IBM is focusing its energies in the local market on the small to medium-size enterprises (SMEs) sector, stating that this sector is where it sees the biggest growth in the next few years.
IBM channel head for the UKISA (UK, Ireland, South and Central Africa) region, Jeremy Wray, says the company is increasingly looking beyond its traditional big corporation target-market for new business, especially in South Africa. "Middleware used to be aimed at [big] corporations," says Wray. "Four or five years ago this was still the case, but today smaller companies are trading above their weight."
IBM's definition of an SME is, however, different from most: "To us [IBM] an SME is everything that is not a sector account," Wray explains. "This is, in other words, regardless of size, which makes it very easy, but also impossible to define."
The SME market requires a different approach from IBM, says Wray, as these businesses are more price-sensitive than bigger corporations. "You have to prove the value of what you are selling and you have to be very solutions focused." Wray points out that most SME owners are not naturally technically-minded, so "you have to sell to line of business people".
Channel tasks
South Africa has tremendous potential according to Wray, who believes the surface has not yet even been scratched. "We are not even at the tip of the iceberg," says Wray.
He says IBM asks its channel to do three things: Find new customers, have high skills in delivery (as it is mostly partners doing implementation), and deliver solutions (as these are not pre-packaged by IBM).
"Virtually no-one does all three," says Wray. "Most do two, some just do one. It's about getting the mix right." What is key to him is to focus on doing a few things well, rather than trying to do everything and doing it badly.
IBM has a tiered partner programme with nearly 350 partners in South Africa across all tiers. Of these, about 15 are premier partners and about 24 are advanced partners.
Share