Valued-added distributors (VADs) have a vital role to play in complex and specialist sections of the IT market, such as information security, where it might not be practical or economically viable for resellers and systems integrators to build comprehensive skills bases of their own.
That`s the word from Brett Parker, the managing director of SecureData, a VAD that offers the channel a complete range of information security and risk management solutions.
He says that the size of the South African market makes it impractical for resellers to invest in resources covering every dimension of the information security market, or for more specialised vendors to create a direct presence in the country to service the needs of end-users and the channel.
Says Parker: "Against this backdrop the value-added distribution model is the most cost-effective way of ensuring vendors and resellers are able to reach customers with high-quality security solutions. VADs are able to build the critical mass that makes it commercially viable for them to develop a base of technical skills that they can use to support resellers as they work with businesses to roll out end-to-end security solutions."
Specialist distributors such as SecureData deliver value to the channel, vendors, and end-users in wide range of ways, adds Parker. Vendors, especially those too specialised and niche to invest in a direct presence in South Africa, benefit from SecureData`s investments in driving demand for their solutions among end-users and the channel.
As a VAD, SecureData provides a range of services that span from pre-sales through to post-sales to deliver the best customer experience and help its vendor partners build strong brands in South Africa.
SecureData creates end-user demand directly through its direct-touch engagement model, and then fulfils the customer`s solution requirements through its partner channel. In addition, the company invests in creating a base of skills that customers and the channel can draw on for implementation and support of their solutions.
"We also offer training and certification to channel partners and business customers across a range of products, to help them develop the skills they need to support their security environments," Parker says.
For the channel, the value that VADs bring to the table includes the marketing and technical support resellers and integrators need to sell complex, niche products without making commercially unsustainable investments into building their own infrastructure and resources.
In a complex market, such as security, the needs of resellers and end-users stretch beyond product support and implementation skills. They may also need high-level services such as audit and policy consulting, which demand skills that are expensive and scarce in the South African market.
Says Parker: "A good VAD takes an interest in its channel partner`s business that goes beyond product fulfilment. This includes offering reliable solutions, sales and marketing programmes, multi-level support, and access to professional services."
SecureData, for example, has an experienced and knowledgeable team that provides resellers with advice, technical expertise, and solution selling strategies in addition to a comprehensive range of products from best-of-breed vendors that are consistent Gartner leaders in their respective security sub-markets.
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SecureData Security is a value-added distributor, focusing on information security and risk management solutions and services. Comprehensive, layered solutions and services enhance internal and external security postures for the perimeter, applications, network, endpoints and storage. End-to-end solutions and services are provided for South Africa as well as the rest of Africa. SecureData Security is a wholly owned subsidiary of SecureData Holdings Ltd, an information risk management company listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange.
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