Global head Sayantan Dev charts a subscription-led roadmap that promises sharper execution, deeper partnerships, and faster decisions across MEA and beyond.
Redington has spent a quarter-century expanding access to cutting-edge technology across the Middle East and Africa, and its silver-jubilee showcase — Redington ReInspire 2025 at La Perle, Dubai — set the stage for its next act. Central to that future is the newly minted Software Solutions Group (SSG), a dedicated unit that consolidates the distributor’s cloud, software, and security businesses into a single, digitally driven powerhouse. Speaking to Tahawultech.com, Sayantan Dev, Global Head of SSG, explains how the unit will accelerate subscription-based growth, streamline partner enablement through platforms such as CloudQuarks, and equip channel ecosystems with the skills, compliance support, and recurring-revenue models needed to thrive in a rapidly evolving market.
Interview excerpts:
Can you walk us through the reason for forming a new business unit – Software Solutions Group? What are the key goals and outcomes you’re aiming to achieve with this dedicated business unit?
With the way the tech landscape is shifting – towards cloud-first, subscription-based, and service-led models – we felt it was the right time to take a more strategic approach. That’s why we launched the Software Solutions Group, or SSG. It brings together all our software, cloud, and security businesses under one focused unit. The goal is to accelerate our presence in high-value, non-physical, and recurring revenue streams. But more than that, it’s part of a broader transformation across Redington – to become more agile, capability-driven, and digitally enabled. It’s about sharpening our local execution, building deeper partnerships, and making decisions faster so we can stay ahead of the curve.
The group is designed with some clear strategic priorities. First, we’re moving toward subscription-led growth by focusing on scalable, digital-first offerings, whether that’s SaaS, IaaS, or PaaS. To support this, SSG has a global-regional structure. The global team drives strategy, alliances, engineering, and marketing, while regional business units focus on execution and partner enablement across MEA, India, ASEAN, and Turkey.
We’re also working closely with global software vendors and actively growing our partner ecosystem, including onboarding ISVs and startups through dedicated programs. A big enabler here is our CloudQuarks platform, which allows partners to transact, manage subscriptions, and scale their cloud business easily and compliantly. We are focusing on building digital infrastructure and driving the marketplace motion. On top of that, we’re investing heavily in capability building through Redington Academy and training, and specialised practices in areas like security, analytics, and AI. This ensures our teams and partners are fully equipped to deliver real value in a digital-first world.
With a rapidly evolving market and tech, how do you help partners navigate complex licensing, subscription models, and platform integrations?
Partner enablement is core to our strategy, especially in today’s fast-evolving tech landscape. We’ve built a unified digital platform that simplifies subscription management, renewals, and analytics—giving partners clear, actionable insights to drive growth and retention.
We have made licensing and compliance easier through our dedicated support teams and upskilling programmes like Redington Academy. We’re also developing integration tools to bridge legacy systems with modern SaaS platforms, making operations more seamless.
Our two-tier model helps us scale efficiently – Redington focuses on the platform, enablement, and services, while resellers concentrate on customer relationships and solution delivery. And through ongoing capability building in cloud, security, analytics, and AI, we’re ensuring our partners stay future-ready.
What is your message for channel partners and the market as the global head of SSG?
I want to reaffirm our unwavering commitment to empowering our channel ecosystem in this era of software-first transformation.
We are investing in capabilities that drive real impact across our partner ecosystem. For VARs, we’re enhancing access to product support, certifications, and technical training through initiatives like Redington Academy. SIs benefit from project coordination, supply chain support, and capital assistance to scale deployments, while MSPs gain access to infrastructure support, SOC and SIEM tools, and marketplace enablement. CSPs are supported with streamlined onboarding, compliance, and lifecycle management. ISVs and startups can tap into co-marketing, programme access, and demand generation via Redington platforms like The Pitch Room, The Forum, and The Vertical.
The technology landscape is evolving rapidly – with cloud, cybersecurity, AI, and data analytics reshaping how businesses operate. At Redington, we recognise that our partners are at the heart of this transformation. That’s why SSG was created as a strategic enabler for our partners to thrive in a digital-first world.
