Aptec - Excellence in Distribution

Aptec promotes huge tech product portfolio.

Sunday, 25 September, 2005

The team from Aptec-Symantec is out in force this week promoting the benefits of integrated security solutions to show attendees. The Symantec-focused value-added distribution unit, part of regional distribution powerhouse Aptec, is also explaining the new sales opportunities that Symantec’s union with storage specialist Veritas offers to integrators and resellers across the region.

“At the moment we are putting a lot of focus on the high-end enterprise security portfolio that Symantec offers and as a value-added distributor one of our major aims is to expand the pie. We are working hard to explain the value of dedicated security appliances to the market,” says Prajit Arakkal, Symantec business unit manager at Aptec.

Aptec has already developed a strong channel of 250 resellers pushing Symantec products across the region, but continues to hunt out new partners that will provide even more coverage of the potential customer base that exists. “There are still certain countries where we believe we can tap into the in-country channel and penetrate the market even further. Yemen and Bahrain are two countries we are assessing carefully and we have plans to strengthen the channels there,” Arakkal adds.

With increased attention on IT security issues in the Middle East, Aptec is making the most of the opportunity to communicate the value of Symantec solutions to customers across the region.

“The awareness levels are definitely going up,” says Arakkal. “We are pushing hard with the message that an anti-virus package is not a complete security solution. By positioning the products correctly, we are able to show customers the benefit of integrated security solutions that cover additional areas such as intrusion prevention.”

Cross-selling opportunities are also the order of the day on the Aptec stand, as the firm reaches out to Veritas partners and explains the benefits of becoming part of the Symantec family. “It is an excellent opportunity to pursue sales opportunities within Veritas’ existing installed base and there should be a strong influx of potential customers,” Arakkal says.

In addition to promoting its Symantec business, Aptec is also showcasing the rest of its bulging product portfolio, which includes 3Com, Acer, APC, BenQ, D-Link, HP, IBM, LiteOn, Logitech, Seagate, US Robotics, Computer Associates, Microsoft, Nokia and Sony Ericsson.

“Once again, Aptec is highlighting the products available from its entire vendor portfolio,” says Mario Veljovic, sales & marketing manager at Aptec Gulf. “More and more of the vendors now have their own stands and this means it is an excellent opportunity for us to concentrate on developing the relationships we have with resellers.”

Aptec has focused the products it carries during the last year, assessing the business mode of each vendor it works with, to create the perfect portfolio for reseller partners. “Aptec has been operating for 25 years and during that time Gitex has evolved to become an extremely important event,” says Veljovic.