We don’t want our
distributors to be
a box mover, we
want them to be
involved by using
resources and
adding value.
networking solutions so we look after both
types of resellers and partners, including
dedicated security resellers that focus on
the security business. We partner with them
and build a business plan with our security
solutions to be sold through their portfolio.
Plus we can look after partners such
as Alpha Delta that has everything. They
have networking, security, applications
departments, that they sell to their
customers. We sit with them, we make a
business plan, we do account mapping, What trends do you expect to see
in the channel this year?
and start working together by knocking
on customers’ doors and working on the
projects together.
We don’t want our distributors to be a
box mover, we want them to be involved
by using resources and adding value. We
don’t sell directly to partners or customers –
everything should be through our distribution.
We make sure the plan is working smoothly
and the pipeline is healthy. What we plan now is to focus on the full
Middle East which is the Gulf, the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia (KSA), the Levant region, plus
the Arabic speaking parts of Africa.
Do you train your channel partners?
Yes. We have a training centre that
we signed with for training based in
Dubai to train our partners, customers
and distributors. They handle monthly
sessions that will be scheduled from the
beginning of the year. This is shared with
our partners and customers asking if they
would like to attend.
We are planning on increasing this training
especially if we can push it to our distribution
level. It will be adding value for their services
to be delivered to their partners.
60
I think in 2019 the channel will go back and
focus into dedicated vendor partnerships
between the channel and the partners.
The trend is to go to a customer not talking
about a product or one solution you have to
open a platform of discussion.
Which areas are you covering?
Middle East and the Arabic speaking
countries in Africa like Egypt and Tunisia.
Are there any particular countries
that you think has a great deal of
potential for A10 Networks?
We have the full Gulf region, KSA, UAE and
Kuwait. These have really big potential for
A10 Networks’ business. Also we have big
potential in the Egyptian market because
still now Egypt is recovering and the
business is growing there so we have a very
good connection and doors we can open for
A10 Networks.
Also Levant is good but it’s still a small
market. This will be dealt with purely by the
channel but for the Gulf we have a dedicated
sales and channel team working together in
the region.
The main potential is in KSA, UAE, Qatar
and Egypt. These are the countries I can see
that have really big potential for us.