Exclusive Networks Middle East had entered the market with the acquisition of the regional security distributor, Secureway, last year. CEO Fari Boustantchi speaks to Reseller ME on the company’s channel strategy to work closely with partners.
The value-added security distributor, Exclusive Networks Middle East, formerly and better known as Secureway in the region has spent the last one year rebranding and merging itself to its European parent company. Since its acquisition exactly a year ago, the brand formally presented itself to end customers and partners at GITEX this year. What it now aims to do is create awareness in the region about the legacy of the group and the strengths it brings with it.
Fari Boustantchi, CEO, Exclusive Networks Middle East, says, it is more like a merger rather than an acquisition, as the former stakeholders of Secureway continue to be on board and still have the authority. We will also not see a major change in the operations of the company. This is because the business model of Exclusive Networks globally works in such a way that each subsidiary is free and independent to run it with its local team.
“This is a good thing as we have the expertise of the Middle East market. What we are doing today is to help the group understand better what the dynamics are in this market. And also to see what is the best way to consolidate the business in the group within the Middle East,” explains the CEO. “What works to our advantage is that vendors are increasingly seeking pan-European or pan-EMEA distributors and this helps us consolidate our position and partnerships with many vendors.”
The distributor has security vendors such as Fortinet, F5 Networks, Infoblox, FireEye, Sourcefire, Lumension and Vasco in its portfolio and now thanks to the group it also distributes products from brands such as WhiteHat Security, Lieberman Software, LogRhythm.
“These brands complete our portfolio, this is the advantage of being a part of a larger group,” he adds.
CHANNEL STRATEGY
One of the primary focuses for the distributor will be to go ahead and invest more in training and knowledge transfer to its partners. In order to grow the business, one of the most crucial elements is having more people on the field. This is done by enabling partners and ensuring they know the products and solutions inside out.
“We want to make sure that our partners have the in-depth expertise of the business. And for this, we conduct many seminars, trainings and workshops on a regular basis. The security space is a complex one. There are new threats, technologies and features every day, it is important that partners are updated with all these changes.”
The company’s partner programme, Exclusive Networks Partner Programme, looks to facilitate and motivate partners with incentives and rewards and also encourages them to attain different product certifications.
Boustantchi says, “What we try to do through this partner programme is to train more and more of our partners on the new technologies and products. And also to educate them with in-depth expertise on the existing products. Knowledge transfer is very important.”
Currently the distributor has around 400 partners all over the Middle East region.
GEOGRAPHICAL REACH
Although Middle East has been the focus for the company, it is now looking to increase its business in North and West Africa along with Egypt. The distributor says it already has an activity in these markets, however now it aims to be more proactive. “We want to make sure that we have the possibilities to bring on board valuable partners from Africa and also Egypt. We have good partners in Egypt and we are trying to make this market gradually more profitable for our partners and for ourselves as well. Business is growing dramatically in Egypt.”
Countries such as Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal, Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Nigeria are the priority markets for the distributor in the continent.
Boustantchi says, “Within our base business, which is the Middle East, we are going to be focusing a lot more in Saudi, because today that is the second region after UAE for Exclusive Networks Middle East. We will invest heavily in this market in the coming year.”
The company is already doing a good amount of business in Saudi Arabia at the moment, and the CEO believes this market could surpass the UAE in 2015.
“By the end of 2014, we should grow about 100 percent in Saudi. This is something we think we can repeat in 2015. We have a good penetration in other regions, our biggest ones include the UAE, KSA, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Egypt.”
GROWTH ROADMAP
In 2015, we will see the VAD implementing its strategy for growth, which is branched out into three different aspects – people, brands and partners. First, it will focus on its people and enable them to work with partners for the market penetration of its brands.
“Our marketing budgets in this region will be dramatically focused on our partners – to emphasise more on training them and to ensure that they understand our products and technologies well. Also to make sure that they have whatever they need to go to the market in an effective manner.”
The company’s chief focus will continue to be to build a complete two-tier model of business through its partner network.
“We are here to support our partners and to win together. We have the full support of our vendors, they are here to help us to go ahead and make sure our partners are not missing out on anything. Another advantage is that we have the power of the group, which increases our expertise and reach. We are the biggest independent security VAD in the EMEA region, this will help us to give more possibilities to our partners to go ahead and become one of the winners in the promising Middle East market,” says Boustantchi.
