Networking vendor SMC Networks has outlined its product and marketing strategy for the rest of this year, which includes a consumer go-to-market strategy through retail, Internet and telecommunications service provider channels.
The strategy was introduced yesterday by recently appointed president for Europe and the Americas, Sean Keohane.
"We will expand our presence in the SME [small and medium enterprise] market - which includes the education market - and in the residential and consumer market," says Keohane. He notes that the residential/consumer market is growing at a furious pace in the US, and is starting to pick up in Europe. He expects this trend to extend to the South African market in time.
However, capturing this market means a new channel strategy for SMC. In the US, it has had presence on the retail store shelves, but still needs to cement relationships with local retail distributors.
According to Godfrey Frayne, country manager of SMC South Africa, the company is in talks with one of the major retail distributors, and hopes to go through this channel by the end of the month.
While the residential products will move predominantly through retail, the consumer line will most likely sell through the local Internet service providers (ISPs) and Telkom.
Frayne confirms that the company is in talks with the telecommunications monopoly regarding ISDN equipment sales to the end-user, while the ISPs will sell SMC's broadband products.
This too mirrors the US model, except that SMC US has the added advantage of a battle between cable and traditional telecommunications providers to help boost sales. Keohane notes a shift in the US market, as cable and telcos have started giving their users equipment free of charge to remain competitive.
DSL is also an important driver in the US and EU markets - another factor that does not impact the South African economy.
Keohane believes there is a slight advantage to getting the products later, as they can be introduced at a much lower cost, thus slowing down the cost curve. He notes that HDSL has been adopted predominantly as a T1 replacement for corporate users, while ADSL is the residential choice.
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