Network Infrastructure solutions enhances its product line ESTAP
December 24, 2008
Westcon ME, a leading value-add distributor of security, convergence and mobility products and solutions for leading technology vendors, has announced that its Network Infrastructure Business Unit will be managing the new line of ESTAP brand of Enclosure products. The move is in line with Westcon's plans to expand their existing partnership with Legrand Group. The Legrand Group is the world leading Manufacturer of ELV (Electrical & Low Voltage) products and systems for electrical installations and information networks in residential, industrial and commercial buildings, the other prominent brands within the Legrand group being Ortronics, Biticino and Cablofil.
Westcon's Network Infrastructure Business unit, dealing in the enclosure product line are specialized in offering solutions for Networking & Data centre setups. The Unit is known to offer its customers technical expertise specific to the needs of their networking requirements and will be managing ESTAP's comprehensive range of Enclosure solutions for LAN/WAN, telecommunications and Data Centers.
Gautier Humbert ,the Sales Manager, Gulf Countries for Ortronics Legrand credits Westcon ME's dedicated business unit in making them one of the leading network solutions providers in the region today. In his words "Westcon ME introduced the Ortronics Solutions in the Middle East market and helped make us the leading provider of networking solutions in this region. They have also worked with our other structured cabling brand, Legrand Cabling Systems (LCS), and have succeeded in developing it to
our expectations," he said. Humbert further pointed out that working with Westcon ME for their ESTAP enclosures was the obvious next step, "This new arrangement not only complements our solutions but also the product offerings of Westcon ME. The synergy exists, the price is right and there is no reason that we shouldn't be able to repeat our previous success."
Steve Lockie, Managing Director for Westcon ME, said that Legrand Group's continuing confidence in them is testament to the focus and commitment by Westcon's specialized business units in their vendor partners. "The world's leading vendors choose to work with Westcon ME recognizing our business unit's ability to provide solutions for resellers and bringing products and services that support end-to-end networking for organizations. Handling the ESTAP line of products for Legrand gives us the advantage of offering the comprehensive range of technical solutions in the field of equipment enclosures state-of-the-art 19 inch racks and cabinets, indoor/outdoor telecom enclosures, sub racks and Data Center Solutions ," Lockie said.
ESTAP is a brand of Legrand Group specializing in enclosures for data communication from basic 19" racks, cabinets and accessories, communication rack cabinets, server rack cabinets to an extensive variety of panels and accessories. Through ESTAP, Westcon is focused to provide its customers with cost effective quality products, for its customers and offering end-to-end solutions.
As an Introductory Promotional offer, ESTAP cabinets will be offered FREE to LCS structured cabling customers for new orders for a limited period, on a first come first serve basis.
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Strategic move reflects global capabilities, expanding emerging markets focus & affiliation with multinational specialty distributor Westcon Group
December 15, 2008
OnLine Distribution, the leading value-add distributor of networking products in the Middle East, has re-branded itself as Westcon Middle East. The move reflects the company's expanding emerging markets and global capabilities as well as its affiliation with Westcon Group, a multinational specialty distributor of Information Convergence Technology products servicing solution providers, integrators and the value-add reseller community.
The newly-formed Westcon Middle East brings together the leading names in networking to the Middle East, Western Asia and North Africa. Westcon Middle East Group Managing Director Steve Lockie clarifies that the company has in basic terms simply orchestrated a brand change, leaving its legal and ownership structures intact. He assures that the organization will maintain the same Terms and Conditions embodied in its existing client contracts under the former OnLine Distribution banner. Westcon Middle East remains part of the Westcon Emerging Markets group, reporting directly and funded by Datatec, also Westcon Group's parent, thus maintaining the company's current market strategies and support.
‘On the face of things this is a simple brand change but in reality it brings the true power and presence of Westcon Group to the market' said Lockie ‘We brought the first phase of these to the region in our sister company Comstor just over a year ago and already
resellers will be seeing our new brand and marketing tools rolling out. Just this week our Eid greetings piloted the introduction of ‘MailVision' our reseller awareness tool, there's
a whole lot more to follow'. Given today's challenging markets we continue to be convinced that it is correct to capitalize on the opportunities offered by high-growth areas in the Middle East and emerging economies such as Africa and India. What we have engineered is a change in corporate perspective for the future; but what we have retained is our commitment to offering leading products, services and programmes that meet the diverse needs of our valued clients. We assure our present and future partners of the same levels of quality and service that have made us a leader in networking & communications, security, infrastructure and mobility distribution," said Lockie.
Westcon Middle East's specialized Business Unit Division offers customers sales, marketing and technical expertise specific to the requirements of channel partners. The divisions provide products, services and solutions for networking infrastructure, mobility, convergence, security and wireless. The change in corporate identity and image is a welcome development given the expected sustained increase in IT spending throughout the region. Expenditures in the Middle East and Africa are expected to surpass $40 billion in 2008, with the Gulf accounting for 23 per cent of the total. The Gulf is projected to hike its IT spend an average of 14 to 15 per cent annually for the next three years, or three to four times the annual GDP rate in the region.
Westcon's partner in the Middle East include 3Com, ADC Krone, APC, APW, Ascom, Austin Hughes, Avaya, Avocent, Chatsworth Products Inc, Eaton, Extreme Networks, Juniper Networks, Meru Networks, Motorola, Nortel, Oneil, Ortronics, Proxim, Sonicwall, Trend Micro and Zebra.
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Launches first phase of services initiative across Region
October 09, 2008
Westcon Group Middle East has announced the launch of ‘ServiceVantage', the first phase of its services portfolio of trade only partner services available through OnLine Distribution and Comstor, designed to provide immediate, essential support to the IT, communications and networking reseller community.
ServiceVantage modules provide quality services to Westcon's partners in supporting them in design, planning and implementation projects, commented senior executives.
"The channel business across the Middle East is evolving exponentially, and we are constantly developing and implementing initiatives that are designed to help our partner and reseller community grow their businesses," said Steve Lockie, Group Managing Director, WestconME.
We believe that as the Middle East's channel market matures, distributors who remain competitive will be those offering products and associated value added services that support and allow partners to grow and specialise in areas where they can be indispensable to their customers. Our vision as a group remains to consistently exceed partner expectations through the quality delivery of these exclusively through the channel," added Lockie.
The Comstor division of the Westcon Group is a customer-focused, global channel provider of leading-edge technology products. Comstor provides the services, support programs, training, and tools to make customer businesses more profitable and competitive.
Customers of ServiceVantage who include Richard Ian Yarnall, Technical Infrastructure Practice Manager of EMEA Enterprise Solutions, Qatar, said, "ServiceVantage proved to be a great asset to both our delivery of product and our client's operation. The partnership between our own engineers and the expertise the Vantage team provided, enhanced both our service capabilities and profile with the client. The Westcon ServiceVantage team provided pre installation consultancy as well as hands on implementation support. They understood the design requirements within infrastructure standards and completed the work within an agreed timeframe."
Zulquirnain Ali Khan, CEO of Zultec Technical Services, Dubai, said, "We recently undertook a Wireless Data capture project in Bahrain. Considering that this project was our first venture beyond the boundaries of the UAE, its success is largely attributed to the implementation through the Service Vantage team at OnLine Distribution Ltd, which included among other services, EWLAN site survey, installation and final implementation. We are grateful to WestconME for the support provided to our sales team in making this project a success. ServiceVantage has indeed given Zultec team the confidence to undertake future projects knowing that WestconME ServiceVantage stands firmly behind them."
ServiceVantage is designed to benefit WestconME partners. The initiative includes modules such as Design / Quote assistance; Project Management Services; Jumpstart Services; Expert Help Remote Technical Support; Front-line Assistance; Staging Services; Knowledgebase Assistance; Wireless Site Surveys; Installation Services; Implementation Services; Datacenter; and Design & Preparation.
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Award-winning value-added distributor to leverage global interest in MENA ICT industry
October 18th, 2008
Westcon ME, a leading value-added distributor of security, convergence and mobility products and solutions for leading technology vendors, has announced that it will be featuring its latest products and services at CONNECT'2008, which will be held at Hotel IBIS from October 19-22, 2008. CONNECT'2008 will be held concurrently with the 2008 Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX), which will take place at the adjacent Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, providing Westcon an excellent platform to leverage the significant growth of MENA ICT market and the emergence of the UAE as the region's most IT-enabled country.
Westcon ME will focus on interacting with its Middle Eastern channel partners, integrators, solutions providers and major end-users who will be visiting GITEX'08. Aside from strengthening the Westcon ME brand, the company also seeks to drive its core vertical focus along the fields of security, convergence and mobility. To achieve this, Westcon ME has assigned specific branding themes on each of the four days of CONNECT'2008 along the core technology focus areas of Convergence and Security, Mobility and Security, Convergence and Security, and Comstor.
Vendor partners participating in the event include 3Com, Avaya, Avocent, Ascom, Cisco, CPI, Motorola, Meru Networks Nortel, Ortronics, O'Neil & Trend Micro. Apart from a display area for products and live demo sessions on all days of CONNECT'08, many of the participating vendors will also be doing technology-focused presentations throughout the event.
"Connect 2008 is an excellent venue for us to extend our Middle Eastern market base and take advantage of the rising global interest in the region's ICT arena. This event will promote the region's rapidly growing IT business solution, telecoms and consumer electronics sectors, most of which we have vast expertise in. The host country, UAE, currently has the fastest growing IT sector in the region, so this is a great opportunity for us to show how our products and services are highly valuable for further ICT expansion in the country and the broader MENA region," said Steve Lockie, Managing Director, Westcon Middle East.
The MENA region remains an attractive international ICT market, with current telecom and broadband internet revenues reaching record growth rates, which are poised further grow by leaps and bounds until 2015.
Westcon ME, with its focused approach and partnerships with world-leading vendors, is a strategic Distribution Partner for Channel Partners, System Integrators and ICT Resellers. Westcon ME aligns its growth initiatives with its partners to take full advantage of the region's business potential and leverage the aggressive ICT adoption by end users to drive profitability in the region.
As a testament to Westcon's strong global reputation, Avaya, a global leader in business communications applications, systems and services, recently presented Westcon with the Distributor of the Year Award-EMEA for International Business Development. Cisco also recognized Westcon's Comstor business as its "Multi-Theatre Partner of the Year."
