Although the exact dates have not been revealed when the division will be operational, Almasa has indicated that the services offering will be available towards the end of this year.
Sajid Sarwar, Vice President – Finance and Operations at Almasa IT Distribution said in an interview recently, that the company was in talks with certain vendors in the Middle East region with the aim of forming partnerships with them and address the IT services opportunity.
Sarwar said the launch of a dedicated services arm within the group is in no way intended to compete with system integrators or solution providers already playing in the professional services arena, but rather act as conduit to help channel partners support their clients better. “We don’t want to step into the turf that SIs and solution providers are already earning recurring revenues,” he said. “We will not cannibalise our existing partners by going into the services arena to compete with them.”
Sarwar added that the main motivation behind this move is to provide channel partners with a comprehensive offering of professional and consulting services that have Almasa and its vendor partners’ backing.
He explained that although it is still early days, the company was exploring vertical sectors such as telecoms, banking and financial services, and government as the possible segments where these services will be tailored.
Almasa IT Distribution has over the last year ramped up its operations and recently unveiled the Software Business Unit, which boasts software and security solutions. The distributor recently signed distribution agreements with SpectorSoft and WatchGuard Technologies.
The eventual launch of a services company will boast the distributor’s offering and take its quest to provide holistic solutions to the Middle East channel to another level.
Plans are underway for Almasa IT Distribution to launch a dedicated IT services company within the group, which will see the distributor offer IT consulting and professional services to channel partners in the Middle East region
