications. Siemens Enterprise Communications divisional manager, technology management and marketing, Fred Maurus says the company has bundled unified communications

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applications with easy integration of business processes using service-oriented architecture. The solution is called HiPath OpenScope. “This solution can deliver tangible benefits to organisations, including the ability to manage customers better, interact and collaborate easier and more efficiently with colleagues, suppliers and customers, reduce operational costs, leverage assets and improve management effectiveness as well as business process efficiency,” he explains. Central to Siemens Enterprise Communications unified communications domain is OpenScope, a piece of software which integrates a range of applications that include OpenScope Voice, Video, UC Applications, Management, Mobility and Customer Interaction. “With the ability to integrate communications into business processes, we are able to offer customers a substantial productivity increase as painlessly as possible. Communications Embedded Business Processes (CeBP) are the new drive to initiate business and benefits based on unified communications and the convergence of voice, data and image,” Maurus explains. He adds that with this solution, the number of human errors decreases, so the entire business automatically becomes more efficient. According to Maurus, OpenScope is designed to remove the artificial legacy barriers between today’s traditionally separate voice, video and unified communications systems to enable a comprehensive suite of UC applications. “It can operate in virtually any existing IT environment with IP telephony from Siemens or any other vendor – a key proof point of Siemens’ Open Communications positioning,” says Maurus. “Installation is easy and affordable, with highly practical options that do not require expensive or complex proprietary technology stacks.” Siemens believes that voice remains the most natural and effective form of human communication. Accordingly, the company has built OpenScope from the ground up as an open, SIP-based, software IT communications and UC application founded with shared Web-services components that leverages service-oriented architecture.

ANALYSIS: MICROSOFT SOLUTION

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Microsoft braces a new era BY KAUNDA CHAMA

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icrosoft is ready to put all its efforts behind making its most recent operating system Windows Vista as successful as its predecessor Windows XP. The world’s leading software vendor recently announced that on 16 June it had effectively ended the sale of XP, particularly in the OEM volume space and on large enterprise accounts. Although it is an available option for those that choose to downgrade from Vista for issues such as compatibility, the company says that it will no longer appear on any of its distributor price lists.

Colin Erasmus, Microsoft

“Companies and individuals can still get XP on the downgrade list, this includes OEM and volume customers,” says Colin Erasmus: Microsoft South Africa Security Lead. He adds that system builders, the DSP channel as well as white-box traders have until January 2009 before Microsoft stops supplying them with the product. In addition, the ultra low-cost PC space will enjoy the availability of XP until 2010. Meanwhile, Erasmus says that Microsoft will continue providing the global market with critical support on the operating system until 2014. “The rationale behind the move is that we have to move on with the new technology that we have brought to market and encourage customers to adopt it. In addition, every day brings with it new security threats and Microsoft needs to keep providing its customers with technology that gives them the best possible solutions as it keeps innovating,” he explains. When asked if it could have been an agreement between the software giant and hardware vendors to boost PC sells, Erasmus is quick to brush this aside as mere speculation, adding that companies have their own PC replacement cycles and they will upgrade to Vista and new machines as and when they need to do so. Vista was launched to the general public in the first quarter of 2007. Erasmus says that it has to date sold in the region of 150 million licences, much more than XP did in the same amount of time after its launch. “Despite all the talk about compatibility issues, Vista supports more peripherals than XP now,” he notes. Erasmus advises that corporates wanting to upgrade to Vista must be very careful about taking the step because the move could

present certain challenges, adding that that is the main reason why the software giant is allowing for downgrades to XP in the interim. He claims that to date, between 80 and 90 per cent of the systems being shipped internationally come standard with the Vista operating system and says that the local market has seen a significant improvement in Vista adoption after the release of Windows Vista Service Pack 1. Microsoft says it expects its next version of the Windows operating system (Windows 7) to be ready by 2010. This new version of Windows will feature multi-touch technology and will be based on the Vista kernel. In developing this new version of its operating system, Microsoft, according to Erasmus, has also put a lot of emphasis on the device and application compatibility issues that seemed to have plagued Vista in its early days. Erasmus comments that Windows 7 will also be componentised to make provision for easier improvements. Additionally, the software vendor says that before Windows 7 is ready to hit the shelves, it will release Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) an application it says will be standards-based and will have major security enhancements over previous versions. Erasmus concludes that software, as a service, will be an even bigger focus area for Microsoft so the market should look out for more developments and solutions from the vendor.

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APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT

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for

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organisational

change

Good tools make developers more productive. BY DUDU SHABA

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ith application development tools, developers are able to create a range of applications and services that are easy to use, enabling rapid development of Web services as well as traditional applications. According to Dave Ives, head of Developer Platform

“Application developers are being driven to change for many of the same reasons they are always driven to change, users want new features, business models and methodologies are changing, there are new languages and frameworks, and new architectures.” – Ashley Ellington, Softline Enterprise

Evangelism, Microsoft SA, every mediumto-large company in this country has developers working to create custom applications. He says that new-generation application development tools like Microsoft’s Visual Studio 2008, allow them to create better, more connected applications faster and cheaper than ever before. “The bottom line is that companies get to capture and organise information better, and make more effective business decisions,” he says. Ashley Ellington, MD, Softline Enterprise, says that with

Ashley Ellington, Softline Enterprise

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today’s need for an agile supply chain, barcoded data capture can deliver improved speed and accuracy, decrease employee time to process and overall transaction costs. “With the latest offerings from its Sageaccredited development partner, Defacto, which is based in the UK, Softline Enterprise is able to provide the local market with flexible solutions to bring bar-coded data capture to the Sage 1000 and Sage Line 500 environments,” he says. “Application developers are being driven to change for many of the same reasons they are always driven to change, users want new features, business models and methodologies are changing, there are new languages and frameworks, and new architectures. So the race is on to improve development, make it easier and faster, and to bring users closer to it,” says Keith Fenner, Strategic Sales Director, Softline Accpac.

Trends Ives states that there are several trends that are challenging application development professionals to continue meeting business expectations. He says one is the ongoing diversification of the software supply chain and the need to build for change. “We’re also confronted with shorter development and delivery cycles, which are the reasons why we’re building tools that enable developers to be more productive, take advantage of all the latest platform advances and collaborate more effectively throughout the software lifecycle,” he says. Fenner says the advent of Web 2.0 has put developers at a critical juncture with website performance. He states that the majority of all new application projects use Rich Internet Application (RIA) technologies such as Ajax, which is also getting a lot of attention from the developer community as a new technology to deliver SOA-enabled

APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT SOLUTION

composite applications. “The Web is already the platform for doing business efficiently and quickly. As the penetration of high-speed and broadband Internet access increases, Web technologies continue to evolve to deliver new user experiences and increased application utility. The Rich Internet Application (RIA) is another step in that evolutionary process. Nowadays, these richer user experiences are being implemented with technologies such as Flash, Ajax and Java, using standard Internet and Web protocols,” he says. He goes on to say that the Google Web Toolkit (GWT) has attracted a lot of attention as a way of making it easier for developers to add Ajax Web 2.0 features to their applications. “The recently launched GWT 1.5 produces code faster than ever and delivers performance gains big enough for end-users to notice,” says Fenner.

What’s new? Alec Willis, MD, Defacto, says the greatest success has been the newly launched DefCapture bar-coded data capture solution for Sage. Historically, he says that the only choice for bar coding, Sage, was faced with either buying an expensive, heavyweight warehouse management product, which often returned little for the heavy investment, or having business partners create their own hybrid solutions. The latter, Willis says, tended to be hampered by interfacing difficulties and non-standard solutions. “DefCapture provides a flexible solution to bring bar-coded data capture to the Sage 1000 and Sage Line 500 environments. Aimed at companies that want to enjoy the improved data entry efficiency possible with bar codes without the expenditure and effort of installing and integrating a full third-party warehouse management system, this product offers a simple, yet flexible, front-end to the Sage installation,” he says. He explains the features which make this solution so attractive are its flexibility and configurability. “Screens can be customised by local business partners and transactions can be combined to make more complex transactions. All of this takes place within a standard interface, while the technicalities of updating the

TOOLS FEATURE

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Sage system are hidden from and protect the end-user and business partner,” says Willis. He goes on to say that another product which has been well received in SA is Defacto’s universal interface module. This product, he says, enables third-party systems to connect to Sage to import sales orders, invoices, purchase orders and to transact despatches, receipts and stock movements. “Now there is a universal and common, streamlined way to interface with Sage using a supported product which tracks Sage revisions. Business partners no longer have to second guess what Sage does and try to replicate database updates using homegrown solutions with the risk of invalidating support agreements,” says Willis. Ives says that Microsoft’s key player in this arena is Visual Studio 2008, a unified toolset that enables developers and development teams to build great applications on the Microsoft platform. “Support for Windows Vista and Microsoft Office system development assists developers

success with the Quality Management module with three big wins in three months. This plugs a gap and immediately widens the audience that Sage can address. Installations are spreading from SA into other African countries like Zimbabwe and Malawi. Likewise, the Laboratory Inspection and Analysis systems are making good inroads here,” he says.

Vertical markets Ives believes that every market can benefit from application development tools. He states that organisations can deliver an endless range of new capabilities and capitalise on significant business opportunities by using the Visual Studio SDK to build extensions to Visual Studio, shipping standalone tools within the Visual Studio Shell, or integrating Visual Studio Tools for Applications into their software. “Developers can build extensions to target any platform, enabling them to create custom tools for mobile devices, embedded

“We are building tools that enable developers to be more productive, take advantage of all the latest platform advances and collaborate more effectively throughout the software lifecycle.” – Dave Ives, Microsoft SA.

to build compelling rich-client applications,” he says. Ives believes that all developers from hobbyists to smaller development shops to enterprise development teams can benefit from the latest version of Visual Studio and the .NET Framework. “Visual Studio 2008 provides best practices that development organisations can apply to their own processes to deliver software on budget, on target and on time,” he says. Willis says that another product, the Defacto Customer Returns module, has also grabbed the attention of the local market. “This product offers great flexibility for handling customer complaints through to resolution. We have also had a great deal of

systems, cross-platform environments, and more,” Ive explains. “Visual Studio Tools for Applications can be used to support the addition of customisation capabilities to Windows-based applications. Through such an approach, ISVs can address a broader market with existing products, system integrators and resellers can tailor off-the-shelf products to customer needs, and end-users can customise software to optimise its use,” he adds Steven Cohen, MD, Softline Pastel, believes that the recent introduction of a software development kit (SDK) for the Pastel Evolution product allows companies to combine the flexibility of a customised solution with the price competitiveness of an

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off-the-shelf one. “With the addition of an SDK, companies now have the ability to use a developer to customise those vital few integration elements. Traditionally, SDKs were available to the higher-end of the market. More recently, massmarket companies are using SDKs as well. Companies often choose large-scale enterprise solutions because they have a lot more functionality. However, these solutions

scription, developer labs and customised architectural support. Reach millions of developers with products and services: a wide range of marketing opportunities to help generate awareness and drive adoption among Visual Studio developers. In addition to that, Ives says that Microsoft’s VSIP Programme provides focused benefits for companies extending Visual Studio; the Microsoft Partner

“The Google Web Toolkit (GWT) has attracted a lot of attention lately as a way to make it easier for developers to add AJAX Web 2.0 features to their applications.”

– Keith Fenner, Softline Accpac. are very expensive, have longer implementation periods and generally provide a significant number of features that smaller companies don’t need. The introduction of SDKs on many generic solutions is impacting the way big software vendors are doing business,” says Cohen.

Partnering opportunities

Keith Fenner, Softline Accpac

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According to Ives, Visual Studio supports a rich, diverse ecosystem of developers who ship thousands of Visual Studio-integrated products from high-end process guidance tools to free Power Toys. Microsoft offers a number of resources for partners, including the Visual Studio Industry Partner Programme, the Microsoft Partner Programme, and programmes for Web hosting and other service providers. According to Ives, the innovative companies and developers that comprise the Visual Studio Ecosystem provide thousands of third-party solutions that integrate with Visual Studio and meet a wide range of development needs such as:. Valuable insights for business: get early previews of new products, insights on Microsoft developer and industry research, and access to an exclusive VSIP Programme portal. Deep technical enablement: the VSIP programme includes a number of technical benefits, including an MSDN sub-

Programme provides a wide range of benefits across the Microsoft technology stack. He says that VSIP Premier Partners who release eligible products receive points towards the Microsoft Partner Programme ISV/Software Solutions Competency. “From business planning to customer retention, the Microsoft Partner Programme offers an integrated partnering framework that recognises your expertise, rewards you for the impact that you have in the technology marketplace, and delivers value to help your business succeed, regardless of your business’ size or focus,” he explains.

The future Fenner says that vendors need to completely revamp and revitalise their approach to applications development, he believes that they are still faced with the challenge of advancing in mobile computing. “Innovation is, therefore, a key component of application development, in addition to helping to drive the customer’s competitive edge,” he says. “By providing its partners with the SDK option, a software vendor opens its business model to an entirely new range of partners that have existing solutions that need to closely integrate with a vendor like Pastel, and others that want to develop brand-new solutions that must also integrate with Pastel,” concludes Cohen.

CONSUMABLES SOLUTION

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Filling the gap The debate of generics versus genuine consumables. BY DUDU SHABA

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onsumables offer channel players enormous profit opportunities on an ongoing basis, ensuring recurring revenue. Besides this, a growing concern in the channel has always been the emergence of refills or generic consumables as a cheaper alternative to genuine products. Neil Rom, MD, Printacom, says that the consumables market is dynamic in its challenge to meet customer demand for better quality at reduced prices. “This is truer now more than ever as margins are tighter and companies are attempting to do more with less. The market still requires education on the benefits of using genuine consumables and resellers should look at innovative ways of building consumables into service contracts that are underpinned by effective management,” he says. Lawrence van Namen, sales director Channel and Supplies, Lexmark International SA, says consumables are the most important part of its solutions offering to customers. “They complete our value offering of a cost-effective solution. We educate our customers to view consumables as a pivotal part of the solution, and advise them of the potential costs involved when choosing a solution. A cost-effective solution means hardware then can deliver and consumables that meet expectations cost-effectively. It’s the consumables that deliver the high quality and reliability of printing that Lexmark customers expect,” he comments.

The market still requires education on the benefits of using genuine consumables and resellers should look at innovative ways of building consumables into service contracts that are underpinned by effective management.”

– Neil Rom, MD, Printacom

purchasing individual cartridges or boxes of consumables they are now demanding endto-end solutions. “This is the main reason HP has created the Pay-for-Print solution. Corporations that are experiencing high-volume print demands, which result in an increase in printing costs and inefficiencies related to day-to-day printing, are reverting to this solution to aid their printing processes. The Pay-for-Print solution eliminates the inefficiencies experienced by a corporation and provides an offering which manages print inventories, simplifies supply replenishment, reduces print costs and provides extensive monitoring features for a better overview of printer performance,” he says. Ernest Leong, product manager, Office Printing Business, Bytes Document Solutions says vendors are

The current state of the market Nathan Nayagar, Supplies Business Manager, HP SA, says that the economic landscape has changed drastically over the past two years. According to him, large corporations are procuring printing necessities differently to in the past. Instead of

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constantly updating their efforts to protect their revenue streams by developing and using new technologies that prevent others from copying their cartridges and stealing their annuities. “With the negatives incurred through using refill consumables offset against the positives of using the originals, it is a wonder that anyone would go the refill route. The smaller Xerox printers combine imaging drums and toner cartridges into a single

unit. Drums have set life spans, so if cartridges are refilled, print quality suffers and the drum deteriorates and will print with streaks. On the larger printers and MFPs it is the opposite, where the drum has a much greater yield than the toner cartridge. The grade, quality and particle size of toner used by remanufacturers is not the same as that used by Xerox, which also adversely affects print quality and damages the drum,” says Leong.

What is new?

“We educate our customers to view consumables as a pivotal part of the solution and advise them of the potential costs involved when choosing a solution.” – Lawrence van

Namen, Lexmark International SA

Lawrence van Namen, Lexmark SA

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Looking at what new products the channel is bringing for us Christelle Fensham, HP consumables product specialist, DCC says that the consumables marketplace has been steady and constant in recent months, with no major developments or technology breakthroughs. From HP’s perspective, she says they’ve introduced colour-coded printer cartridges which simplify the use and management of consumables. Essentially, the company has segregated all the ink cartridges in the market into three colours – blue, green and red. “The standard blue cartridge is cheaper and is intended for users who print on a weekly basis while green is for bulk printing, red is a specialist cartridges and optimised for additional performance such as photographic use. Furthermore, in an effort to curb counterfeiting HP’s cartridges now incorporate End of Warranty (EOW) signage that has replaced “install by” on all boxes, printed usually in the right-hand corner or the bottom. This date must match the EOW on the cartridge,” she says. Van Namen says Lexmark is focusing on educating its customers and partners on how important their consumable choices are. “Choosing to use the higher yield consumable option has a huge impact on their running costs, administration and the environment. Most of Lexmark’s printers offer a high-yield option in consumables, which in some cases can offer double the yield of a standard cartridge. This means they order fewer cartridges, replace them less often and dispose of less used cartridges. They benefit and so does the environment by making one smart choice,” he says. A strategy that is not new to > p28

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Lexmark, which is also receiving increased focus, is Lexmark’s philosophy of promoting high-yield cartridges. “We have now introduced this offering to our inkjet range in the form of extra-highyield cartridges for our professional series of printers, and we continue to expand this offering across our range. This has cost reduction implications for users, and also reduces the impact on the environment,” Van Namen says. >> p26

The Pay-for-Print solution eliminates the inefficiencies experienced by a corporation and provides an offering which manages print inventories, simplifies supply replenishment, reduces print costs and provides extensive monitoring features for a better overview of printer performance.”

– Nathan Nayagar, HP SA

What are consumable margins like? According to Van Namen, there is always increasing pressure on margins, which is endemic to the entire industry and not just to Lexmark. “Nevertheless, consumables still offer reasonable margins to partners,” he says. Michael Powell, product marketing manager at Kyocera Mita SA, says the costs of consumables are being driven down by the availability of generic refills and counterfeit toners. “This has a negative effect on margins, then with the economy in its current state, manufacturers find themselves fighting a constant battle in trying to offer a product which remains

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profitable but is attractive to end-users, says Powell. Leong believes that the consumables business is constant and growing as new products are brought to market. “The margins, as usual, are getting tighter as resellers compete for the same customers’ business by trying to offer better deals. There are also grey marketers and importers bringing in originals and under-cutting prices, which is of real concern to the authorised distributors and resellers,” he says.

Competition against refills? According to Leong, end-users are starting to understand through constant warnings and education from vendors the implications and benefits of genuine products but then, his view is that there will always be a few who will try and cut costs by buying compatibles. Prices of the originals have been getting more aggressive, so the refill market has been feeling the impact, says Van Namen. He believes that some refills do not deliver quality and they often see second-time buyers of refills being wary of the product. “We also focus on educating our customers on the environmental impact of using refills. Refillers do not necessarily have certifications and procedures in place when it comes to the composition of their inks or their recycling practices. So using refills is not always a greener option. The content of Lexmark consumables are not harmful to the environment, and are not dangerous to humans, customers are not always assured of that when purchasing refills.

Education challenges Gary Naidoo, deputy MD, Sahara Computers says solution providers should assist industry by consolidating vendors, devices and functions by improving document workflow and not only focus on consumables’ costs. “End-users should be made aware of the advantages of using the OEM consumable manufactured according to ISO standards and the negative impact that non-original consumables can have on their entire business,” Naidoo says. “We often find a lack of focus on consumables, for some solution providers they have not been a part of their sales

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cycle. It then becomes an afterthought, and often turns out to be the wrong or least cost-effective choice for what the customer is printing. Consumables make up the biggest part of the running cost of a printing solution, and solution providers need to treat them with due respect. Our advice is to make consumable options part of their selling processes. Educate the customer on their different yield options, and which will be the most costeffective for them depending on their printing volumes,” adds Van Namen. According to Nayagar, HP recently reinvented and expanded its global supplies portfolio to deliver more customer choices, greater value and a dramatically simplified shopping experience both in-store and online. “The new colour-coded packaging which HP has made available assists consumers with an easier selection in-store and online. Customers want more control over their ink cartridge purchases, and when it comes to meeting their printing needs, one size does not fit all,” he says. “Solution providers should always educate purchasers and procurement people about the use of original consumables as they are ultimately assisting the end-user in protecting themselves under the standard OEM warranty agreements. After all, a warranty is in place to protect the consumer,” says Powell.

Recurring revenues For solution providers to ensure that they earn recurring revenues and improve their margins by bundling consumables with other printers and imaging solution offerings, Leong suggests that value-added products and services can be wrapped around almost any offering to improve the return on investment and functionality for customers. “Xerox’s MaiLinX Remote Printing feature allows companies to print to one or more remote Xerox printers over the Internet directly from Windows applications. The print jobs are sent as e-mail. Customers can send print jobs to a group of printers, print services can be accessed by proxy through firewalls and status reports can be gathered via e-mail. MaiLinX Alerts can also be set up to order consumables if the printer detects an out of toner message. An

e-mail is sent directly to the buyer or, if approved and accepted, sent directly to the supplier to reduce the customer’s downtime and allow them to manage their printer uptime more proactively,” says Leong. According to Powell, bundling consumables and selling them at a lower margin, can ensure you have guaranteed revenue over a fixed period. “You also take away the opportunity for

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CRUM makes it possible to eliminate warranty returns for counterfeit materials, receive early warning of parts that need to be replaced, ascertain how much life remains in a device, gather batch information and protect the warranty,” he says. “Manufacturers of OEM consumables have now turned to “microchip” technology in most of toner cartridges and research and development continues in order to protect

“As technology advances, vendors will build more measures to protect their future annuity for growth and make it even harder for compatibles and grey importers to compete.” – Ernest Leong, Bytes Document Solutions your end-user to look elsewhere, five per cent margin is better than no margin at all. You will also ensure that your customer has constant contact with you, which could possibly ensure future business,” says Powell. “Solution providers can ensure that they earn recurring revenues by tailoring each of their solutions by bundling consumables with printers and imaging solutions on installation, and managing the supplies requirements by signing “service level agreements” with the end-user and distributors,” Naidoo comments.

Curbing refills To curb the use of refills, Leong,says that Xerox’s customer replaceable unit monitor (CRUM) technology defines a process by which the state or status of consumable subsystems can be monitored to enhance the efficiency or productivity of the machine on which it is installed. “For example, consider the toner supply subsystem of a xerographic copier that monitors the amount of toner remaining. This CRUM can provide information such as the number of copies that can be made before the toner cartridge must be replaced. If a user selects a copy quantity in excess of what can be printed, the printer can alert the user to take appropriate action.

their capital investment,” he says. “Look for the HP Invent logo. Shift the box back and forth. The colour of the logo will go from green to blue as the angle of view is shifted. This area has a glossy appearance and sparkles when viewed from some angles,” says Fensham.

The future of consumables? Van Namen says that Lexmark is prepared to focus on giving its customers cost-effective solutions and reducing the impact on the environment. “We continue to develop products with a longer life cycle, higher yields, run more effectively with better quality and reduce the impact on the environment. We are also working with partners on different models of supply,” he says. “End-to end solutions, such as Pay-for–Print, are the way of the future for corporations, as mentioned earlier. Consumers, however, will always require in-store advice and assistance from retailers- so boxed consumables will always be a necessity,” says Nayagar “As technology advances, vendors will build more measures to protect their future annuity for growth and make it even harder for compatibles and grey importers to compete,” concludes Leong.

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Grey matters Are grey imports undermining channel legitimacy? BY STANLEY CHISHALA

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MANDA BANDA

hey call themselves “independent” distributors not grey marketers and say they are seeing dramatic sales growth as more solution providers turn to them to source products. Is this the case in the local channel given these tough economic times? A growing number of emerging distributors that lack vendor authorisations are gaining a foothold in the channel by offering

“SA, like most countries in emerging markets, allows businesses to grey import.” – Uwe Brandkamp, Comztek

Uwe Brandkamp, Comztek

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new PC equipment to solution providers at prices substantially below what the distributors with authorisations are charging for their products. Parallel imports refer to genuine non-counterfeit items or products placed on the market in a country and subsequently imported by a second country without the permission of the manufacturer or vendor. The goods are usually bought in markets where the price is lower and sold in countries where the price of the same goods in higher. Should parallel importers be permitted to bring in grey products? Should they be compelled to advertise to alert resellers and consumers about the nature of the products they sell? Far from hiding in the shadows like covert grey marketers, many independent distributors that have emerged on the local channel scene are openly touting their independent status and back up their aggressive prices with service some solution providers who source products from them claim is superior to that of distributors with vendor authorisations. Yet, just as the independents are gaining ground vendors, notably HP and Lenovo, are stepping up their efforts to squash sales of their products through unauthorised channels. Rashid Wally, country GM at Lenovo SA, outlined at a recent CRN Outlook planning meeting that the issue of corporate governance should always guide resellers and certainly the entire channel. They should not risk their business integrity to make quick money by sourcing products from the grey channel. He strongly believes there is a need to expose those that grey import as it not only dents the image of the local IT industry but

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also puts the question of corporate governance on the country as well.

Undermining channel legitimacy Jacques Malherbe, Westcon SA CEO, agrees and says grey imports are not only undermining channel legitimacy but that the prime ingredient in effective mission-critical processes is that business transactions are conducted with integrity. Malherbe says this virtue allows a relationship based on trust to form between distributors, vendors and resellers, and contributes to organisational growth and prosperity. “At Westcon, resellers are encouraged to purchase through legitimate channels,” he says. “This enables channel growth, provision of legitimate warranty, guarantees documentation; and access to an advisory and support platform.” Uwe Brandkamp, Comztek Networks Business Unit director, says grey marketing, although bringing in products outside official distribution channels, is not illegal. However, Brandkamp says whether vendor, distributor, reseller or end-user, grey marketing affects all involved in this supply chain. This, says Brandkamp, is because grey importers reap the benefits of their activities without making investments or contributing to the growth of the channel. “SA, like most countries in emerging markets, allows businesses to grey import,” he says. However, this unofficial form of commerce is inhibiting and damaging the local channel. So, what should be done to combat grey marketing and who should be doing it? Indeed, while vendors like HP, Lenovo and others have declared war on the grey market, some solution providers say the cries of foul are nothing more than theatrics. Some solution providers, who did not want to speak on the record for fear of retribution from vendors, say they are spending a high percentage of their rands with unauthorised suppliers because of the better prices and services. “We get better prices than the authorised distributors would give,” says one long-time solution provider. Rectron CEO Mark Lu, disagrees and says certainly from a Rectron perspective, it has not been affected by the claim that independent grey importers offer superior service to

Rashid Wally, Lenovo SA distributors with authorisations. However, Lu says there are more and more retailers consolidating their demand and have started getting involved in “direct imports”.

“The issue of corporate governance should always guide resellers and certainly the entire channel and not risk their business integrity because they want to make quick money by sourcing products from the grey channel.” – Rashid Wally, Lenovo SA

He says added to this, are the prevailing economic conditions in the country that have worsened the grey imports situation in the country. “Rectron is watching this trend carefully,” he says. “Another worrying factor I have picked up is that there are a lot of ‘refurbished’ products being introduced into the South African market. I believe that this type of business practice will hurt the industry as a whole.” Lu points out that there is an increase in the amount of refurbished optical and hard disk drives that are finding their way into the

Cathleen Lester, Axiz

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hands of unsuspecting consumers. Comztek’s Brandkamp agrees and says everyone who has an investment in the region and wants to attain benefits for and from sanctioned channels should be taking steps against grey marketing in SA and certainly sub-Saharan Africa.

Vendors’ role Brandkamp says the largest contribution can be made by vendors. He says while most vendors do not consent to grey marketing, some are slow to act or just ignore it. “Perhaps this is because vendors achieve revenue for genuine goods whether sold through official or unofficial channels,” he notes. However, Brandkamp says the authorised channels of distribution require protection and every attempt should be made by vendors to close the sources of grey imports. “Unless

“Vendors are not doing enough to protect the authorised distributors and it is this attitude that has been the root cause of grey marketing flourishing at high levels in SA.” – Mark Lu, Rectron

Mark Lu, Rectron

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the issue of grey marketing is dealt with by vendors in the harshest possible manner, it will continue to be a problem in the South African market space,” he asserts He points out that for a vendor keen to protect legitimate channels, the sentence administered needs to be appropriate and very visible, as a light sentence does not deter this activity. Brandkamp believes distributors can also assist in bringing grey marketers to justice. “Any distributor aware of grey marketing activities should supply the details to the appropriate vendor, who could then trace them back to where they originated and cut the supply chain at its source,” he says. Rectron’s Lu says, to be frank, vendors are not doing enough to protect the authorised distributors and it is this attitude that has been the root cause of grey marketing flourishing at high levels in SA.

Channel and end-user education Malherbe says end-user customers place their faith in the fact that the products they are purchasing derive from an authorised and supported source. However, he says that when products are mission critical, it is imperative that customers can rest assured they are buying top-quality products. He emphasises that knowing whether they are genuine products should be at the forefront of the customer’s decisionmaking process. Malherbe says resellers that want to minimise the risk of getting caught on the wrong side of the product purchasing process should ask their IT supplier a few simple questions to validate the origin and originality of the product. “Questions such as: Is the product new? Does the product come with a guarantee that the components are genuine? Can I see the software licence? should form part of the validation process,” he notes. Customers should also ensure that the warranty is enclosed and they should take note of the packaging they receive the goods in. Sub-standard packaging could indicate a grey product. He says grey marketing impacts the financial health of manufacturers and distribution channels through price destabilisation and it could also eventually affect the

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ability of manufacturers to investment in future technologies. To ensure channel growth, distributors, vendors, resellers and customers should educate themselves on the dangers of illegitimate purchases. Without this awareness customers can place their entire organisations at risk. Comztek’s Brandkamp says as a result of lack of awareness or education, a reseller may not know whether it is purchasing stock from an unofficial channel. However, a reseller should take the initiative to make sure that products sold are sourced through the official channel. “For end-users, it is important to reiterate that grey market products may be cheaper, but may not carry the same guarantees as products from official channels,” he says.

Warranty Lu says the company has been able to take certain punitive measures against customers that source products from the grey market Jacques Malherbe, Westcon

“At Westcon, resellers are encouraged to purchase through legitimate channels.” – Jacques Malherbe, Westcon

through warranty and service. At end of the day, says Lu, it is all about “you get what you pay for”. “If resellers believe in face value and only want to make procurement decisions based on price, then they have to live with the consequences. He says Rectron has a very simple policy whereby all the goods invoiced out go through a bar-code tracking system so if the product can’t be found in the company’s tracking system, the warranty is not honoured. “By doing this, our customers know they can’t take any chances,” he says Brandkamp concurs and says manufacturers should refuse to honour the warranty of an item purchased from a grey market source on the grounds that the higher price on the non-grey market product assures a higher level of service. “The end-user has the

responsibility to question whether they are making a legitimate purchase or one that could cost them more in the long run. Industry pundits have suggested that auctions on E-commerce sites may have contributed to the high levels of grey imports. Lu says auctions on Websites do contribute but not to a large extent. “On the contrary, most of the auction sites are not cheap at all. I have noticed a few big e-tailers that are definitely grey importing a lot of components into this country and I feel that’s where the focus needs to be,” he says. Although independent distributors ultimately target those solution providers that are largely unmanaged by vendors, pundits believe solution providers with certifications, especially with vendors, should not risk their credibility because if they are caught supporting the unauthorised channels, their businesses are screwed.

Cathleen Lester, Axiz

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The VOIP promise …Always on, always connected. BY KAUNDA CHAMA

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DOMINIC KHUZWAYO

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oice over IP (VoIP) and wireless fidelity (WiFi) continue to be viable communication options for organisations of all sizes. Recent years have seen the two merging into what is being called Voice over Wi-Fi (VoWiFi).

“It’s no longer just about opportunities in the voice market, but rather in the areas where we are able to marry data and security, unified communications, and wireless solutions where the real opportunities exist.” – Richard Menton, Bytes Communications

Richard Menton, Bytes Communications

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The move to wireless VoIP, spurred in part by the growing demand for mobile wireless connections and the desire to keep communication costs down, is expected to present new sales and support opportunities for VARs. The big question is, however, how can VARs, solution providers and system integrators take advantage of the revenue-generation opportunities presented to them as enterprises continue to roll-out VoIP and wireless LANs in buildings. At the same time, the emergence of unified communications is impacting this. Richard Menton, product manager, Bytes Communication Systems states that Internet Protocol and WiFi no longer just offer opportunities in the voice market, but also in areas where companies are able to marry data and security, unified communications and wireless solutions. This, he notes, is where the real opportunities exist. “Customers are maturing and they are warming up to the notion of unified communications. We have seen that there is a drive from the C-Level executives because they have a better understanding of the rationale behind needing a converged communications solution, as well as better knowledge of the technology itself. It is really the top guys in my opinion that are driving this demand,” adds Menton. According to Brett Butler, solutions architect, Avaya Sub-Saharan Africa, customers are able to centralise their voice services in the data center centre or headquarters and extend VoIP services to remote or branch locations, offering a common set of features and a single infrastructure that is centrally managed. “This essentially allows companies to build private VoIP networks between corporate locations thus saving on telecommunications costs when dialling between them.”

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“Mobility is also a key inherent capability of VoIP and IP telephony that allows users the same telephony experience whether they are roaming within locations using Wi-Fi technology or between remote locations,” says Butler. Microsoft SA’s Albie Bester his designation? predicts that the main driver behind the fundamental change in communication trends in the corporate space is software. He says that enterprise communications in SA is about to change fundamentally as it moves from a hardware platform to a software platform. In just three years, he states that companies will communicate at half the cost and share information more seamlessly and effectively than ever. Bester suggests that the average VoIP solution for business will cost half of what it does today, as VoIP systems make the transition from hardware to software. He says the unified communications revolution represents a compelling glimpse into the future of collaboration and information worker environments while setting the stage for a backend infrastructure where archaic hardware PBXs will be replaced by software and industry-standard servers, potentially resulting in dramatic economic benefits. According to Bester, early adopters estimate savings of 25% to 30% over traditional communications approaches using unified communications. “In fact, Forrester estimates the average company will see more than 500 per cent ROI in three years with technologies like Microsoft’s Office Communications Server. Areas where customers can achieve a return on their investment include reduced internal technology costs; reduced business communications costs, especially person-to person voice calls and mobile devices; increased individual productivity; and increased business process performance,” he says. Bester comments that modern softwarebased technologies are finally living up to their promise of irrevocably changing the ways people work. “By providing softwarebased voice technology and VoIP solutions to businesses, 100 million people across the world - twice the number of current business VoIP users - will have the ability to make phone calls from desktop productivity applications by 2010,” says Bester.

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“The convergence of telecom and data networks is happening rapidly. Software will integrate these two worlds, enabling IT managers to deliver new communications possibilities that include VoIP. This open architecture and broad interoperability will give IT managers the flexibility to determine when and how and in what way they move their communications infrastructure forward.”

“The ultimate driver of VoIP is not merely cost savings, but business process integration.” – Gartner report

A recent Gartner report states: “The ultimate driver of VoIP is not merely cost savings, but business process integration. Enterprises should evaluate their long-term strategy toward developing IP telephony applications beyond basic telephony, including business application integration.” A similar Forrester Report states: “Unified communications will become a future standard for how businesses communicate effectively. Unified communications is more than a technology upgrade: it’s a process to increase worker productivity and reduce the latency found in many business activities.” Technology researcher IDC estimates that the market e for worldwide unified communications in 2007 was approximately $4.8 billion. By 2011 it is expected to increase to $14.5 billion. The advent of unified communications also means that a vibrant partner ecosystem is emerging. Microsoft is delivering an open standards-based software platform that is fuelling new economic opportunities for partners. As partners embrace and build on this platform, the pace of innovation is accelerating and customers are seeing lower costs and increasing choices. “Partners can benefit from the open software platform because it allows for rapid innovation, increased customer choice, lower costs and a flexible foundation for future communication needs,” says Bester. Meanwhile, more than 50 companies have announced new products and services built around Microsoft’s unified communications

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software. Global telephony leaders Nortel and Ericsson announced new software built on Microsoft’s voice platform. Numerous ISVs, including SAP, announced they will build presence and clink?-to-communicate capabilities into their apps. According to Adrian Bush his designation? Evenflow Distribution there is huge opportunity for solution providers willing to take on VoIP as a serious business case. “The market has matured to a point where there is adequate support and training to equip solution providers with the necessary skills. However, the solution provider that dabbles in IP telephony and VoIP without investing in the necessary training is likely to realise very quickly that the support hassles and costs far outweigh any monetary gains,” he says.

On the VoIP service provider side, there has been a lot of uncertainty in the past as to the direction of government policy so VoIP termination services have been slow and limited in their offering.

Cisco is one of many vendors that have been operating in this space for a number of years. The interesting industry development is, in fact, how other solutions are now succeeding in the traditionally “Cisco space”. Corporates who would typically have only considered Cisco are now presented with a far wider array of quality alternatives. “An example is the significant move towards open source telephony applications such as Asterisk. Government departments and corporates are considering this alternative due to cost, features and scalability of the solution. Government departments, such as SARS, are in the process of rolling out Asterisk-based solutions. There is a strong move in government to go open source,” says Bush. On the VoIP service provider side, there has been a lot of uncertainty in the past as to the direction of government policy so VoIP termination services have been slow and limited in their offering. Bush says that in the last year this has, however, changed with providers launching decent offerings like Vox, Telfree, Hymax and IS VoIS. The majority of these providers have good reseller offerings which opens the mar-

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ket to the channel. Additionally, local interconnect rates will be a limiting factor in the competitiveness of VoIP providers in terms of their local/national and cellphone call rates, and will be a constraint on growth. In Bush’s opinion, certain vendors have focused on resellers as a sales channel and have not relied on them for installation and support, so from these vendors technical training has been limited. He adds that the IT industry has embraced VoIP because it understands the technology and its benefits. Due to the relatively high cost of an IP telephony solution the adoption has traditionally been more among industries that have a specific requirement that IP telephony fulfils such as sales companies with remote workers. Wernher Lotter, sales director at Centravoice comments that enterprises are dealing with complex communication requirements and growing workforce mobility and prefer to focus on improving their operations rather than investing in new equipment. Industry analysts and market research findings concur that the opportunity for this market is large and strategically important. Many service providers are jumping in to take advantage of this new opportunity. Lotter says that managed communications present an opportunity for service providers to generate new revenue streams and differentiate themselves from pure commodity competitors to build a sustainable competitive advantage. Moving up the value chain from connectivity services to higher-value managed communication services requires a transformation in terms of the relationship service providers have with their enterprise customers. He adds that a large proportion of new enterprise installations are adopting VoIP, and the installed base is expected to follow this lead. In the medium term, the move toward VoIP presents new opportunities for mobile service providers to extend service offerings to a full range of communication services that combine IP and mobile services. However, mobile service providers are currently missing key capabilities: a lack of fixed-access networks and the converged goto-market approach suited for complex services that require integration into the enterprise infrastructure. Peter Moersch, senior solutions strategist at

VOIP SOLUTION CA says small service providers could enter the market and try to find customers where they can expect high margins. The “old” service providers have invested a lot of money in the rather outdated copper infrastructure. The option in the first place is to use this old infrastructure and use new technologies like xDSL to provide news services to customers. But the customer expectation about the delivered quality differs from the technical feasibility. Brett Butler, solutions architect at Avaya Sub-Saharan Africa is of the opinion that while the local market still lags behind Europe in terms of VoIP and IP telephony take up, the large enterprises generally have strategies within their future communications plans which require VoIP-enabled processes. He, however, comments: “I think it is because people are still sceptical when it comes to running a converged infrastructure and want to ensure that the combination of voice and data on the same infrastructure

doesn’t compromise service. This is a complex field and certification gives customers some assurance around capabilities.” Of the industry verticals that are embracing VoIP, he comments that the financial services sector is by far the leader because it requires advanced functionality to deliver high standards of customer service. In addition, the size of the branch infrastructure can generally justify the ROI of implementing end-to-end VoIP technology. There is also an uptake in retail services and the public sector. Richard Menton, product development manager at Bytes Communication Systems says there are a host of opportunities in the industry, which for the most part exist around the promise of convergence. Convergence brings a turnkey offering to the table for the customer, and those that have converged product sets in their offerings are going to be very successful. “It’s no longer just opportunities in the

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voice market, but rather in the areas where we are able to marry data and security, unified communications and wireless solutions where the real opportunities exist. Customers are maturing and they are warming up to the notion of unified communications. We have seen that there is a drive from the C-Level executives in the market, because they have a better understanding of the rationale behind needing a converged communication solution, as well as a better knowledge on the technology itself. It is really the top guys in my opinion that are driving this demand,” he says. This paragraph is appears at the beginning…not sure which one you want to cut He also agrees that VoIP locally is in its early stages, adding: “I would say that it is still very much in its adoption phase but it is a growing market, and there is definitely a shift towards the investigation into its use. We see this mostly in the number of clients who are requesting that we come in and do

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Proof of Concepts for them.” Menton comments that there is a lot of misinformation in the market about what VoIP brings and as a result people can’t

“VoIP is merely the first step in a long process, but a lot of companies are not geared towards providing a solution that covers the whole picture. By that I mean the entire project lifecycle, from implementation to business case, growth of the technology in accordance with growth demands made by the company, sustainability and management of the solution when it is in place.” – Richard Menton, Bytes Communications

deliver because of this, they think they have what is a true VoIP solution but can’t meet the real demands of the customer. “VoIP is merely the first step in a long

process, but a lot of companies are not geared towards providing a solution that covers the whole picture. By that I mean the entire project lifecycle, from implementation to business case, growth of the technology in accordance with growth demands made by the company, sustainability and management of the solution when it is in place. This is not because of a lack of technology but rather it is directly related to the lack of certification in the industry,” he explains. Menton notes that there are few skilled resources available in the convergence space, because of the complexity of the technologies, these people are difficult to find. At the moment, everyone is talking about unified communications, but what all companies are really looking for, and this is not sector or vertical specific, is instant communications. It is the promise of always on technologies that ensure people are available, in touch and online, and that you can access them wherever they are.

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Fujitsu Siemens touts Select Programme PC vendor unveils partner programme. BY MANDA BANDA

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n what is seen as the boldest move after opening doors to the South African channel eight years ago, Fujitsu Siemens Computers has finally unveiled its formal partner programme for local resellers. The launch comes while the partnership between Japanese giant Fujitsu and Germany telecoms giant Siemens is in the spotlight as the two companies ponder their joint venture partnership in Fujitsu Siemens Computers. Analysts say the launch of the Select Partner Programme in the SA market cements the notion that the vendor is here to stay. The vendor states that the programme

designed to empower, reward, support and differentiate those partners that are committed to selling the Fujitsu Siemens range of products. “The programme is all about recognising partner growth and, most importantly, it gives resellers the opportunity to grow their business with us,” she says. The vendor will achieve this by supporting and rewarding partners that grow their business with Fujitsu Siemens. The Select Partner Programme offers a straightforward partnership structure with two main levels – Partner and Select Partner. She adds

“The programme is all about recognising partner growth and, most importantly, it gives resellers the opportunity to grow their business with us.” – Jane Tully, Fujitsu Siemens

offers resellers that sell the Fujitsu Siemens product array a straightforward partnership structure with two main tiers: Partner and Select Partner. The company says the Select Partner Programme is designed to help resellers to grow and make it easy for them to work closely with it. In addition, the programme is designed to help end-user customers to identify the most knowledgeable and competent partners for all their IT projects and investments.

Select Programme Jane Tully, channel director at Fujitsu Siemens Computers SA, says the programme is

that Select Partners also have an opportunity to specialise and become Select Expert partners. Tully explains that Partner status allows partners to start or continue working with the company in a simpler and more straightforward manner while giving them access to a wide range of benefits that include incentives, training certification and marketing

development funds. She adds that Select Partner status is achievable via certification in either the vendor’s Primergy or Mobility products. Tully says in addition to becoming a certified Select Partner in Mobility or Primergy products or even both, partners can go on to become

ANALYSIS: FUJITSU SIEMENS SOLUTION

PROVIDERS

Select Experts if they specialise in any of the following technology solutions: office solutions, enterprise computing, storage, dynamic data centre and services. “In the past we only had managed and unmanaged partners on our books,” she says. “This programme gives us a springboard from which we can engage with partners for growth and profitability.”

Select Partner status benefits 





 

Partner status To join the programme, interested resellers will be expected to register on a dedicated Fujitsu Siemens Computers channel partner portal and state which level they are joining. Tully says most of the partners that were

Top five reasons to join the Select Programme  







Partner status benefits       

Access to the channel partner portal Value4You and Built4You initiative Use of partner logo Entry in online reseller locator Access to online training Regular e-newsletters Access to the System Architect, an online product configurator

Stronger and closer relationships Expert, professional training and certification Comprehensive sales and marketing support Outstanding technical resources for partners Exclusive rewards, bonus and special incentives for partners

unmanaged in the past will have to join at Partner level before upgrading their status to Select Partner and Select Expert. Partner status lets reseller start or continue working with Fujitsu Siemens in a straightforward manner and gives resellers access to a wide range of benefits. Tully points out that to join, resellers will be expected to show sales of Fujitsu Siemens products/solutions within the last six months in addition to the online registration.

Select Partner status Tully says Select Partner status is achieved via certification in either Primergy or Mobility products. “The huge benefit is greater opportunities to drive sales and further increase the quality of service resellers provide to end-users,” she says. According to the vendor, partners are required to complete a business profile document in addition to the certification

40 •

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JULY 2008



Easy identification of partner competence through the Select partner logo Preferential listing in online reseller locator Access to c-tec, an online technical community Joint marketing initiatives Potential eligibility for growth bonus and sales development fund Potential participation in an incentive programme that rewards resellers for growing successfully with Fujitsu Siemens products and solutions

requirement in Primergy and Mobility products. Jenny Borrie, MD at Customised Solutions, a Johannesburg-based Fujitsu Siemens solution provider partner, says although the initiative is long overdue, it is a step in the right direction for Fujitsu Siemens. However, Borrie cautions Fujitsu Siemens not to abandon the indirect route to market that it has always had. “I believe if the company delivers what it says it will, the vendor will attract a lot of resellers.” Borrie adds that by launching this programme, Fujitsu Siemens is sending a strong message to its competitors and channel partners that it is here for long term. “What will distinguish this programme from other competitor programmes is if Fujitsu Siemens can deliver on its promises and not go direct and compete with partners,” she says. Boon Bhadias, sales manager at Thuthukani Information Technology Services, a Johannesburg-based Fujitsu Siemens solution provider partner, concurs and goes on to say that the vendor should stick to the indirect route to market if this initiative is to have any significance to resellers. Bhadias says the vendor needs to do more in training and nurturing, especially with smaller emerging resellers that are interested in selling its products and solutions. “There are many partner programmes out there but what distinguishes good programmes from bad ones is whether a vendor is able to deliver on its promises,” he concludes.

ANALYSIS: INGRAM MICRO SOLUTION

PROVIDERS

Ingram Micro has new CEO CRN spoke to Hansie Fourie to find out more about what he has planned for the company. BY DUDU SHABA

I

ngram Micro SA has appointed Hansie Fourie as its new CEO. This move comes on the back of the anticipated stepping aside of Peter Ibbotson who has served as the company’s CEO until now.

CRN: Can you tell us about your background in the IT industry?

“I believe that the IT industry in SA is now mature and requires a professional approach with much emphasis on the basics of running a business successfully. I am looking forward to reporting healthy growth figures both in revenue and unit shipments in a year’s time.” - Hansie Fourie, Ingram Micro SA.

HF: I have been involved in the IT industry since 1991, where I headed the financial management team behind Ebus, before it was merged into SDD. My career spans many different aspects of the IT industry, but for more than 20 years it has been strongly linked to the distribution market. I joined Drive Control Corporation in the capacity of financial director. In no time I became an integral part in all aspects of managing and running the business. The knowledge and channel experience I gained over the past decade at Drive Control will undoubtedly be of huge value to Ingram Micro.

CRN: Tell us about your channel strategies that are especially focused on bringing about growth? HF: Ingram Micro is committed to bringing an extensive range of technology components and brands to the local market through its channel. It does this by focusing on the building blocks that give system builders a comprehensive product choice at competitive prices. Through its involvement with the MB

Hansie Fourie, Ingram Micro SA

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JULY 2008 •

41

ANALYSIS: INGRAM MICRO SOLUTION

PROVIDERS

Technologies Group, Ingram Micro South Africa is able to provide reasonable and manageable credit terms to the majority of its resellers. The terms on offer are flexible, fair and customisable to resellers’ exact requirements. In addition to that, Ingram Micro SA has great technology vendor partners and relationships with the local reseller channel. All of these are strong differentiators and elements that I believe will act as fuel for the company’s progress.

CRN: What do you think are the challenges facing Ingram Micro in SA, especially focusing on growth? HF: Since Ingram Micro South Africa’s business is premised on high volumes of commodity products, stock forecasting can make or break the company. For this reason, we strive to keep our finger on the pulse of trends in the market, allowing it to strike a fine balance between delivering new stock items as close to their international release date as possible and keeping the stock items the channel requests regularly, readily available.

Ingram Micro SA has great technology vendor partners and relationships with the local reseller channel. All of these are strong differentiators and elements that I believe will act as fuel

product, its compatibility with other products, selling points and e technical aspects. This, the company believes, allows its customers to gain sufficient guidance to make the right decisions for its customers.

CRN: What is your assessment of a competitive SA? HF: I’m extremely positive about the future of Ingram Micro in South Africa. I believe the time is right for our kind of business and that the service, affordable pricing and knowledge we’re capable of offering is something the market is starved of at present. I believe that the IT industry in SA is mature and requires a professional approach with much emphasis on the basics of running a business successfully. CRN: How do you plan to make Ingram Micro’s brand more recognised? HF: The products Ingram Micro provides to the South African market are aimed at specialist resellers, systems builders and the resellers of upgrade equipment, which in terms of market segment means that Ingram Micro needs to stay focused on providing a strong portfolio of best-of-breed components to its target market. We are not a consumer brand which needs to build brand recognition and we will remain focused on providing the best service we can to our customers.

for the company’s progress. CRN: Looking ahead, under your leadership, where do you wish to take the company? Sound stock management also results in the most significant cost savings for resellers, since back-orders and substantial randdollar fluctuations are avoided.

CRN: Do you have a programme that is aimed at supporting your resellers? HF: Ingram Micro South Africa has a product management strategy which hinges on its key staff members having a full and comprehensive understanding of the product they are responsible for. The product managers have a clear idea of the benefits of each

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CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JULY 2008

HF: Ingram Micro South Africa’s long-term goal is to offer the widest possible range of component brands to the local system builder and OEM channels. Building on a wealth of international experience, and the strong local presence and visibility MB Technologies has in the local distribution and broader-ICT market; I believe Ingram Micro has a bright future to look forward to. We will continue to evaluate our offering to ensure that we have a strong portfolio of best-of-breed components to offer the market.

Reviews by: Kaunda Chama

Highly Recommended

Samsung G800 At first I found the thickness of this phone to be an issue because it felt like I had a chunky phone or a digital camera in my pocket, but that went away once I realised that it offers a 5 megapixel camera with optical zoom. The only question is: is it a camera phone or phone camera, but that does not really matter if you want the best of both worlds. The phone is very well designed and has a chrome finish that makes it stand out from its competitors. It comes packed with an MP3 player, FM radio, accelerated 3G (HSDPA), 160MB internal memory, an additional memory card slot and Bluetooth wireless connectivity. As far as camera phones that I have used recently go, Samsung’s G800 is definitely one of the better ones and competes well with Nokia’s N95 and Sony Ericsson’s K850i, which both have 5 megapixel cameras. The one advantage the G800 has is its 3x optical zoom, which is very impressive because although it is now a common feature in digital cameras, it is not found in any other camera phone on the market. In addition, it has a real xenon flash instead of the conventional and less effective LCD flashes found on most camera phones. Other new and impressive features on this phone include the face-detection technology on the camera as well as the Wide Dynamic Range (WDR). However, I found that even with all these features, I had trouble getting good quality pictures, especially in bad lighting. I suspect that this comes from Samsung’s mistake of making the highest resolution the default setting on camera phones. The phone comes with a camera graphical user interface similar to that of a digital camera when using the camera function on the phone with its new on-screen display that shows various camera indicators. The 2.4 inch LCD display is also very good for viewing captured images. There’s a built-in picture editor and direct printing to a Pictbridge-compatible printer is supported. High-quality video recording is available, and a built-in video editor is also provided. As well as the good photographic functions, the G800 incorporates all of the features seen in previous high-end Samsung phones. The music player supports MP3, AAC, AAC+, 3-AAC+ and WMA formats, and wireless Bluetooth stereo headsets. It also supports Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0 and TV-Out and at the same time it is a 3G phone. Quite impressive because it works well with the Web browser, RSS feeds and mobile blogging that come built in. Essentially, it is only fair to say that the G800 is an outstanding camera phone or phone camera, depending on how you look at it.

Magix Photos on CD & DVD 6 Deluxe With the growth in the amount of digital content that people have, especially photos and video clips, there needs to be a way of making them more appealing. With the use of this software and a few clicks, one can add some interesting special effects to their holiday photos and videos, and add a bit of a Spielberg touch to what could have been bland content. One thing that makes people sit with what they captured in its raw form is the perception that photo editing is overwhelming and sometimes pointless, not to mention the process of editing home-made videos into something stylish. However, even beginners can work their way around Magix‘s Photos on CD & DVD 6 Deluxe software. With this software users can create photo Picasso’s quickly and easily. In a few clicks one can create effects they thought were reserved for professional editors. Getting started is as easy as installing the software on a PC and trying out some of the pre-saved features. The interface provides a large viewing area on the left-hand side of the screen, and has folders and files on the other side. Videos can be edited in normal or wide screen format with just a few clicks. Users can upload music into their presentations, cue intro and outro themes, add cinema curtains opening and closing, as well as countless other effects. The effects include fade ins and outs, pixellation, zooming, tracking in from either side, tracking out, folding the whole screen up, swirls, etc. This software comes with so many features that it would take months or even years for some to master as it allows users to manipulate videos and photos in so many ways that it turns into great fun. Once a user gets the basics out of the way they can animate photos or even add features that were not in the actual picture like different clothes and accessories on people and objects. Once a project or presentation is done, using the software, one can easily burn it onto a CD or DVD, or show their slideshows as videos in Flash format or even in a high-definition presentation. In addition, users can even share them with friends using an online Magix album. Overall, this Magix software is great for home and office use.

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JULY 2008 •

43

Highly Recommended

Review by: Manda Banda

Entertainment on the go Iomega multimedia products come of age. If convenience is what you look for in a digital lifestyle multimedia player, then the new Iomega ScreenPlay Multimedia Drive with full HD is the perfect lifestyle multimedia player and high capacity storage device for your home media library. Built to easily connect to any TV that has AV connections and SCART (RGB), you can view or listen to digital files on a home theatre or TV without being connected to the computer. With a total unit weight of 894g, this multimedia player is not only light, but also saves you space as it small compact player. Its easy plug-and-play features and high-capacity storage of up to 500GB mean that you do not need to be a technology geek to operate the ScreenPlay. This high capacity multimedia player is compatible with certain video, audio and photo formats. Some of the video, audio and photo formats supported include DivX, Dolby Digital, MP3 and JPEG. In addition, other video formats that are supported are: MPEG-1, MPEG-2 (AVI, VOB), MPEG-4 (AVI; DiVX 3.11, 4.x, 5.x; XviD). Additional audio formats supported include AC3 and WAV. The multimedia player also allows the user to view photos in JPEG format. The drive comes with USB connection and easily connects to a PC with a CD or DVD drive with a minimum 350MHz Pentium class processor or higher, 64MB RAM and has Microsoft Windows 2000, XP or Vista installed. The Iomega ScreenPlay Multimedia Drive offers you an unequalled experience with high picture quality, sharp and high contrast ratios. The weight, the high storage capacity and the fact that it is a simple plug-and-play product, are the attributes I found most appealing. This product makes the perfect companion for a holistic digital home lifestyle experience.

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CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JULY 2008

Meet the 2008 A-Team Currently in their sixth year, the 2008 CRN Partner Excellence Awards Loyalty Programme canvassed hardware, networking and software vendors independently from distributors. In fact, this year the awards were further classified into three main sub-sets, namely loyalty, certification and business skills oriented partner programmes for both vendors and distributors. The decision was taken so that solution providers that participated in the survey could rate programmes that offer similar benefits. The results were varied and interesting, given that there were a few surprises that emerged as strong contenders this year. Certification Programme Of note was the Iomega Club Programme which came in second position after a strong showing with its loyalty programme in the hardware categories for vendors. In this year’s survey, all loyalty-based programmes for vendors and distributors were rated on the following criteria: pre- and post-sales support; rebates/ rewards/ discounts and incentive programmes; revenue targets/profit margins; consistency of partner programme; and ease of participation. Business Skills Programme In addition to this, all solution providers that rated loyalty programmes were also asked to rate the programme elements they used to rate the programmes and how they view these elements in terms of importance to their own businesses. In loyalty programmes, solution providers see pre- and post-sales support as the most important element that is vital to their business. They gave the criterion a whopping 93 per cent. Rebates/rewards/discounts and incentive programmes received an impressive 88 per cent, while revenue targets/profit margins came in third with 79 per cent of the vote. Consistency of partner programme and ease of participation were rated the least important elements in a programme as solution providers rated the two 69 and 66 per cent respectively. For certificate-oriented programmes, resellers view pre- and post-sales support as the most important element and gave it an excellent 89 per cent. This was followed by certification which, according to solution providers, ranks highly in any certification programme they join. Certification was endorsed with an equally impressive 87 per cent of the vote, while sales and technical training was rated as the third most important element with a score of 84 per cent. Ease of participation received 69 per cent, while consistency of partner programmes was considered the least vital element solution providers look for in a certification-based channel programme. In the last category of partner programmes, solution providers view channel partner business mentoring schemes to be vital to their survival in the IT business. Resellers gave this programme element an excellent 87 per cent. This highlights a trend that the serious technical skills hampering the growth of the IT industry should not be the only focus as much-needed business skills are s equally important. Enterprise development and certification came in at 83 per cent leaving consistency of partner programme and ease of participation with 68 and 64 per cent of the vote. From all of us at CRN, we would like to congratulate all the vendors and distributors whose partner programmes were unsurpassed in the 2008 CRN Partner Excellence Awards. We wish all the winning companies the best in forging sustainable channel partnerships. Manda Banda Publisher – CRN

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • PARTNER PROGRAMME • JULY 2008 •

45

4

HARDWARE VENDORS: Intel Loyalty Partner Programmes

HP promotes partner Programmes Driving business together is priority.

By Dudu Shaba HP has won first position in the Vendor Loyalty

WINNERS

Partner Programme, Hardware category in the CRN Partner Excellence Awards 2008. The company achieved the highest score of 85% and 24 votes from solution providers in the channel. Mark Perry, country manager, SPO, HP, says the company is highly committed to the channel and that driving business together is fundamental to its strategy. “We are out to optimise and not revolutionise,

1st –HP 2nd – Iomega 3rd- Acer 4th- Epson 5th- Toshiba

85% 68% 63% 62% 57%

and our focus is on stability, consistency and simplification. Our programme has seen very few major changes since its inception, which is proof that it works well and provides our partners with benefits that are compelling and satisfying,” says Perry Perry adds that HP regards its partners as the cornerstone of its success.

predictable working relationship with us. I think that these are some of the

“Not only do we benefit, they also do. Our partners benefit from our

points that made the channel feel we do well,” he comments.

broad portfolio of products and services as well as a consistent and

Launched in 2005, the HP Preferred Partner Programme (PPP) provides the company’s most engaged partners with an exclusive set of benefits to support business development and profitable growth with HP, based on the level of added value and expertise they bring to

“

the market. “We also aim at promoting the value of

Not only do we benefit, they

our partners, who offer a distinct combina-

also do. Our partners benefit

tion of expertise and proximity to our end customers. The programme also supports

from our broad portfolio of

a healthy, predictable return on partner

products and services as well

investment,” he says. With the evolution of the PPP, Perry

as a consistent and pre-

states that partners who meet the

dictable working relationship

criteria to become Gold members can now

with us. – Mark Perry, HP

benefit substantially. “This status offers exclusivity and recognition for the highest level of engagement with HP. We reward and protect

“

Preferred Partners who seek the uppermost level of HP investment. They will also have access to our Specialist status and increased compensation opportunities. Partners will also gain exclusive use of the HP Gold Preferred Partner logo with date stamp,” he concludes. 

46 •

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • PARTNER PROGRAMME • JULY 2008

HARDWARE VENDORS: Loyalty Partner Programmes

A challenger has emerged IO Club gains channel confidence. By Manda Banda After failing to secure a top-five spot in the annual

WINNERS

CRN Partner Excellence Awards over the past three years, Iomega’s IO Club partner programme has been voted into position two in the Vendor Loyalty Programmes in the Hardware category after the external storage solutions vendor received a solid 68 per cent overall score. The vendor’s IO Club came in second position behind the category winner HP, which affirmed what many solution providers in the local channel already

1st –HP 2nd – Iomega 3rd- Acer 4th- Epson 5th- Toshiba

85% 68% 63% 62% 57%

know: HP is on a roll. For its part, Iomega must be credited for managing to finish in pole position given that it beat rivals Acer, which could only manage third spot ,while Epson’s 62 per cent overall

in which its IO Club competed against programmes from companies such

score secured it fourth place. Toshiba completed the top five in the loyalty

as HP, Acer, Epson and Toshiba. Kasselman attributes the strong perfor-

programmes for hardware vendors. The notebook maker’s partner pro-

mance in the awards to Iomega’s enhanced features in the IO Club that

gramme, the Toshiba Champions Club, received an overall score of 57 per

include exclusive promotions, sales and certification tools.

cent from the 16 solution provider companies that rated it. Michelle Kasselman, key account manager at Iomega SA, says the company is delighted to have fared well in the 2008 Partner Excellence Awards

“We do everything to support our resellers in their Iomega sales,” she says. “Furthermore, we have the online RMA tool to return products or request a swap out. “We provide our privileged IO Club partners with an advance swap-out warranty in order to minimise downtime for their customers.” In addition, she says custom marketing

“

has enabled Iomega’s resellers to get instant personalised marketing materials with their

“We provide our privileged

branding. All they need to do is upload their company logo in their profile, enter contact

IO Club partners with an

details and promotional text, check the

advance swap-out warranty

layout and download their customised

in order to minimise

marketing material. Looking ahead, Kasselman says resellers

downtime for their

can expect more online trainings and demo

customers.” – Michelle

unit programmes. “Since some of our prod-

Kasselman, Iomega

ucts offer advanced features, we have put in place online courses to help our partners to discover these features and experience them hands-on,” she says.

“

“Also, Iomega products are easy to install and use products,” she concludes. 

48 •

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • PARTNER PROGRAMME • JULY 2008

HARDWARE VENDORS: Loyalty Partner Programmes

Epson hangs in there Printer vendor manages a top five finish. By Manda Banda WINNERS

Having jointly won this category with arch-rival HP in 2007, the Epson

1st – HP 2nd – Iomega 3rd- Acer 4th – Epson 5th – Toshiba

Channel Partner Programme has slipped to fourth position this year as the programme came up against other loyalty partner programmes in the hardware sector. The Epson Channel Partner Programme received an overall score of 62 per cent from the 17 solution provider

85% 68% 63% 62% 57%

companies that rated its programme. This was enough to secure the printer vendor a top four position. Although the vendor’s partner programme has managed to finish in the top five highly rated vendor loyalty programmes in the hardware sector, a drop of

Aside from offering a range of incentives and

three places from last year’s impeccable performance

rebates to partners on the programme, Epson also

suggests Epson has some challenges going forward.

spends a lot of time educating and raising awareness

Solution providers rated the Epson Channel Partner

around its entire product range. In addition, Epson has

Programme using the following criteria: pre- and postsales support; rewards; rebates; discounts and incentive

played a pivotal role not only with its reseller community but the channel in general by encouraging partners to

Albert Fayard

programmes; revenue target and profit margins; consis-

educate their end-user customers on the importance

tence of partner programme; and ease of participation.

of using original consumables. 

HARDWARE VENDORS: Loyalty Partner Programmes

Starting on a good note Toshiba Champions Club comes of age. WINNERS By Manda Banda Two years after notebook vendor Toshiba launched its Toshiba Champions Club in the local channel, solution providers have given it a thumbs up after it received an overall rating of 57 per cent. This is the strongest showing for

1st – HP 2nd – Iomega 3rd- Acer 4th – Epson 5th – Toshiba

85% 68% 63% 62% 57%

Toshiba in the six years that these awards have been running. Toshiba has, for the past two years, been nurturing its partner programme so that it has a far and wider impact in the local solution provider channel. In addition, the vendor has been hard at work extending its partner

support; rewards; rebates; discounts and incentive programmes; revenue

reach both through its distribution channel and its own efforts at

target and profit margins; consistence of partner programme; and ease

recruiting resellers for its umbrella partner programme the Toshiba

of participation.

Reseller Programme. Solution providers rated the Toshiba Champions Club partner programme according to the following criteria: pre- and post-sales

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CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • PARTNER PROGRAMME • JULY 2008

Given the competitive nature of the hardware category, it will be interesting to see if the Toshiba Champions Club retains its position or even finishes in the top three next year. 

SOFTWARE VENDORS: Loyalty Partner Programmes

WINNERS

Gaining clout

1st – Microsoft 2nd – Adobe 3rd- Oracle 4th – Softline Accpac 4th – Novell 4th – Symantec

By Manda Banda Adobe Software’s Adobe Partner Network Programme continues to gain momentum in the annual CRN Partner Excellence Awards. This year, the

79% 70% 69% 69% 60% 60%

Adobe Partner Network Programme was rated second after it garnered 70 per cent of the total votes. The vendor received votes from 18 different solution provider companies that sell its graphics software solutions.

the base line partner agreement and since we have had it in place we have

It is a remarkable comeback for Adobe Software given that in 2007 the

adapted it to meet our market segment’s requirements,” he says.

vendor’s partner programme failed to finish in the top five.

Lindstrom notes that the needs of a creative partner are very different to

Andrew Lindstrom, regional manager at Adobe Software for Middle East

those of a reseller focusing on the corporate market.

and Africa (MEA) says it is gratifying to see that the efforts of the local

The company is pleased and excited about the fact that the Adobe

channel team are paying off.

Partner Network programme has received this level of recognition in the

Lindstrom says the Adobe Partner Network programme was established

local channel. Lindstrom says Adobe SA has recently undergone massive

to ensure that end customers receive a consistent level of

growth with the appointment of several new staff mem-

service from all Adobe channel partners. “We established

bers in the MEA region. “These appointments have

the programme to highlight the difference between our

helped us to focus on getting this and other pro-

resellers’ skill levels and expertise,” he says. “End cus-

grammes running, and ensuring that we are able to

tomers can now identify which partners to gravitate towards

deliver on the promises we have made to our part-

based on the product offering they are looking for.”

ners,” he says.

Lindstrom says additionally, the programme was initiated

Looking ahead, resellers can expect to see some

to establish a benchmark for resellers that want to focus on

exciting changes to the programme and some

selling Adobe software applications. He points out that the strength of the Adobe Partner

vertical market expansion in the next six months. Andrew Lindstrom

Lindstrom adds that Adobe is always looking to help

Network Programme is its ability to adapt to resellers’

partners develop new and innovative ways to sell

requirements. “It has taken Adobe a long time to establish

its applications. 

SOFTWARE VENDORS: Loyalty Partner Programmes

Symantec, Novell tie By Manda Banda and Dudu Shaba Symantec has taken joint fourth position with Novell in the Partner Excellence Awards, Vendor Loyalty Partner Programmes, Software category. Mark Smissen, channel manager, Africa, Symantec says this is due to the aggressiveness of the company’s loyalty programme which traditionally aims at resellers. Solution providers rated the Symantec Partner Programme and Novell

WINNERS 1st – Microsoft 2nd – Adobe 3rd – Oracle 3rd – Softline Accpac 4th – Novell 4th – Symantec

79% 70% 69% 69% 60% 60%

Partner Programme with an overall score of 60 per cent. Symantec received a total of 19 votes from solution providers in the channel compared with Novell’s 12 votes.

ing its new programme later this year.

Smissen believes this is due to a healthy combination of

For Novell, a top four finish in the 2008 awards is a

delivering on technical promises as well as continued sup-

move in the right direction given the vendor has been

port for the channel partners who invest in the technical

hard at work reasserting partner focus in the local

ability to support these solutions.

channel. The vendor has expanded sales of its software

Smissen says the Symantec loyalty programme came into

to SMEs, and it is already working directly with solu-

existence three years ago and is an ongoing process.

tion providers targeting this market.

In terms of rewarding partners, Smissen adds that this varies from recognising individuals to meeting corporate business imperatives. Smissen concludes that Symantec will definitely launch-

Given the competiveness of the vendor loyalty partMark Smissen

ner programmes in the software space, it will be interesting to see which vendors will retain their positions come next year June. 

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • PARTNER PROGRAMME • JULY 2008 •

51

4

SOFTWARE Loyalty Partner Programmes HARDWAREVENDORS: VENDORS: Intel

Microsoft Club provides financial support to its partners Expanding their skills through training and certification By Dudu Shaba

WINNERS

Microsoft has won first place in the Vendor Loyalty Partner Programme, Software category of the CRN Partner Excellence Awards 2008. Colette Damant, Partner Strategy and Programmes Group Manager, Microsoft, attributes this to Microsoft partners who took the time to respond to CRN’s survey and indicate how they feel about the Microsoft Club. The company achieved the highest score of 79% and 25 votes from solution providers in the channel. Damant says club members described the top three

1st – Microsoft 2nd – SAP 3rd – Oracle 3rd – CA 5th- Citrix 5th- Novell

80% 77% 62% 62% 60% 60%

benefits of Microsoft Club as beneficial to their business, easy to understand and use, and good for their overall relationship with Microsoft. Damant says that the Microsoft Club is aimed at helping Microsoft part-

“Our Loyalty Programme, Microsoft Club, has been evolving since 1999,

ners to grow their businesses through the allocation of both cash rebates

from initially rewarding system builders with cash only to rewarding sys-

and marketing funds in recognition of the Microsoft products they pur-

tem builders and resellers in a dual reward system consisting of cash

chase through authorised distributors to sell to customers.

rebates and marketing funds,” adds Damant.

“The Microsoft Club offers a simple and flexible reward system with

Damant says that Microsoft is always looking to evolve and improve

rebates contributing to profitability through cash rebates and business

its Loyalty Programme and has made changes in the past year to enable

development through marketing funds,” says Damant.

more partners to be eligible for Microsoft Club and by introducing the marketing funds. “We are currently working on further

“

improvements and these can only be communicated when finalised,”

Partners can discover new ways to maximise opportunities and their profitability. Their relationship with Microsoft can help them to focus on the most direct route to achieve their business goals and build a solid strategy to enable long-term success. – Colette Damant, Partner Strategy and Programmes Group Manager, Microsoft

Damant comments. Looking ahead, Damant says that Microsoft wants to focus on supporting its partners to expand their skills through training and certification, increase their opportunities and generate leads through marketing activities, close more sales and support their customers. “Microsoft Club provides financial support through the cash rebates and marketing fund, while the Microsoft Partner Programme gives partners the information, tools and resources they need,”

“

Damant concludes. 

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CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • PARTNER PROGRAMME • JULY 2008

4

SOFTWARE Loyalty Partner Programmes HARDWAREVENDORS: VENDORS: Intel

Softline Accpac, Oracle on par ...as Softline Accpac crawls back.

WINNERS By Kaunda Chama and Manda Banda

1st – Microsoft 2nd – Adobe 3rd – Oracle 3rd – Softline Accpac 4th – Novell 60 % 4th – Symantec 60%

Business application vendor, Software Accpac has crawled back to be ranked joint third with arch-rival Oracle in the 2008 CRN Partner Excellence Awards. The vendor, which over the past two years has only managed to make the top five by a hair’s breadth, this year won channel confidence with its Accpac Solution Provider Programme after it polled a 69 per cent overall mark from the 16 solution providers that rated its programme. The overall score was enough to

79% 70% 69% 69%

secure it joint third place with Oracle, whose partner programme the Oracle PartnerNetwork managed to pull off a third place finish in these awards under software vendors. The Oracle PartnerNetwork received a total of 17 votes from the solution

Ike Ngwena channel and alliance director at joint winner Oracle SA says

providers that rated its partner programme and its overall standing this

the Oracle PartnerNetwork is a global business network of more than

year remained unchanged.

19 500 companies that deliver innovative software solutions based on

Jacqui Scorgie, channel marketing manager at Softline Accpac, says this year’s strong showing in these awards means that the company is doing

Oracle software. “Through access to Oracle’s premier products, education, technical ser-

something right in the eyes of solution providers on the Softline Accpac

vices, marketing and sales support, the Oracle PartnerNetwork programme

Solution Provider Programme.

provides partners with the resources they need to be successful in today’s

“I truly believe that our programme has been rated consistently because we have always understood the best way in which to manage solution

global economy,” he says. Ngwena adds that the Oracle PartnerNetwork also hosts regular events

providers and effectively use this model of sales and distribution. Also, we

and forums where partners can discuss their needs directly with the com-

have always treated solution providers as our sales ‘extension’ and sales

pany. Through this direct communication Oracle builds the knowledge nec-

force,” she says.

essary to deliver practical tools that help partners leverage its growing

Along with this, Scorgie says knowledge is power and the company is striving to ensure that its solution providers are well equipped as far as

product portfolio and create more sales opportunities. “Other recently introduced tools include the Get Started! Kit, which pro-

product resources go. “We send them e-mail communications to let them

vides a simple guide for partners wanting to join the Oracle

know of product updates, changes, additions, enhancements and post this

PartnerNetwork, and the Sales Opportunity Wizard, a tool which allows

information online too, so that they are kept up to date. We also have

value-added reseller (VAR) partners to map the technology requirements of

regular dealer gatherings and conferences with relevant product

their fast-growing, mid-sized customers to Oracle’s industry-leading soft-

presentations,” she says.

ware products,” says Ngwena.

Scorgie points out that for Accpac solution providers, time is money and

These programmes are viewed by the company as crucial partner-

the company is sensitive to this. As a result, Accpac is looking at introduc-

enablement tools that provide access to the products, education, technical

ing some online and/or WebEx-type training instead of the usual class-

services, marketing and sales support, and the resources partners need to

room courses that the company has been offering its channel partners.

be successful. 

Ike Ngwena

54 •

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • PARTNER PROGRAMME • JULY 2008

Jacqui Scorgie

4

NETWORKING VENDORS: HARDWARE VENDORS: Intel Loyalty Partner Programmes

Challenging Cisco 3Com Focus Programme comes of age. By Manda Banda Having won first position in the Vendor Loyalty Partner Programmes in the Networking space, 3Com’s Focus Partner Programme has come in second position in Vendor Certification Partner Programmes after the programme received an overall score of 66 per cent.

WINNERS 1st – Cisco 78% 2nd – 3Com 66%

Although 3Com came second in this category, it has continued to garner momentum in the channel presenting a challenge to its fiercest rival networking giant Cisco. The 3Com Focus Partner Programme provides 3Com partners with the

solution expertise, position them in the market as best-of-breed experts in

tools, support, resources and training to expand market reach, and access

their respective specialisation, maximise partner profitability and, ultimately,

to new market leading technologies and solutions to maximise profitability

increase customer satisfaction.

and foster growth.

Success in the Focus Partner Programme (and the reward of success) is

The vendor states that as partners increase their commitment to 3Com

attained through investment in improved competency and training in

by becoming specialised, achieving certifications and other important

specific 3Com solution areas, including 3Com Enterprise LAN, IP telephony,

business expanding initiatives, their overall recognition within the Focus

security, enterprise wireless and 3Com service competence specialisation.

Partner Programme increases.

The vendor says the specialisations demonstrate the partner’s capability

According to 3Com, the Focus Partner Programme specialisations have

to deliver or resell a range of services supporting 3Com product solutions, including design, installation, maintenance and first-line support. 

been designed to help partners develop and expand their product and

“

As partners increase their commitment to 3Com by

becoming specialised, achieving certifications and other important business expanding initiatives, their overall recognition within the Focus Partner Programme

56 •

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • PARTNER PROGRAMME • JULY 2008

“

increases.

The CRN publishing mix includes a monthly print title, a weekly e-zine (CRN Flash), a website www.crn.co.za, and numerous Awards and research initiatives. CRN is the South African edition of the international CRN publication focusing on local news and interpretation of international announcements as they impact upon the IT Channel.

CRN Print Circulation 3 000 copies, publisher, Manda Banda [email protected].

CRN Flash Published Thursday, 6 000 subscribers. Editor: Kaunda Chama [email protected].

CRN Website www.crn.co.za Editor: Kaunda Chama. Numerous special positions and sponsorship opportunities. CRN Awards – sponsorship packages available Outlook ’08 - Dec: The premier channel awards based on reader voting and presented at a major function first week December plus a dedicated issue of CRN (the biggest issue of the year). Women in IT – Aug ’08: Recognising successful women across vendors, distributors and VARS. A function plus coverage in the August issue. Distributor Directory – Oct ‘08 Don’t miss out to list in the annual CRN Distributor Directory highlighting the Who is Who is the South African IT distribution channel. Marketing Packages Lead Sponsorships Can relate to a feature in the publishing programme or a theme suggested by the sponsor. Consultation on issues and topics. Pre eminent advertising, print and online. Executive Round Tables Top level discussions about topics and issues of concern to senior channel members, resellers, VARs, solution providers and vendors, led by CRN editor. Synopsis of discussions published in CRN Print and website. Custom Publishing In paper or stand-alone focusing on a theme relevant to the sponsor and working with the editor to develop a content plan, CRN staff will be responsible for the editorial compilation and the repro.

Contact: Hellen Murahwa [email protected] or 011 234 7008

4

HARDWARE VENDORS: IntelLoyalty Partner Programmes NETWORKING VENDORS:

Linksys loyalty pays back ...Resellers show vendor confidence.

WINNERS 1st – 3Com 86% 2nd – Linksys (Cisco) 60%

By Kaunda Chama Linksys has come second in the Vendor Loyalty Appreciation Programme category in Networking in this year’s CRN Partner Excellence Awards. This commendation from its reseller and distribu-

tors has solidified the company’s position as one of companies who are influential in the channel and go out of their way to assist channel partners to win deals, embrace new business models and grow their businesses. The company believes that is testimony to the calibre of its partner programme.

that address the business needs of customers. Its channel programme encourages partners to differentiate themselves by creating specialist solutions and focusing on advanced technologies such as unified communications and physical security. Like any company with a good partner strategy, Linksys considers its

The vendor also goes out of its way to assist solution providers in build-

channel partners an extension of its sales force and thus is committed to

ing a collaborative and adaptive channel that accelerates customer and

creating the tools, training and programmes to help drive partner produc-

partner success.

tivity, profitability and return on investment.

The networking solution vendor’s programme engages, enables and

It has committed to its partners through investment in training, tools

rewards a global community of channel partners, application providers and

and profitability programmes. Its partners are differentiated by the certifi-

device manufacturers to collaborate and deliver industry-specific solutions

cations which they attain based on their areas of expertise. 

“

Like any company with a good partner strategy,

Linksys considers its channel partners an extension of its sales force and thus is committed to creating the tools, training and programmes to help drive partner productivity, profitability and return on investment.

“

58 •

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • PARTNER PROGRAMME • JULY 2008

HARDWARE VENDORS: Certification Partner Programmes

World-class certification Programme WINNERS By Dudu Shaba HP has won first position in the Vendor Certification Partner Programmes, Hardware category in the CRN Partner Excellence Awards 2008.

1st – HP 2nd – Iomega 3rd- Acer

85% 72% 64%

The company achieved the highest score of 85 per cent and 25 votes from solution providers in the channel. Mark Perry, country manager, SPO, HP, says that this is all owed to HP’s established and powerful brand as a preferred partner. “HP is renowned for its outstanding products, great people, and fantas-

Perry says that with our competitive global economy the objective of the programme is to drive better business outcomes. “It goes without saying, that many of the technical staff in the existing IT workforce don’t possess the skills needed in businesses today. Many sales

tic partner and market acceptance of its package offering. This nomination

professionals don’t have the right sales and industry knowledge to under-

is a great honour to all of us at HP as it shows that the company is clearly

stand the real needs of a customer’s business and offer them the best

doing something right and is recognised for doing that,” he says.

solution. As a result, the expertise of highly skilled technical and sales

Perry adds that the HP Certified Professional Programme is a world-class certification programme.

professionals is more valuable than ever. HP offers courses and certifications in the latest technologies through its Certified Professional

“We can attribute this win to the combination of this programme

Programme, to bridge this skills gap and increase business values, with

together with the highly reputable HP Preferred Partner Programme’s

highly relevant, practical training and intensive knowledge,” he explains.

brand strength in the market,” he remarks. Perry says this is due to the value HP gives its partners. “We see our partners as an extension of ourselves. We do our utmost to

Perry says the IT industry is ever changing and it is important that we remain on par with global trends and industry dynamics. “We are constantly upgrading our certifications to ensure they are

be involved in what our partners do and are always at their service when

benchmarked with the rest of the world. During our HP Preferred Partner

they need our support. We have put in place various measures that ensure

conference in San Francisco earlier this year, we unveiled the virtualisation

constant communication between us and our partners, allowing us to

specialisation to add on to the existing specialisation suite. Year on year

assist them when they need our support. By acknowledging that our part-

we look at how we can benefit our partners and we put these measures in

ners are important, they also see our value,” he says.

place,” he concludes. 

HARDWARE VENDORS: Certification Partner Programmes

Epson fights back ...as HP shows it is on a roll. By Manda Banda Printer vendor Epson’s Channel Partner Programme has fought back in the 2008 Partner Excellence Awards in the Vendor Certification Programmes for Hardware Vendors category after 16 solution providers gave it 72 per cent

WINNERS 1st – HP 85% 2nd – Epson 72% 3rd – Acer 64%

of their vote. The vote was enough to secure the Epson Channel Partner Programme second place behind HP, which took top honours in this category. The other contender was Acer whose partner programme received

possible price,” he notes. The second type says Fayard, will do a proper

64 per cent.

needs analysis with every customer and supply the correct printing solu-

Epson’s win comes at a time when the vendor continues to impress in

tion for the customer’s needs, not necessarily the most affordable. He says

the local solution provider channel with its channel training and certifica-

it is the second type of reseller who will generate repeat business and ulti-

tion initiatives.

mately “win” in this space. “We encourage resellers to add value to their

In fact, Epson is not the only vendor that has been pushing certification

customers and we in turn support them in doing this,” he says.

in the local channel as vendors such as Microsoft, HP and Cisco, to mention

Fayard believes the company’s consistency and a clear objective of the

a few, have also been emphasising certification and specialisations in their

goals set, coupled with the breadth of products supported by the unique

various products and technology offerings.

and superb warranty programme have contributed to the Epson Channel

Albert Fayard, GM at Epson SA, says Epson recognises that there are two

Partner Programme receiving top honours. “This will continue and we

types of resellers. “The first is only interested in selling a unit at the lowest

would like our resellers to add value to the market,” he concludes. 

60 •

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • PARTNER PROGRAMME • JULY 2008

SOFTWARE VENDORS: Certification Partner Programmes

Microsoft committed to supporting Partners By Dudu Shaba Microsoft has won first position in the Vendor Certification Partner Programmes Software category in the CRN Partner Excellence Awards 2008. Colette Damant, Partner Strategy and Programmes Group Manager, Microsoft, says that this is due to the Microsoft Partners who took the time to respond to CRN’s survey and indicated how they feel about the

WINNERS 1st – Microsoft 2nd – SAP 3rd – Oracle 3rd – CA 4th – Citrix

80% 77% 62% 62% 60%

Microsoft Partner Programme. Damant says the Microsoft Partner Programme supports partners with a wide range of tools, benefits, and services. She says these powerful resources are designed to assist partners in running their businesses. “We help them to expand their skills, increase their opportunities, close

“This enabled Microsoft to work more closely with partners regardless of their size or focus, and provide greater benefits and value,” she says. Damant adds that the certification programme differentiates partners’

more sales, and support their customers. The resources are designed to

businesses by their membership level (Gold Certified Partner, Certified

have an immediate impact on their business by helping them to take

Partner or Registered Member), which is an indication of their level of

advantage of every opportunity and make the most of every business day.

expertise and the total impact they have in the technology marketplace.

Microsoft is committed to supporting partners at every step along the

Secondly, by the Microsoft Competencies, which allow them to promote

way,” she comments.

their specific capabilities to customers through the use of tailored logos

The company has achieved the highest score of 80 per cent and 31 votes from solution providers in the channel, Damant says the Microsoft Partner Programme is a great way for partners to engage with Microsoft as they will be offered a way to segment their practice, customer offerings and

and a wide range of customer-facing directories. Damant says Microsoft is prepared to focus more on showing its partners the increased value of partnering with it. “Partners can discover new ways to maximise opportunities and their

businesses.Microsoft has evolved its certification programme over the past

profitability. Their relationship with Microsoft can help them to focus on

15 years, with major changes introduced in 2004 with the launch of the

the most direct route to achieve their business goals and build a solid

Microsoft Partner Programme.

strategy to enable long-term success,” she concludes. 

SOFTWARE VENDORS: Certification Partner Programmes

SAP is top two By Kaunda Chama Enterprise software vendor SAP has scooped second spot in the Software category in the Vendor Certification Partner Programmes section in this

WINNERS 1st – Microsoft 2nd – SAP 3rd – Oracle 3rd – CA 4th – Citrix

80% 77% 62% 62% 60%

year’s CRN Partner Excellence Awards. The company attributes this to its strong focus on the small and medium and well as the enterprise space.

partnership level offered - both SAP and the partner usually invest consid-

SAP knows success in the SME market can only be achieved through

erable resources in the partnership to achieve joint business goals. These

qualified, loyal and effective channel partners that meet customers’ needs.

resources include executive or board sponsors, alliance managers, market

The company says it is committed to providing its channel partners with an

development funding and joint marketing efforts.

exceptional business opportunity and is continuously working to further transform SAP into the most channel-friendly company in the industry. Traditionally, software companies have focused on the number of part-

SAP’s PartnerEdge Programme provides partner organisations with a robust set of business enablement resources and benefits that rank it among the best, according to industry analysts. SAP PartnerEdge encom-

ners within their ecosystem. Today, SAP is driving an ecosystem in which

passes three programme levels: Associate, Silver and Gold. Each level enti-

customers, partners and developers are innovating together and creating

tles partners to an impressive set of benefits that increase as they advance

value for all stakeholders. This customer-centric ecosystem is dynamic,

to a higher level. Partners advance by way of a unique Value Points system

continuously self learning and reliant on the contributions of all involved.

– a methodology that provides innovative ways for partners to be recog-

SAP has the SAP PartnerEdge Programme for partners acting as VARs supporting the SME customer base. The objective of the SAP PartnerEdge Programme is to support partners in implementing, selling, developing and

nised and rewarded for their business competence and performance in developing and selling SAP solutions. Looking ahead, SAP says it already leads the world with IT solutions for

delivering SAP solutions profitably to a broad range of SME customers to

this market. In 2005, some 30 per cent of order entry was achieved with

help them run their businesses better. At Alliance level - the highest

SMEs. SAP’s corporate goal is to serve 100 000 customers by 2010. 

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • PARTNER PROGRAMME • JULY 2008 •

61

SOFTWARE VENDORS: Certification Partner Programmes

Citrix among the best The power of a strong brand. By Kaunda Chama

WINNERS

Technology vendor Citrix has received a high rating in this year’s CRN Partner Excellence survey. According to Nick Keene, country manager, Citrix Systems SA, this is because of the strength of the company’s name and that it is widely recognised as the leading provider of application delivery infrastructure. “Citrix makes organisations and people more

1st – SAP 2nd – Oracle 2nd – CA 3rd – Citrix

77% 62% 62% 60%

productive through secure, on-demand access to business information from anywhere using any device. Citrix solution advisers provide information and advice on planning application

groups: one delivers education and training in Citrix products and

delivery strategies or help customers to acquire, build and support

technology, while the other is authorised to provide technical support to

application delivery solutions. Depending on the focus of the solution

the small and medium business sector.

advisers’ business model as well as the extent to which they want to

“One of Citrix’s longest running programmes is the Citrix Adviser

engage with Citrix, there are different programme types to suit their

Rewards programme. Originally launched in 2004, the programme pays

needs,” he explains.

Citrix solution advisers for designing and delivering solutions based on

The Citrix Partner Network offers various programmes and partnership levels. The global network of Citrix partners consists of three categories

Citrix application delivery products, even if a different channel partner ultimately fulfils the order.

(Silver, Gold and single product partner). At the core of this network

“The programme was recently expanded to include embedded versions

are approximately 4 400 Citrix solution adviser companies (35 in SA)

of XenServer, eliminating any potential channel conflict with original equip-

that deliver and implement application delivery solutions for end

ment manufacturer (OEM) partners and ensuring strong incentives across

customers worldwide.

the board by compensating partners that influence embedded XenServer

The Citrix Global Alliance Partner Programme is designed for industry-

deals as well as those who fulfil them,” Keene explains.

leading companies that provide solutions that complement, leverage

Citrix also announced three other partner training initiatives in 2008 – The

or add value to Citrix solutions within the application delivery

SalesPass, KickStart and StayCurrent - designed to strengthen partners’

infrastructure market.

ability to offer Citrix technologies and services

Members of the Citrix Partner Network can be divided into two related

Technology organisations that are motivated and passionate about Citrix technology and support of their customers’ success are eligible for inclusion in the company’s programmes. Depending on the

“

sector and the investment that the partner would like to engage customers with, the

Successful Citrix partners

partner meets the requirements specified for

are those that have the

that programme. Additionally, Keene says the qualities of a

minimum skill require-

successful partner programme include con-

ments specified for the

sistency, simplicity, cost savings and support. “Successful Citrix partners are those that

programme.” – Nick Keene, country manager,

“

Citrix Systems SA

have the minimum skill requirements specified for the programme. This also includes sales professionals who engage with customers to create the business. This is then followed up with excellent service from the various technical teams. Partners need to understand that revenue opportunities from Citrix are more than just from product sales but that there is, on average, four times the services revenue to be made from the solutions, including that received from other product sales,” he concludes. 

62 •

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • PARTNER PROGRAMME • JULY 2008

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63

SOFTWARE VENDORS: Oracle, CA Certification Partner Programme

Oracle, CA take second By Kaunda Chama and George Maseko Software solution vendors Oracle and CA have shared

WINNERS

second position in the Vendor Certification Partner Programmes category in this year’s CRN Partner

1st – SAP 2nd – Oracle 2nd – CA 3rd – Citrix

Excellence Awards. Both companies received 62 per cent from 15 and 13 reseller partners respectively. Ike Ngwena Channel and Alliance Director at Oracle SA attributes the company’s vote of confidence to the

77% 62% 62% 60%

effectiveness of the Oracle PartnerNetwork, which is a global business network of more than 19 500 companies that deliver innovative software solutions based on Oracle software.

value-added reseller partners to map the technology requirements of

“Through access to Oracle’s premier products, education, technical services, marketing and sales support, the Oracle PartnerNetwork programme provides partners with the resources they need to be successful in today’s global economy,” he says.

their fast-growing, mid-sized customers to Oracle’s industry-leading software products. These programmes are viewed by the company as crucial partner enablement tools and provide access to the products, education,

He explains that a few of the key programmes and services available to Oracle PartnerNetwork members are the Oracle PartnerNetwork Interaction Centre (OPN IC) – a service whereby partners in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region can call an Oracle representative (who speaks their local language) for guidance and information on all the support programmes and services available to them.

technical services, marketing, sales support and resources partners need to be successful. Joint winner CA says its partners are enjoying success in the market and, as a result of this success, are enjoying the benefits of its programme. The software solutions vendor has a three-tier partner programme – the objective of which is to reward success – success takes the form of more

These partners also have access to Oracle Marketing Services 4 Partners

than just revenue – it extends to training certification, reference sites and

(OMS4P) – an Internet portal that provides tools and services to increase

marketing – this allows the company to reward total behaviour rather than

the marketing readiness of EMEA partners and significantly improve their

just revenue, which has huge appeal to its partners.

visibility with prospects and customers.

The company remains reliant on its partner ecosystem to deliver

“This is free to Oracle PartnerNetwork members and delivers step-bystep guidance on executing the complete marketing mix. Partners can link to the ‘MyPR&ADs’, MyDirectMarketing’, ‘MyEvents&Fairs’,

successful projects. With the right level of certification, partners are able to deliver on complex but rewarding projects. Programme members enjoy sales mapping, joint sales calls, pre-sales

MyWeb&Online’ and ‘MyCampaigns’ areas of the portal where easy-tofollow instructions are given on how to produce expert marketing collateral

support and back-up as well as the special events CA hosts for its partners. Regarding the selection criteria the company says: “We want our

and events. Another service worth highlighting is the Oracle

partners to build a profitable business around CA – we restrict the number

PartnerNetwork Competency Center (OPN CC), a resource that delivers free

of partners on our programme to protect their investment.”

online training for EMEA partners,” Ngwena says.

“We will continue to enhance and develop the programme – partners

Other recently introduced tools include the Get Started! Kit, which

are part of our DNA –to ensure the self-sufficiency and success of our

provides a simple guide for partners wanting to join the Oracle

partners who are key contributors to our business and an integral part of

PartnerNetwork and the Sales Opportunity Wizard, a tool which allows

the sales process,” says Carrol-Ann Searra, Channel manager at CA. 

Ike Ngwena

64 •

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • PARTNER PROGRAMME • JULY 2008

Carol-Ann Searra

NETWORKING VENDORS: Certification Partner Programmes

Cisco remains partners’ choice By Dudu Shaba Cisco has won first position in the Vendor Certification Partner Programmes, Networking category in the CRN Partner Excellence Awards 2008. The company achieved the highest score of 78% and 21 votes from solution providers in the channel.

WINNERS 1st –Cisco 2nd – 3Com

78% 66%

Prabashni Pillay, Channel Manager, Cisco SA, says this is based on the IT industry’s choice of Cisco, she also believes that it is testimony to the calibre of the Cisco Partner Programme. “When the partner programme was

Currently, there are four levels of partnerships within the partner

re-launched, our goal was to assist solution providers in building a collabo-

programme, ranging from Select to Gold. Pillay says that each level of the

rative and adaptive channel that accelerates customer and partner success.

programme requires a specific skill set and is rewarded with a specific benefit.

“We believe that our programme engages, enables and rewards a global community of channel partners, application providers and device manufac-

“We are committed to our partners through investment in training, tools and profitability programmes. Our partners are differentiated by the

turers to collaborate and deliver industry-specific solutions

certifications they attain, based on their areas of

that address the business needs of customers.

expertise,”she comments.

The Cisco channel programme encourages partners to dif-

Looking ahead, Pillay says that Cisco is entering the

ferentiate themselves by creating specialist solutions and

second phase of the Internet, creating unprecedented

focusing on advanced technologies such as unified commu-

growth opportunities over the next decade for both

nications and physical security.

Cisco and its channel partners.

According to Pillay, the Cisco Certification Partner

“We are pioneering the creation of a collaborative,

Programme is committed to creating the tools, training and

adaptive channel that will drive channel capacity and

programmes to help drive partner productivity, profitability

capability in the second phase of the Internet. We

and return on investment. “Cisco relies on its channel partners to help deliver business

therefore intend helping our channel partners to Prabashni Pillay

accelerate the global adoption of industry-specific and vertical solutions,” she concludes. 

solutions that our mutual customers demand,”she says.

NETWORKING VENDORS: Certification Partner Programmes

Partners show their loyalty By Manda Banda In this all-new category following a decision to split the awards into loyalty, certification and business skills oriented programmes, 3Com, last year’s runner-up in the General Networking category has scooped the debut

WINNERS 1st – 3Com 2nd – Linksys

86% 60%

award for Vendor Loyalty Programmes in the networking space. 3Com managed to do this after it received an impressive 86 per cent of the vote from the 18 solution provider companies that rated its 3Com Focus

main levels, namely Gold, Silver, Bronze and Registered. Each? level is

Partner programme.

achieved by completing a business plan and earning points in three areas:

Solution providers in the local channel rated 3Com’s programme on the following criteria: pre- and post-sales support; rewards; rebates; discounts and incentive pro-

achieving specialisations, delivering or reselling services and revenue performance. The vendor explains that Focus Gold Partners are strongly committed

grammes, revenue target and profit margins, consistence of partner pro-

and are consistently successful in selling 3Com products, and have often

gramme; and ease of participation.

invested the most in training and technology specialisations. They have the

The programme, according to 3Com, has been developed to assist partners to reach new profitability heights with their networking business. The networking powerhouse states that an objective, points-based-system provides a transparent framework where partners can measure their abilities and advance within the programme. 3Com partners achieve different levels in the Focus Partner Programme which has been tiered into four

highest level of credibility and support in the channel market. Focus Silver Partners are committed to 3Com products and have invested significantly in training and technology specialisations. At the base are the Focus Bronze Partners who are actively selling 3Com products and many have begun to invest in technology specialisations. What about registered? 

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • PARTNER PROGRAMME • JULY 2008 •

65

SOFTWARE VENDORS: Business Skills Partner Programmes

IBM gives growth Partners laud vendor. By Kaunda Chama This year’s top spot in the Vendor Business Skills Enhancement Partner

WINNERS

Programmes category deservedly went to technology vendor IBM. This is in

1st – IBM 2nd – Oracle

part because of the company’s unveiling of several new programmes and the review of its existing programmes last year.

88% 77%

One such programme was the Distributor Growth Fund. At the launch of the programme, IBM said the Distributor Growth Fund, under which it is providing a total of $20 million through its distributors to help in partner recruitment and lead generation. The programme has seen

channel partners. At the same time as the fund’s introduction, IBM also

the vendor setting aside about $7 million for about 900 solution providers, or

globally introduced several existing programmes like ValueNet, under

between $5 000 and $12 000 per partner, to help with demand generation.

which the company helps solution providers to identify other solution

Before this, most of the vendor’s money was oriented towards larger

providers so they can work together.

partners, but it felt it needed to add funding for smaller business partners,

With a lot of distributors and resellers feeling the effect of the lack avail-

so it reoriented its funding pool. Executives at the company have said that

able credit in the IT space it is no surprise that IBM received a lot of positive

they are feeling the impact of the programme with a good number of their

feedback from its channel partners regarding the Distributor Growth Fund. 

SOFTWARE VENDORS: Business Skills Partner Programmes

Oracle skills up

WINNERS 1st – IBM 2nd – Oracle

By Kaunda Chama and George Maseko

88% 77%

Oracle a three-time winner in this year’s CRN Partner Excellence Awards, has also managed to scoop second place in the Vendor Business Skills Enhancement Partner Programmes category falling just 11 percentage points behind the winner IBM.

for partners wanting to join the Oracle PartnerNetwork and the Sales

Ike Ngwena Channel and Alliance Director Oracle SA attributes this to

Opportunity Wizard, a tool which allows value-added reseller (VAR)

the effectiveness of the company’s Oracle PartnerNetwork, a global

partners to map the technology requirements of their fast-growing,

business network of more than 19 500 companies that deliver software

mid-sized customers to Oracle’s industry-leading software products.

solutions based on its software.

According to him, the Oracle PartnerNetwork aims to provide

A few of the key programmes and services available to Oracle

comprehensive tools that allow partners to easily map Oracle product

PartnerNetwork members are the Oracle PartnerNetwork Interaction Centre

solutions to the business issues faced by their customers.

(OPN IC) – a service whereby partners in the Europe, Middle East and Africa

“Through this process partners will gain a wider view of the solution

(EMEA) region can call an Oracle representative

possibilities offered by Oracle and illustrate where

(who speaks their local language) for guidance

wider sales opportunities exist. Oracle PartnerNetwork

on and information about all the support pro-

programmes, tools and services are designed to

grammes and services available to them.

stimulate, for partners, a deeper knowledge and

Partners also have access to the Oracle

understanding of customers’ specific expectations,

Marketing Services 4 Partners Portal (OMS4P) –

requirements and challenges by sharing Oracle’s exten-

an internet portal that provides tools and

sive global experience in selling and delivering technol-

services to increase the marketing readiness of

ogy solutions to the world’s leading companies,”

EMEA partners and significantly improve their

explains Ngwena.

visibility with prospects and customers. “Other recently introduced tools include the

Looking ahead, the PartnerNetwork aims to provide Ike Ngwena

Get Started! Kit, which provides a simple guide

66 •

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • PARTNER PROGRAMME • JULY 2008

all the Oracle resources required by its partners to run a successful and profitable Oracle business. 

HARDWARE VENDORS: Business Skills Partner Programmes

Lexmark gets the bronze Staying printer perfect. By Kaunda Chama

WINNERS

This year saw the launch of a new Lexmark Channel Value Programme and the success of this and previ-

1st – Lexmark

ous partner initiatives have once again helped the

2nd – HP

vendor to receive a high rating in CRN’s Partner

68% 63%

3rd – Gigabyte 60%

Excellence Awards. The company says the new programme will help its South African channel partners to drive sales and secure margins by adopting the ‘Print Less, Save More’ approach. The Channel Value Programme, launched in June by the printing solutions provider, is a

progression-based and repays channel resellers and promotes best print-

Depending on their hardware sales, they will fall into one of the three tiers.

ing practice through a dynamic mix of sales

Each participant also benefits from a dedicated extranet, offering quick

support, rewards and incentives.

and easy access to a range of tools from product guides and brochures to

The Channel Value Programme is tailored to help individual channel

promotion collateral and key selling arguments. Furthermore, channel

partners to drive sales and add value through service offerings and knowl-

partners can personalise their offers with their own prices and

edge transfer, thus being able to offer to customers smarter ways to boost

company logo.

productivity and reduce costs. The more Lexmark products a partner sells, the more benefits they receive.

Lexmark has created the programme not only to reward resellers, but also to offer more innovative, value-added solutions to allow their channel

The scheme has three levels: Lexmark Select Partner, Lexmark Premium

partners to win more deals.

Partner and Lexmark Expert Partner. Any reseller can join the programme.

“Resellers are our lifeline, and the Channel Value Programme is a perfect way to strengthen their activities,” explains Branislav Zivkovic country manager at Lexmark South Africa. “We believe in promoting better working and printing prac-

“

tices among customers. This means allowing them to do more by actually printing

The main objective is to

less – saving money and time, and protect-

assist our channel partners

ing the environment.” “Now more than ever, succeeding means

in offering customers

going beyond selling hardware and sup-

more than just a device.

plies as well as going beyond the printed

We want to help them to

page. It’s also about offering more innova-

add value by using

tive, value-added solutions to customers to

Lexmark’s ‘Print Less, Save

“

More’ approach.

allow them to work faster, smarter and more efficiently,” adds Zivkovic. “The main objective is to assist our channel partners in offering customers more than just a device. We want to help them to add value by using Lexmark’s ‘Print Less, Save More’ approach. By showing their customers ways to print less, more economically and to be more productive our partners are assured of continuous business. We also focus on profitability for both Lexmark and resellers,” he concludes. 

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • PARTNER PROGRAMME • JULY 2008 •

67

HARDWARE VENDORS: Business Skills Partner Programmes

HP commited to IT industry growth needs Developing essential skills in high growth areas of IT. By Dudu Shaba HP has won fourth position in the Vendor Business Skills Enhancement Partner Programme, Hardware category in the CRN Partner Excellence Awards 2008. Mark Perry, Country Manager, SPO, HP, attributes this to HP’s commit-

WINNERS 1st – Lexmark 2nd – HP 3rd- Gigabyte

68% 63% 60%

ment to acknowledging the requirements of transformation and the IT Industry’s growth needs. The company achieved 63 per cent from 13 votes from solution providers in the channel. Perry says that when the company established the HP

enabling them to break into more sustainable and lucrative areas of the

Business Institute (HPBI), it undertook extensive testing with SME IT com-

industry,” he comments.

panies to validate its strategic intent. “We then translated the most significant business growth needs of

To qualify for this programme, Perry says resellers must meet the following entry criteria:

these companies into a solution to assist with the growth of their business-

• Must be a registered and legal organisation trading in SA

es. This programme is aligned with feedback from various government

• Must have a SARS clearance certificate

departments regarding required skills development. We see the HPBI as a

• Must have been trading for at least three to four years

key programme that will help to build the channel of the future,” he says.

• Must actively sell products from at least three different IT product lines

Perry says that the HPBI programme, which was launched in November last year, has two intakes every year. He says that the programme is aimed at developing the necessary skills in high growth areas of the IT industry. “These skills will be developed within existing SME B-BBEE companies

• Must commit to a long-term enterprise development strategy • Ideally an SME • Must have infrastructure capacity to host a potential graduate • Management must have enough capacity to provide coaching, mentorship, supervision and guidance to a potential graduate. 

HARDWARE VENDORS: Business Skills Partner Programmes

Speedy delivery WINNERS By Kaunda Chama Gigabyte’s Express Centre Programme got the technology vendor a spot in the top five of the Vendor Business Skills Enhancement Partner

1st – Lexmark 2nd – HP 3rd- Gigabyte

68% 63% 60%

Programmes category in this year’s Partner Excellence Awards Rectron, the brand’s local distributor, has gone on record as saying that the secret to its success has a lot to do with giving the right information and content to partners. “We have the Gigabyte Express Centre Programme as well as the Mobile Repair Programme. One focuses on PC component

it works closely with its partners to make sure they have all the necessary knowledge and skills when it comes to the products they resell. Its incentive programme is to take its partners overseas

repairs and the other on repairing notebooks. We are

to visit the manufacturers and also to help them get a bet-

also making sure that we do the right training with

ter understanding of the brand. There’s no previous refer-

the right people and, again, split it between techni-

ence to an incentive programme.

cal and sales training. We want to make sure that

“We are engaged in activities such as hands-on training

the channel is educated and empowered to deliver

for our technical staff and marketing. All of this is about

top-level service to its customers,” says Zandre

getting an in-depth understanding of the product. This cov-

Rudolph, Rectron MD.

ers product roadmaps and target market discussions and

The company strongly believes in the power of applying the knowledge gained from the industry to its competitive advantage. It does this to ensure that

68 •

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • PARTNER PROGRAMME • JULY 2008

how and where to position the product,” says Rudolph. Rectron stresses that a major part of its future plans are centred on expanding the platform it has built. 

HARDWARE VENDORS: Loyalty Partner Programmes

Tarsus in second place WINNERS By George Maseko Tarsus Technologies, one of the longest established IT distributors in SA has naturally emerged as one of the top two companies in this year’s Hardware Distributor Loyalty Partner Programme category. The company’s MD Pierre Spies says: “I would attribute this nomination

1st – Comztek 74% 2nd – Tarsus Technologies 73% 3rd – Duxbury Networking 72% 4th – ACT 69% 5th – Sahara Computers 56%

to Tarsus’ knowledge, expertise and flexibility as well as its relationship with its customers. “We understand our customers’ needs and have created value-added solutions to assist them in expanding their business opportunities. The

Programme, the Tarsus Foundation and Loyalty. Tarsus believes in rewarding resellers for their commitment and its

Tarsus Partner Programme is designed to enhance the value we’re deliver-

PartneRewards loyalty programme, established in 1998 and run in associa-

ing so that our customers can provide the best possible service, support

tion with its sister company A.C.T., is arguably the South African IT indus-

and overall solutions to their end-user customers at the

try’s longest running and most successful loyalty pro-

lowest possible cost.”

gramme.

The Tarsus Partner Programme covers all areas of

“Many partner programmes are quite complex. In

partner appreciation such as education, customer ser-

my opinion, the key attributes of a successful pro-

vice, logistics, financial assistance, black economic

gramme are the expertise a company offers, the rela-

empowerment and corporate social investment, and the

tionship it has with its customers, the total impact it

company has gone to great lengths to ensure that its

has in the marketplace and the resources it offers to

partner programme covers all of these key value points.

help its customers’ businesses succeed regardless of

All of Tarsus’ registered resellers have access to the

their size or focus,” he explains.

Tarsus Partner Programme which has seven pillars:

Pierre Spies

Finance, Pre- and Post-Sales Support, Logistics, Staging

Programme. 

and Stockholding, Training and Certification, BEE

HARDWARE DISTRIBUTORS:

Spies concludes that the company’s future plans are to continue improving the Tarsus Partner

Loyalty Partner Programmes

Duxbury does it again By George Maseko Once again Duxbury Networking’s DuxBux Partner Programme has helped the company to become one of the highly recommended companies in this year’s CRN Partner Excellence Awards. Graham Duxbury, CEO Duxbury Networking says he attributes this acco-

WINNERS 1st – Comztek 74% 2nd – Tarsus Technologies 73% 3rd – Duxbury Networking 72% 4th – ACT 69% 5th – Sahara Computers 56%

lade to the fact that Duxbury Networking is a ‘partner-orientated’ organisation with a focus on adding value to its product offerings. With 25 years in the networking game, the company places a great deal

Programme just over a year ago to reward loyalty. In terms of the pro-

of emphasis on pre-and post-sales service and sup-

gramme, resellers are able to earn DuxBux with all

port to its reseller channel. In line with this, it stress-

Netgear and HP ProCurve Networking product purchases.

es the importance of training, helping resellers to up-

Partners can also earn DuxBux for attending generic net-

skill and cross-skill for the benefit of their business

work training and selected promotional events. These

and, ultimately, the end-users.

have proven to be an invaluable resource to the compa-

“Assisting our resellers to grow their businesses

ny’s reseller community.

has always been our top priority. As such, Duxbury

“The DuxBux programme is aimed at rewarding our

Networking works closely with the vendors it repre-

resellers for purchasing the nominated brands through

sents, supporting and leveraging off its partner pro-

Duxbury Networking and placing their trust in our technical

grammes which are aimed at brand enhancement and operational support. The company introduced its own DuxBux Partner

and logistical support services. Focusing on our own Graham Duxbury

DuxBux Partner Programme, resellers benefit by earning DuxBux which can be exchanged for goods and services. 

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • PARTNER PROGRAMME • JULY 2008 •

69

HARDWARE DISTRIBUTORS: Loyalty Partner Programmes

The power of appreciation Comztek comes tops. By George Maseko ICT distribution house Comztek is one of the

WINNERS

few companies to have been highly recommended in three categories in this year’s CRN

1st – Comztek

Partner Excellence Awards survey.

74%

2nd – Tarsus Technologies

According to the company’s head of marketing, Mabel Terblanche, the Comztek Appreciation Programme (CAP) is a no frills,

3rd- Duxbury

straightforward rewards programme and is

4th- ACT

73% 72% 69%

about Comztek showing its appreciation to its

5th – Sahara Computers

resellers. “It is simple to understand and to

56%

participate in. Basically, CAP’s strength lies in its simplicity, ease of use and consistency. All registered resellers of Comztek products can participate in the programme,” she says. Terblanche adds that CAP has a very simple and basic structure - for every R50 that you spend you get one CAP mile

products available from Comztek. CAP’s focus is on giving our resellers

that can be redeemed in three ways.

rewards that add value to their business whether it is through travel, sup-

“You can redeem the CAP Miles for SAA Voyager Miles, Comztek Technical Services and Support Miles and training through Torque IT on

port from Comztek’s technical service and support vendor-certified engineers or training through Torque IT.” With training such a pressing issue, the first two benefits are invaluable to Comztek customers. It is about Comztek showing its

“

appreciation to its resellers and the

“You can redeem the CAP

only requirement to participate in CAP is that the reseller needs to be

Miles for SAA Voyager Miles,

a registered Comztek reseller and

Comztek Technical Services

be registered on the programme.

and Support Miles and training

“Comztek realises that simplicity, ease of use and consistency are

through Torque IT on

what make CAP a winning pro-

products available from

gramme. We are always looking for ways to improve our offering

Comztek. – Mabel

“

Terblanche, the Comztek

and are constantly seeking ways to do this. We will continue listening to our resellers and will strive to keep the programme up to date with our customers’ needs,” Terblanche concludes. 

70 •

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • PARTNER PROGRAMME • JULY 2008

HARDWARE DISTRIBUTORS: Loyalty Partner Programmes WINNERS

ACT takes fourth spot By George Maseko ACT MD Anton Herbst says the company is constantly striving to deliver the

1st – Comztek 2nd – Tarsus Technologies 3rd- Duxbury Networking 4th – ACT 5th- Sahara Computers

74% 73% 72% 69% 56%

value adds its partners need and in a competitive market that’s awash with sources for the commodity products it distributes, these value adds are

are well versed in the different products and technologies they come into

what differentiate a company from its peers.

contact with through dealing with ACT, but also have the business skills

This, he attributes to the company’s high commendation in this year’s CRN Partner Excellence survey.

required to be both professional and customer orientated in their broader business dealings with customers.

“In our quest to ascertain what matters to our partners (and the goal

“While the aforementioned aspects of the ACT partner programme allow

posts change almost as rapidly as market dynamics do), we encourage our

for a solid platform for partners to be established both in terms of their ini-

representatives to maintain close contact with their customers; and

tial engagements with customers and the service-levels they are able to

through regular road shows and one-on-one opportunities to meet our

afford their customers over the long term, ACT’s loyalty encouragement

partners’ decision-makers we gain insight into their operational pains and

programme, PartneRewards, rewards partners for bringing the lion’s share

try to alleviate some of those pains,” says Herbst.

of their business to ACT,” explains Herbst.

Areas such as rewarding partners for loyalty, upskilling them so that they are able to better service their customers, providing them with infrastruc-

All ACT active partners are automatically eligible for participation in the partner programme.

ture to ease their operations, affording them favourable BEE credentials

According to Herbst a good partner programme should aim to address

through ACT’s ownership and empowerment strategies; and mixing this

the needs of the company’s partners. It is important to not only encourage

with the right levels of corporate social investment and executive network-

partners to make suggestions, but to also provide regular input into how

ing, are all addressed through the company’s broader partner programme.

effective the partner programme is.

This is then bolstered by strong BEE credentials, which smooth ACT’s partners’ road to achieving their BEE goals.

Moving forward, ACT says it cannot divulge the exact details of its future plans but says that all directions for the programme are determined by

In line with the skills development portion of the BEE codes of good

what its partners actually require. The basic tenet of ‘meeting the needs’ of

practice and for that matter, SA’s dire need for skills development, ACT’s

the partner is always the primary motivation for the inclusion of new value

channel business college allows partners to not only ensure that their staff

adds to the programme, concludes Herbst. 

HARDWARE DISTRIBUTORS:

Loyalty Partner Programmes

Sahara scores again By George Maseko Sahara Computers, one of South Africa’s top ICT distribution companies, has made it into the top five companies in this year’s CRN Partner Excellence

WINNERS 1st – Comztek 2nd – Tarsus Technologies 3rd- Duxbury Networking 4th- ACT 5th – Sahara Computers

74% 73% 72% 69% 56%

Awards attracting a commendable response from its reseller base. According to deputy MD Gary Naidoo, the company managed to achieve this because it is an established supplier of equipment, ICT infrastructure

Channel partners have the benefit of Sahara and vendor-related product

and contributor towards the growth and development of the local

launches and training programmes. Its partners are included in some of its

distribution channel.

marketing and advertising initiatives which direct end consumers to them.

“The combination of resources, market experience, technical skills,

According to him, a successful partner programme should empower the

strategic partnerships and access to technology has strengthened the

partner and add value to the relationship. He adds that a proactive

company’s position in the market,” comments Naidoo.

partner will continue to meet criteria, engage with its distribution partner

Naidoo says Sahara’s model is based on the key principles of quality and delivery, adding they are the mainstay of business with Sahara. The company’s partners are encouraged to fulfil the criteria and establish a firm

and generate business, reinforce the brand and product, and sustain its customer base. Looking ahead, he says that Sahara will continue investing in the part-

footing in the market by engaging with Sahara, communicating and take

ner programme and expanding its reach into other regions and key centres.

advantage of the training, gain product knowledge and develop a strong

“Ultimately, our objective is to entrench the brand across the domestic

business portfolio. “This places the partner in a better position to leverage

market and also assist potential partners throughout Africa. We also see

off deals, etc. We run regular incentive programmes to enhance their sales

strong growth in the services sector which we believe will strengthen our

in key technologies such as mobile,” he notes.

partner relationships,” concludes Naidoo. 

72 •

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • PARTNER PROGRAMME • JULY 2008

SOFTWARE DISTRIBUTORS: Loyalty Partner Programmes

In a class of it’s own Workgroup shows staying power.

By Stanley Chishala Specialist software distributor Workgroup has won the

WINNERS

2008 Partner Excellence Award after its loyalty partner programme, the Workgroup Partner Programme received an excellent 87 per cent overall score in the Software Distributor category. This is the fourth consecutive win for Workgroup’s

1st – Workgroup 2nd – Comstek 3rd- Westcon

87% 72% 61%

channel programme and it demonstrates that the specialist software distributor is in a class of its own. The fact that the company has bagged four awards also demonstrates that its loyalty programme remains a favourite in the local solution provider space. By winning this year’s award, Workgroup beat arch-rival Comztek, which

resellers by virtue of them signing up with Workgroup. He says the partner

came in second position while Westcon could only manage third place.

programme is an ongoing business process that the company has for all its

Douglas Woolley, MD at Workgroup says the main focus this year has

resellers, which has been broken down on a sub-business unit or vendor

been on its Sun, VMware and EMC partners where it rolled out a number of

defined basis. “The main reason we have a segmented the partner

exciting programmes for them covering skills development, incentives and

programme is to cater for the myriad of partners and their focus on specific

other business- enhancing tools and models.

vendor solutions. We believe that a one-size-fits-all model does not work,”

Woolley says the company’s partner programmes are open to all

he says. “Change is constant within the partner programme as we tailor it according to the business demands from the channel and our vendors.” WoolIey attributes the success the programme has enjoyed over the past

“

four years to the way in which the company has tailor made it and

“Change is constant within

keeps on enhancing the various

the partner programme as

sub-programmes to assist resellers with their business.

we tailor it according to

He explains that the only way to add

the business demands

value to partners is to address the

from the channel and our

needs that enhance their business processes, skills development, lead

vendors.” – Douglas

generation, incentives that drive sales

“

Woolley, Workgroup

generation for their company and business enhancement by streamlining processes like lead generation and pre-sales support. Looking ahead, Woolley says resellers can expect a lot of incentives to come their way depending on market demand and what Workgroup sees as vital for resellers to make their businesses more profitable and sustainable. 

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • PARTNER PROGRAMME • JULY 2008 •

73

SOFTWARE DISTRIBUTORS: Loyalty Partner Programmes

Comztek takes the silver Putting a CAP on it. By George Maseko Mabel Terblanche, head of marketing at ICT distribution house Comztek says the Comztek Appreciation Programme (CAP) is a no frills straightfor-

WINNERS 1st – Workgroup 2nd – Comztek 3rd - Westcon

87% 72% 61%

ward rewards programme and is about Comztek showing its appreciation to its resellers. This she attributes to the company coming second in this year’s Distributor Loyalty Partner Programmes category (software) in the CRN

port by Comztek’s vendor-certified engineers or training through Torque

Partner Excellence survey.

IT,” explains Terblanche.

“It is easy to understand and participate in CAP. Basically, its strength

CAP miles can be redeemed in three ways; SAA Voyager Miles, Technical

lies in its simplicity, accessibility and consistency. All

Services and Support miles, and training

registered resellers of Comztek products can participate

through Torque IT. With training currently a focal

in the programme,” she says.

point in our economy, these benefits have

“The programme has a very simple and basic struc-

proved invaluable to the company’s customers.

ture – for every R50 that you spend, you get one CAP

“The only requirement to participate in CAP is

Mile that can be redeemed in three ways. You can

that the reseller needs to be a registered

redeem the CAP Miles for SAA Voyager Miles, Comztek

Comztek reseller and be registered on the CAP

Technical Services and Support Miles and training on

programme,” she adds.

products available from Comztek through Torque IT.

“We will continue to listen to our resellers

CAP’s focus is to give our resellers rewards that add

and strive to keep the programme on par with

value to their business whether it is through travel, sup-

our customers’ needs,” she concludes. 

SOFTWARE DISTRIBUTORS: Loyalty Partner Programmes

Building a strong software portfolio Westcon receives channel thumbs up. By Stanley Chishala The Westcon Convergence Point Partner Programme has secured third place in the 2008 CRN Partner Excellence Awards for Distributor Loyalty Partner Programmes in the software space. The programme received 61 per cent from the 19 different solution providers that rated its loyalty-

WINNERS 1st – Workgroup 2nd – Comztek 3rd – Westcon

87% 72% 61%

based programme. Workgroup and Comztek secured first and second positions respectively, as they have been in the software business longer. In fact, this is the first time in the history of these awards that Westcon has been entered in a software category. Westcon’s entry into software distribution comes after it bought specialist software distributor Sparnoon last year.

solutions with advanced reseller support,” he says. Malherbe adds that many of Westcon’s smaller resellers struggle to compete with the larger ones and the main reason is perhaps a lack of skills and training, another is price support. He says it is precisely for this reason that Westcon SA developed ConvergencePoint to lend a hand to resellers to enable them to overcome

Jacques Malherbe, CEO at Westcon SA says it is encouraging to see that resellers are beginning to recognise the ConvergencePoint programme.

the various impediments they face. Although Malherbe is delighted that the programme has made a top

ConvergencePoint is a new, comprehensive programme from Westcon SA

three spot, he says that as a global distributor of choice, it is crucial that

that delivers complete multi-vendor convergence solutions. “With

Westcon ensures that its current relationships are cast in cement, fortified

ConvergencePoint, Westcon sets a new standard of excellence by combin-

and strengthened. “The only way to be successful in this industry is

ing the most prominent names in communications- and convergence-based

through our resellers and partners,” he concludes. 

74 •

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • PARTNER PROGRAMME • JULY 2008

NETWORKING DISTRIBUTORS: Loyalty Partner Programmes

Duxbux bags points By Dudu Shaba Specialist networking distribution powerhouse Duxbury Networking has won the inaugural award in the Partner Excellence Awards for loyalty programmes for distributors of networking solutions, after its loyalty-based

WINNERS 1st – Duxbury Networking 2nd – Comztek 3rd – Westcon

76% 67% 66%

programme, the DuxBux Partner Programme, received a sound 76 per cent of the vote. Duxbury Networking had a total of 28 different solution providers rate its partner programme. Solution providers rated the distributor’s partner programme on the fol-

Duxbury explains that to quality for participation in the DuxBux

lowing criteria: pre- and post-sales support, rewards; rebates; discounts

Programme, a reseller must register at www.earnduxbux.co.za. “It’s a sim-

and incentive programmes, revenue target and profit margins, consistence

ple, few-minute procedure and from then onwards, the rewards process is

of partner programme and ease of participation.

automatic,” he says. “Resellers can login to the website and view their

The distributor came up against partner programmes from arch-rivals Comztek and Westcon whose partner programmes the Comztek

accounts – and their DuxBux balance - at any time.” At the same time, says Duxbury, resellers can browse the rewards cata-

Appreciation Programme and Westcon Convergence Point came in second

logue, which is packed with adventure holidays, gift vouchers from major

and third place respectively.

South African retailers, consumer electronics goods, home appliances,

Graham Duxbury, CEO at Duxbury Networking says the Duxbury Networking Partner Programme, DuxBux, is designed to reward valued cus-

CDs, DVDs and even cellphone airtime. He says one of the keys to the company’s strong performance this year

tomers – the resellers – for their loyalty. Duxbury says in terms of the pro-

was an early strategic decision not to exclude any products in the Netgear

gramme, resellers are able to earn DuxBux with all Netgear and HP ProCurve

and HP ProCurve ranges from the programme.

Networking product purchases. He says they can also earn DuxBux for attending generic networking training and selected promotional events.

However, he points out the only change to the programme has been the inclusion of the HP ProCurve product range in April 2008. 

NETWORKING DISTRIBUTORS: Loyalty Partner Programmes

Comztek gets another silver ...distributor stays well networked. By George Maseko Comztek has been highly recommended in three categories in this year’s CRN Partner Excellence Awards. Mabel Terblanche, its head of marketing, attributes this to the company’s appreciation programme. The rewards programme is a way of Comztek showing its appreciation to

WINNERS 1st – Duxbury Networking 2nd – Comztek 3rd - Westcon

76% 67% 66%

its resellers. “Basically, the Comztek Appreciation Programme’s (CAP) strength lies in its simplicity, accessibility and con-

port by Comztek’s vendor certified engineers or

sistency. All registered resellers of Comztek products can

training through Torque IT,” explains Terblanche.

participate in the programme,” she says.

With training currently a focal point in the SA

“Comztek has one programme – the CAP. The very sim-

economy, these benefits have proved to be invalu-

ple and basic structure is that for every R50 that you

able to its customers.

spend, you get one CAP Mile that can be redeemed in

“The only requirement to participate in CAP is

three ways.

that the reseller needs to be a registered Comztek

“You can redeem the CAP Miles for SAA Voyager Miles,

reseller and be registered on the CAP pro-

Comztek Technical Services and Support Miles and train-

gramme,” says Terblanche.

ing on products available from Comztek through Torque

Looking ahead, Comztek says it will continue

IT. CAP’s focus is to give our resellers rewards that add

to listen to its resellers and strive to keep the pro-

value to their business whether it is through travel, sup-

gramme on par with its customers’ needs. 

NETWORKING DISTRIBUTORS: Loyalty Partner Programmes

Making headway ConvergencePoint starts on a good note. WINNERS By Stanley Chishala The Westcon ConvergencePoint partner programme has been voted into

1st – Duxbury 2nd – Comztek 3rd – Westcon

76% 67% 66%

third place after solution providers that responded gave the company a 66 per cent overall score for its loyalty programme in the networking hardware space. Second place went to Comztek’s programme, which

Over and above what Westcon offers to the channel market, the company supports the community through various

managed to hang in there after it could only secure

initiatives which form part of the Westcon Cares

67 per cent of the overall vote. The biggest winner this

CSI initiative. Malherbe says Westcon Cares is

year was Duxbury networking after it programme

Westcon SA’s corporate social development pro-

DuxBux received a solid 76 per cent.

gramme and consists of various elements, namely

Jacques Malherbe, Westcon CEO says, although ConvergencePoint is still relatively new, the programme has been widely accepted in the local

ICT skills development, community upliftment and Westcon SA’s staff’s Pay- it- Forward campaign. “The staff at Westcon SA believes that compa-

channel in the short time it has existed. He says the

ny programmes are vital for industry and market

programme has been tweaked to better suit the

growth, but what is it all worth if the community

market and also to enhance the value offering Westcon

that supports us is not supported in return,”

SA offers resellers.

he concludes. 

76 •

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • PARTNER PROGRAMME • JULY 2008

NETWORKING DISTRIBUTORS: Certification Partner Programmes

The quest for perfection Comstor’s OneVoice aids resellers.

By Stanley Chishala

WINNERS

The decision to launch a dedicated certification programme – the Comstor OneVoice partner programme – by Westcon two years ago has begun to yield dividends. Comstor, a division within the Westcon group specialises in end-to-end Cisco networking and convergence solutions.

1st – Comstor OneVoice 2nd – Comstor OneDefense 3rd- Westcon 64%

80% 67%

Comstor’s OneVoice partner programme scooped this year’s Partner Excellence Award for certification programmes in the Networking category after the 18 different solution providers that rated the programme gave it a resounding 80 per cent of the overall score. In second position is another certification offering from Comstor – the

and it division Comstor face challenges. Jacques Malherbe, CEO at

Comstor OneDefense programme which could only garner an uninspiring

Westcon, says as one of the few executives who has been advocating for

67 per of the vote.

partners to skill up he believes the channel is maturing when it comes to

The Westcon ConvergencePoint partner programme was rated third with 64 per cent of the overall mark.

training and certification. Malherbe says the Comstor division of the Westcon SA group is a

Clearly, the lower rating in the last two programmes suggests Westcon

customer centred, global channel provider of leading-edge technology products, focused on competitive advantage in an evolving networking market. “Our focus has been to ensure that resellers are properly developed within their respective

“

markets, thus enabling them to deliver superior services and offerings

“Our focus has been to ensure

to their customers. The programme is

that resellers are properly devel-

dedicated to ensuring that we provide

oped within their respective markets, thus enabling them to deliver superior services and offerings to their customers. “ – Jacques Malherbe, Westcon

our resellers with a certain level of competitive edge,” he says. He adds that the programme has grown in leaps and bounds since its inception. “The partners on the associated programmes are carefully selected to ensure that the correct skills quota is met,” he says. Malherbe believes that resellers

“

are benefiting from the OneVoice programme because it encompasses extensive product knowledge of Cisco end-to-end networks which is complemented by best of breed products for enhanced solutions. 

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • PARTNER PROGRAMME • JULY 2008 •

77

NETWORKING DISTRIBUTORS: Certification Partner Programmes

OneDefense starts with a bang By Stanley Chishala The Comstor OneDefense partner programme has come in second position in Certification Partner Programmes in this year’s CRN Partner Excellence Awards in the networking hardware space for distributors. Comstor, a

WINNERS 1st – Comstor OneVoice 2nd – Comstor OneDefense 67% 3rd – Westcon 64%

80%

specialist division within the Westcon group which looks after Cisco end-to-end solutions, managed to achieve this after solution providers gave it 67 per cent. Jacques Malherbe, CEO at Westcon SA, says OneDefense and

pursue key SME markets successfully by delivering comprehensive end-toend solutions and services. Furthermore, he explains that resellers can

OneVoice, serve as key touch points for Westcon SA’s community of

transcend their identity from being just another supplier of network prod-

reseller customers.

ucts to becoming a trusted business adviser to their customers.

He says since the launch of the OneDefense programme about two

He says the fact that the company did not just launch a partner pro-

years ago, the company has made it substantially

gramme and leave it up to resellers to use the pro-

easier for resellers to do business with Comstor while

gramme and manage it means Comstor has taken

providing them with all the tools they need to

the responsibility to make the programme rele-

succeed. “The adoption and continued evolution of

vant. “We make certain that we build a close rela-

our tools and programme infrastructure is welcomed

tionship with each partner and then assist them to

by our resellers and vendors,” he says. “Most impor-

empower themselves,” he says. “Partners once

tantly, we have been helping them to identify and

incorporated into our programmes become a force

seize new opportunities.”

to be reckoned with in the relevant markets.”

Malherbe points out that the programme provides

He explains that Westcon, as a group, has also

resellers with a vision, an environment and a

supported all programmes with relevant training

roadmap to help them to succeed in their markets.

initiatives, promotions, incentives, pre-sales sup-

The programme enables resellers and integrators to

port and business development. 

NETWORKING DISTRIBUTORS: Certification Partner Programmes

Channel nod ConvergencePoint gains momentum. By Stanley Chishala The Westcon ConvergencePoint partner programme has once again managed to come in third position in Certification Partner Programmes in the Partner Excellence Awards in the Networking Distributor category. The programme received a 64 per cent overall score from the 17 different

WINNERS 1st – Comstor OneVoice 2nd – Comstor OneDefense 3rd – Westcon 64%

80% 67%

solution providers that rated it. Jacques Malherbe, CEO at Westcon SA attributes the programme’s strong showing in this year’s awards to the fact that the company believes in understanding

and have supported them in obtaining various

and giving the market what it needs. Malherbe says

certifications and skills sets.”

Westcon SA and Westcon Africa will continue being

Malherbe points out that ConvergencePoint is

technologically innovative and driving initiatives which

a new, comprehensive programme that delivers

benefit resellers in business and personal ways.

complete multi-vendor convergence solutions.

He explains that as with all institutionalised

With ConvergencePoint, Westcon sets a new

programmes, there are bound to be changes. “We have upgraded and tweaked the programme to ensure that we offer additional benefits to our partners,” he says. “We have mapped a growth chart for resellers

78 •

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • PARTNER PROGRAMME • JULY 2008

standard of excellence by combining the most Jacques Malherbe

prominent names in communications- and convergence-based solutions with advanced reseller support. 

HARDWARE DISTRIBUTORS: Business Skills Partner Programmes

Indispensable Axiz’s Ledibogo appeals to SMEs. By Stanley Chishala

WINNERS

Axiz’s Ledibogo Partner Programme has won the 2008 Partner Excellence Award for Distributor Business Skills Enhancement Programmes in the

1st – Axiz 2nd – Comstor OneDefense 3rd- A.C.T. 63%

Hardware category after the distributor received an impressive overall mark of 83 per cent. Established in 2005 to support SME development in the IT sector, the Ledibogo Programme

83% 71%

teaches participants how to run their businesses effectively. The Ledibogo Programme provides business and skills training as well as product workshops and business forums. The programme has successfully enabled

which is focused on business owners and senior managers. The curriculum

SME reseller partners to develop and grow their businesses significantly.

includes several modules addressing all primary aspects of successfully

To join the programme the reseller must be a registered Axiz Business Partner and qualify as a BEE entity.

running an SME business with specific focus on growth. The modules include key business fundamentals to improve operation and efficiency

The word Ledibogo means “bridge” in Sotho and this best describes the

such as financial skills, strategy and business plans.

Axiz initiative to address the economic divide between the advantaged

The second is the Skills Development Programme which focuses on

and disadvantaged communities through the deployment of technology

skills such as sales and sales management, and the development of skills

and education.

of individuals within the participating organisations.

Joe du Toit, channel manager at Axiz, says the company has focused on two primary aspects. The first is the Business Development Programme

Du Toit says the Ledibogo Programme is reviewed regularly to ensure the skills that are taught are up to date and relevant in the current business climate. “We hold quarterly discussion groups for the Alumni of the primary Ledibogo Programme on market trends and updates,” he says. “We try to ensure that we have

“

sustainable partnerships with our Ledibogo partners.”

The success of the pro-

He adds that since the programme

gramme is indicated by

started 94 SME reseller partners have graduated from the Business

the increased business

Development Programme and 69

from our reseller partners

reseller partners have completed the

that have participated in

Skills Development Programme.

the programme.” – Joe du

“

Toit, Axiz

Du Toit attributes the strong performance in this year’s awards to the quality of the courses, which has been a huge factor, and the fact that the intent is solely for the benefit of resellers. He explains that Ledibogo is a Section 21 company established and supported by Axiz and that this independence gives the programme clarity of focus. “The success of the programme is indicated by the increased business from our reseller partners that have participated in it,” he concludes. 

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • PARTNER PROGRAMME • JULY 2008 •

79

4

HARDWARE HARDWARE DISTRIBUTORS: VENDORS: Intel Business Skills Partner Programmes

Shifting skills empowerment By Stanley Chishala

WINNERS

The Netgear Powershift Partner Programme, Duxbury Networking’s business skills and business mentorship programme, has come in second position in the 2008 Partner Excellence Awards after the programme

1st – Axiz 2nd – Duxbury Networking 3rd – A.C.T 63%

83% 71%

scored 71 per cent from the 21 votes it received from solution provider companies.

of skills and expertise in the channel,” he says. The training offered by

Solution providers that participated in the survey rated the Netgear

Duxbury Networking covers both generic and vendor-specific curricula, rang-

Powershift Partner Programme on the following criteria: channel partner

ing from a course designed to instil the core basics of networking and the

business mentoring skills; enterprise development; certification;

concepts therein, right through to courses designed to empower administra-

ease of participation; and consistency of

tors and other technical staff members with the

partner programme.

knowledge to configure, troubleshoot, maintain and

Graham Duxbury, CEO at Duxbury Networking

evolve networking infrastructures based on specific

says it is encouraging to see that the programme

brands of hardware.

has received a thumbs up from resellers in the

Additionally, the distributor offers less? technical

local channel.

training to sales and pre-sales staff members at

Duxbury says the company intends adding more

resellers, better equipping them to scope out cus-

incentives to the programme to underline its com-

tomers’ environments, suggest solutions to their’

mitment to training and business skills empowerment in the channel. “We will focus on our orientation programmes, including the popular Duxbury

pain and, most importantly, suggest solutions to meet their expectations.

Graham Duxbury

Duxbury Networking’s training division prides

Generic Networking Training, offering this initiative

itself on having garnered the country’s top network

as a reward to resellers in a bid to improve the level

training resources and boasts ITA accreditation. 

4

HARDWARE HARDWARE DISTRIBUTORS: VENDORS: Intel Business Skills Partner Programmes

A.C.T. finishes in top three Channel Business College still channel favourite. WINNERS By Stanley Chishala Advanced Channel Technologies (A.C.T), a specialist consumables and

1st – Axiz 2nd – Duxbury Networking 3rd – A.C.T 63%

83% 71%

printing solutions distributor, has secured third place position in the 2008 CRN Partner Excellence Awards for distributors that offer business skills enhancement programmes in the hardware segment. A.C.T managed a 63 per cent overall score, enough to give it a top three position. Its partner programme

Enterprise Development; Certification; Consistency of Partner Programme; and Ease of Participation. This year A.C.T’s performance in this new category showed a slight drop

is the Channel Business College which it shares with its sister company

from last year’s outstanding performance when it

Tarsus Technologies, also a subsidiary of the MB Technologies Group.

came in first position in a combined hardware category that didn’t

Although A.C.T focuses strongly on the consumables space, its partner programme competed against Axiz’s Ledibogo and Duxbury Networking’s Netgear Powershift Partner Programme, two distributors that play mainly in the hardware space. Solution providers rated the Channel Business College programme on the following criteria: Channel Partner Business Mentoring Schemes;

80 •

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • PARTNER PROGRAMME • JULY 2008

classify programmes in terms of loyalty, certification or business skills enhancement. With sister company Tarsus sharing the Channel Business College programme with A.C.T, it will be interesting to see if this perennial winner in these awards will retain its position come June 2009.