At the first of its newly incepted regular dealer evenings local Seagate Software distributor, ToolWare, illustrated how the enterprising reseller can derive new business from what is essentially an untapped market.
The key, says Vivek Thomas, regional manager for Middle East and Africa at Seagate Software`s Information Management Group (IMG), lies in exploiting knowledge of international OEM agreements. "By selling upgrades resellers can offer an entry-point into desktop OnLine Analytical Processing (OLAP) for the betterment of business as a whole.
"Seagate Software has negotiated many OEM arrangements for Seagate Crystal Info and Seagate Crystal Reports to enable enterprise reporting and desktop OLAP. This has created a huge potential for local resellers to upsell additional licenses as the need for accurate and timely information increases.
Thomas cites Microsoft BackOffice as an example. "Few users of this product are aware that full OLAP functionality is merely an upgrade away or the benefit organisations can derive from it. Fewer still are aware that it offers the capability to propose and answer `what if` scenarios or even establish how fluctuations in the Rand/Dollar exchange rate affects the cost of goods," he says.
Another benefit of the upgrade is that it brings with it the ability to compile and schedule report distribution throughout the organisation. "All OEM deals negotiated thus far provide a special build of our software which allows one person to compile reports, print them out or perhaps publish them in HTML format to a Web site or intranet server," adds Thomas.
"This special upgrade offer allows users to purchase an upgrade pack - thereby giving them a total of additional licenses and allowing reports to be distributed internally in native format with all graphics, drill-down facilities and additional features fully available."
Other products which ship with either Seagate Crystal Reports or Crystal Info bundled include: Accpac for Windows, Visual Basic, Visual Studio, Visual Java, Informix and many more.
Dealers wanting to know more or wishing to attend a forthcoming gathering should contact Tania Constantino at ToolWare on (011) 789-6410.
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