Mohamad Sabra, Regional Director SMB – Middle East, Africa, Türkiye, Romania & CIS, Cisco and Renton D’Souza, Vice President, Comstor MEA took a moment to speak about their respective views on how SMB solutions help businesses overcome challenges and enjoy the benefits of digital transformation and cloud adoption.
Answered by Mohamad Sabra
Q: What are the main challenges SMBs face in today’s digital landscape
Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are the backbone of local economies, driving innovation, job creation, and community growth. Yet, as the digital landscape evolves at unprecedented speed, SMBs face a unique set of challenges that demand strategic focus, adaptability, and resilience. They need to adopt technology to build and run a digital business, but typically lack the human and financial resources to create and manage their own IT infrastructure. Specifically, SMBs face challenges in cybersecurity, technology integration, remote and hybrid work complexities, as well as cloud adoption,
Q: How do Cisco’s SMB solutions empower small and medium businesses to thrive in today’s digital-first world, and what sets Cisco apart from other providers in this space?
Cisco’s SMB solutions are designed to help small and medium businesses build the foundation needed to compete and grow in a rapidly evolving market. Our approach combines cloud-managed networking, built-in security, and seamless collaboration tools that are easy to deploy and manage, even for organisations with limited IT resources.
What sets Cisco apart is our ability to deliver enterprise-grade technology in a simplified, cost-effective solution tailored for SMBs. For example, our cloud-managed Meraki platform allows businesses to control their entire network from an intuitive dashboard, enabling remote management, automatic updates, and real-time analytics—features that traditionally required large IT teams.
Security is embedded at every layer, with solutions such as firewalls, intrusion prevention, and zero-trust access controls to protect sensitive data without sacrificing usability. For collaboration, tools like Webex keep distributed teams connected and productive, whether they’re in the office or working remotely.
Finally, Cisco offers award-winning support and a broad ecosystem of partners to ensure SMBs have the guidance and resources they need at every stage of their digital transformation. Our goal is to make advanced technology accessible, so SMBs can focus on what matters most – growing their business.
Answered by Renton D’Souza
Q: How does Comstor support partners in delivering Cisco SMB solutions to the market?
Comstor acts as a strategic distributor and advisor for partners, providing enablement, training, and access to Cisco’s full SMB portfolio. Recent initiatives include launching a white-labelled Managed SOC (Security Operations Centre) built on Cisco’s XDR platform, allowing partners to offer advanced cybersecurity services under their own brand, supported by 24/7 monitoring and expert guidance. This approach reduces partners’ operational burdens and accelerates their entry into the cybersecurity services market.
Q: How are Cisco and Comstor enabling SMBs to benefit from digital transformation and cloud adoption?
Cisco and Comstor help SMBs embrace digital transformation by providing cloud-native, automated networking and security solutions that scale as the business grows. Comstor’s partner support includes guidance on cloud migration, access to training, and technical enablement. Cisco’s solutions allow SMBs to control their networks from anywhere, streamline operations, and adopt hybrid work models securely and efficiently.
Image Credit: Comstor & Cisco
