The story
For CHANNEL Middle East Magazine’s latest feature, Editor Sarah Rizvi discussed with Industry Stalwarts Market Opportunities, Challenges and Trends to Look Out for in 2020. Here you can read VAD’s General Manager Mario M. Veljovic full Interview with the Editor: 1. Company name: VAD Technologies 2. Company’s areas of specialisation: (1) High-Performance Data Centre, (2) Artificial Intelligence & Smart Analytics driven Physical Security, (3) IT Service Management and (4) Cloud 3. Top vendors/partners: Fujitsu, Pure Storage, ExaGrid, Cloudian, Cirrus Data, Data Dynamics, Overland, Tandberg, PRTG-Paessler, Zenoss, TeamViewer, Mobotix, Cathexis, Digitus, Kimimo, AliBaba Cloud, Zoho, FreshWorks, BooleBox, STC Cloud, Awingo, InfraScale and more to come. 4. Please summarise how 2019 has been for your company. 2019 has been very successful for VAD Technologies with the Business taking on a strong trajectory and beating the overall market trend. The success in attributed to the strong acceptance of the market for Disruptive Technologies and Solutions, as well as the “Cloudification” of VAD’s entire Product and Solutions Portfolio. 5. Which are the top technologies and trends impacting your industry? Modernization of Data Centers and using innovative new technologies has been a key Trend, coupled with blending in Cloud Solutions to achieve true and agile Hybrid IT Infrastructure Set Ups. 6. How did channel business fare in the Middle East and North Africa region in 2019? VAD has been able to establish a strong Channel Partner Ecosystem across the Region, which allowed to show solid growth in all Geographies. The opening of our Legal Entity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has allowed us to boost our business. Economic rebound in other Gulf States drove improved results in such Markets, too. 7. What are your expectations from 2020 and where do the most attractive prospects lie for the channel? VAD’s Pipeline holds strong prospects for 2020 and all are linked to Data Centre Optimization and Hybrid Cloud to build the right foundation for the Businesses’ Digital Transformation across all Industry Verticals. Channel Partners should intensify their efforts to promote disruptive Technologies and Solutions that will allow faster ROI (Return of Invest) through lower TCO (Total Cost of Ownership). 8. Should channel partners be optimistic about 2020 despite the uncertainties this year? What do you expect to change and why? “Your biggest Asset is your State of Mind” – Channel Partners can always be optimistic about the future, as in our industry the constant change is offering new Opportunities. It’s about staying focus and not to resist change. 9. How will you advise partners to stay abreast of the changing trends in your industry? For Partners it’s mandatory by now to look at Business Outcome related support for their Customers. System Integrators and Value Added Reseller have to know the Business of their Clients as good as their Clients themselves to ensure they are able to successfully guide their Clients through the important Digital Transformation Journey. The full Feature and the January 2020 Edition of CHANNEL Middle East can be found online here: https://www.channelmiddleeast.com/emagazines/channel-middle-east-january-2020