Editorial
The last quarter of 2011 is going to be fierce.
The retail community at Distree 2011 voted Microsoft as gaming vendor of the year, Kaspersky as software vendor and Apple as mobile and digital lifestyle vendors of the year.
With super retailers already seeing two smart phones in consumer hands the burning question is what “avatar”, will our familiar brands take up by year end.
Will their product and app launches in the remaining six months, reaching frenzy in the final quarter of the year be “cool” enough to get the third device into the consumer hands?
Corporate sales overall continue to be sluggish. The TCO approach is no longer a buzz word, it’s now lowest bid. Qatar is yet to release its master blueprint and big-ticket funds are not yet flowing into the multitude of players waiting on the sidelines.
Bahrain is trying to get a semblance of order in place to bring back its financial backbone. And leading regional channel players already expect their growth as flat this year around, with the UAE base doing a shade better.
Can anyone blame the brands for trying an “avatar”?
The channel community has challenges on its hands. All reports indicate that SME’s are still buying and will continue to buy at brisk pace for rest of the year. All leading vendors now want their channel partners to move in and focus on this opportunity—-of course capture and expand are built into the final rewards.
But the SME story has never been about relationships and sops. It’s always been price point. So channel players have their work cut out.
On another note, walk into any construction control room and you will find project management charts gathering dust on the wall. “Done once, forgotten after” is the motto of the present breed of such apps. Now PRP, a new project management workflow suite, especially for gulf projects is “in” to make the difference. Read on in the magazine.
On a final note, a new face at the helm of the magazine, a successful annual conference and glittering awards are a good way to kick off the last half of the year!
