The Middle East IT channel firms continue to battle with credit challenges, while it is also the pillar on which business happens in the region. Reseller Middle East, as part of Tahawul Tech’s Your Voice series, gathered experts across distribution, reselling, systems integration and insurance firms to discuss how channel players can arrive at a solution to this problem and define the responsibilities of each stakeholder.
Credit, is unquestionably a crucial aspect of the channel business. Distributors provide credit to partners who don’t have enough financial means to roll out IT projects, and many resellers opt for disties who have the capabilities to deliver comprehensive credit and financing terms.
However, in the recent past, the regional market has been plagued by credit issues, which have adversely impacted various segments of the channel ecosystem. Faced with overwhelmingly heavy and bad debts, several channel firms have fled the market, over the last few years.
“Currently the IT channel market is experiencing a stable growth,” said Shukri Halima, head of Risk and Operations, Financial Risk, Howden Insurance Brokers. “There has been a significant difference in terms of players fleeing the market as compared to five or six years ago.”
Halima added that upcoming events like the Expo 2020, have opened up more opportunities for businesses in the region.
Although the market is growing, credit issues continue to exist. Because of the volatility of the market, banks have recently slashed the credit terms. “The biggest problem, in my opinion, is the lack of credit understanding and discipline of partners in the IT channel ecosystem,” said Dharmendra Sawlani, managing director, Smile Computers and president, Dubai Computer Group.
He further said that there are also no specific regulations governing channel credit transactions. “Ideally, we should have a Federal Credit Insurance Authority in the region, but at the moment it is something that we lack.”
Esta historia es de la edición October 2017 de Reseller Middle East.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición October 2017 de Reseller Middle East.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Distinctively Different
In a competitive marketplace, only those firms who dare to distinguish themselves through innovative initiatives and ensures they are at the forefront of change can hope to flourish over the next decade. Janees Reghelini caught up with Ramkumar Balakrishnan, president, Redington Value, to discover how the firm aims to redefine distribution.
Serve To Lead
In a landscape where margins are increasingly declining and hard to sustain, partners are discovering that services offer an opportunity to supplement their business. Reseller ME speaks to experts to learn how the channel can differentiate through a strong services offering.
Seek The Silver Lining
Jan Ursi, EMEA director of channel, Nutanix, advises channel partners to create digital services based on cloud technologies that can benefit organisations.
Public Promise
As a publicly listed firm Avaya International’s first priorities are to enable partners to maximise the accelerated innovation it aims to bring.
Akyumen Inks Partnership With Dubai's Sands Distribution
Akyumen, manufacturer of electronic and mobile technology products globally, has signed up Sands Distribution as its GCC distributor, as part of its global go-to-market strategy.
Deploying Software-As-A-Service
In the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model, third-party providers host applications and ensures it is accessible to customers. As one of the main categories of cloud computing, SaaS along with Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) performance have been driving growth over the course of last year.
Optoma Signs Up Redington For The Gulf Region
Optoma, a global projector brand has appointed Redington Gulf, the regional services and solution provider for manufacturers of IT, telecom and digital lifestyle products, as its authorised distributor in the Gulf region.
The NotPetya Outbreak
Mohammad Tabbara, senior systems engineer, UAE and Channel, Infoblox, discusses the recent ransomware attack and how channel partners can help customers to stay on top of their cybersecurity solutions.
A Fine State
Recent Gartner report revealed that governments in the Middle East and North Africa markets are expected to spend $11.6 billion on IT products and services in 2017. In such a scenario, we speak to experts to discover how resellers can customise their offerings and approach to be the preferred partners for the regional government sector.
Turn A Profit
Sustaining profitability is one of the key issues that Middle East channel players continue to have today. Profitable partners are essential to the success of a vendor’s business. But with declining margins and difficult market conditions, resellers are increasingly finding it hard to be lucrative. Reseller Middle East speaks to channel managers to learn their strategies to ensure partners are profitable.
