What started as a new market for information management giant EMC in 1999 has quickly grown to become a major contributor to the company's business, as the universal requirement for information storage is increasingly felt by companies in the mid-market.
On top of its complete information management portfolio, EMC South Africa continues to establish appropriate channel structures to provide for the effective delivery of solutions to this market in South Central and East Africa. That's according to Rian de Leeuw, EMC District Manager, South Africa and Africa.
He explains that the 1999 acquisition of Data General heralded a new era for EMC as it extended its market reach from an enterprise-only organisation, to one that covers more sectors of the market. "Before 2000, EMC was for big business only; it delivered high availability with the Symmetrix range, which also came with a high price tag," he says.
However, while Symmetrix remains the company's flagship high-end product, EMC today addresses information management across the full spectrum, from the home user, though small and medium businesses to the enterprise. Through acquisition and internal development, it has also firmly established itself as one of the world's largest software vendors.
"Moving into the mid-market or commercial space was tough, given the existing perceptions of EMC as focused on the enterprise only," says de Leeuw.
He says the company has a well-established and fully accredited first-tier partner ecosystem, and efforts are presently focused on the development of the second tier partners with a strong strategy to target the middle and lower sector of the market. "EMC has made investments in education and training. In addition, we have appointed staff to bolster the sales divisions, and have increased headcount - particularly in the commercial space, as well as presales and support personnel," he says.
Through this structured approach to the channel, which includes the introduction of a two-tier distribution model, the company has made significant headway, internationally and locally. Developments include the expansion of the company's coastal operations, with offices in Cape Town, Durban and now also in Port Elizabeth. These offices carry sales and technical resources in support of the channel nationwide; as a result, says de Leeuw: "Commercial is today the fastest growing segment of the EMC business."
With BMI-T anticipating growth of 9% in enterprise IT markets, 13% in 'high end' commercial markets and 17% in the 'low end' commercial space, he says the ability to address all market segments provides EMC with substantially expanded opportunity.
"The enterprise business still produces the bulk of EMC's income, but we do expect this to change with the work that is being done in terms of developing the partner network within South Africa and into Africa countries."
A further 17 countries across Central and East Africa fall within de Leeuw's remit. He says these territories are being serviced purely through the channel. "We are developing these markets by relying on the partner channel. As business ramps up, the possibility of establishing a direct presence will be evaluated."
Many of these territories are entirely new for EMC. "The opportunity is therefore immense and the dividends that we are seeing are substantial. We will develop these markets with the same business model which has proven successful in South Africa - the establishment of value-added distributors and resellers, which are appropriately skilled in order to deliver the EMC information management promise."
Aside from perhaps the widest portfolio of information management solutions of any vendor, De Leeuw says EMC offers strength through its commitment to market and partner education. "This is geared to establish the skills necessary to implement effective information management processes. Our partners need to understand customer pain points and to develop solutions that solve these issues," he says. "In this market, there is no space for product-selling. The needs are more complex and the solutions that EMC and its partner network provide have to match these needs."
Share