online distribution builds position as the middle east’s leading network distributor
OnLine Distribution has entered an accelerated development phase with multiple partner sign ups, new expansions, and the launch of a new Convergence Business Unit.
The company believes these innovations will cement its number one position in the IT distribution market covering the Middle East, Western Asia, and North Africa.
Over the last quarter, new partner sign ups include Nortel [NYSE/TSX: NT], the leading global supplier of end-to-end communications solutions; ADC KRONE (NASDAQ:ADCT; www.adc.com ), a leader in communications network infrastructure solutions; and Cibecs, a new provider of user data protection software.
OnLine Distribution has recently launched its new VAD service and a convergence business unit, and has reframed its corporate structure with the inclusion of dedicated business units.
“Over the last quarter, OnLine Distributions has grown substantially offering vendors and partners unparalleled services and solutions, and as a result, has positioned itself as the number one distributor throughout in the region,” said Venu Menon, Sales Director, OnLine Distribution.
“The company has increased its end-to-end networking support by offering more specialized IT solutions that includes the best-of-breed products and services for a majority of organizations,” added Menon.
OnLine Distribution holds over 30 vendors in its portfolio and continues to develop the business of their partners by giving them access to the region’s leading system integrators, and supporting them with value-added services to enhance their product offerings.
The company is made up of five main business units that include: Enterprise Mobility Business Unit, Enterprise Business Unit, Network Infrastructure Business Unit, Security Business Unit, and the new Convergence Business Unit.
Steven Levitt Challenges Companies to Take the Steps Necessary to Operate Better
Steven Levitt, author of Freakonomics and a Professor at the University of Chicago, said that companies don’t do nearly enough to collect information about how they run in order to improve the way they operate or earn profits.
“Somehow in business, there’s not the sort of ethos where people structure things to maximise how much they learn about their business. These companies have no idea, and they know they don’t, yet they don’t take the steps to get some idea. That’s the message that I have. Companies can learn something and base their operating choices on
that,” said Levitt.
What he proposes is having companies change one element of how they do business – such as altering prices or modifying their advertising mix – and then monitor the impact.
“The beauty of this kind of experiment is that just by doing their daily business, the company gets information, and that’s a lot cheaper than hiring a consulting firm,” Levitt said.
He noted that just as humans need feedback and information about how well they are doing a task in order to improve, so too do companies. “But almost categorically, business activity is organised to obstruct learning, and partly that’s because people don’t want to show or reveal to their bosses that they are incompetent.”
He also identified two other keys to success, whether for companies or individuals. The first is thinking beyond the conventional wisdom; the second is understanding, and then modifying, the incentives that people face in order to solve a given problem or challenge.
The first day of DIFCweek is sponsored by Credit Suisse.
