Following growth in excess of 100 percent per annum since its inception three years ago mass storage distributor, SCSI Technology, has broadened its business horizons and launched a new division to deliver storage-related solutions to the corporate sector. The move comes in light of what John Harris, head of SCSI Solutions, terms an exponential growth in storage, thanks, in part, to increased adoption of the Internet, rising awareness of data warehousing and the trend towards network-attached storage. "The South African IT market is maturing. Companies are beginning to appreciate the cost and productivity benefits of data analysis, the importance of data protection and the convenience of having storage accessible and manageable directly via the network," he says. "SMEs [small to medium size enterprises] and large corporates are consequently looking for consulting companies with storage skills. It`s about more than just delivering components. It`s about meeting specific challenges. Enter SCSI Solutions." The division`s primary mandate is to sell, and assist resellers in the sale of, business solutions for data storage, backup and retrieval. In the process SCSI Solutions is planning to create awareness of its LAN management software, tape streamer, Raid and disk array solutions. Although the new division plans to target corporate decision-makers directly, the intention is to work closely with the reseller channel and form partnerships with other consulting firms and software developers. "The channel has been key to the success of SCSI Technology and with the Solutions division that will not change. We will target end users but all sales will be processed through resellers - a select number of which we are building relationships with," explains Harris. "Our role is to consult on a solution, motivate the sale, and then provide support, installation and training in conjunction with our reseller partners. We are strengthening relationships with solution providers such that we can confidently address the high end corporate market. "In all cases we will provide a project quotation for the customer and the reseller. Both parties will be aware of our position at all times." Novell is to become a strategic marketing partner with SCSI Solutions and several other companies are being explored as potentials, according to Harris. "Joint marketing agreements provide access to a client base we would normally be excluded from. Novell is to include us in its product sales training and events, and we will work closely with our other partners. As a result, our message will reach a broad target audience," he says. Following success with large local corporates in the past month SCSI Solutions is to focus on cementing relationships with partners and further growing its customer base in the near future. Harris is optimistic. "The formation of the new division is not a major shift for SCSI Technology. We understand the complexities and long sales cycles when offering cross platform solutions in the corporate enterprise, we have solid relationships with reputable vendors and we know the channel. We are now combining those attributes together with a new six-person team and casting our net further afield," he concludes.
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