A holistic approach to system availability

Comztek’s Security & Storage Business Unit sees security and storage as linked in critical areas as they are both designed to ensure that the end-user’s business remains up and running. Its aim is to change the resellers’ perception that these areas are separate entities that require individual point products and to help them develop holistic solutions for their customers.

For example, customers requiring a simple anti-virus product may also need a firewall, as well as a solution for data storage and backup. This approach to holistic rather than point solutions, not only enables resellers to up-sell products, but also to develop their businesses by providing their customers with better service, enhanced skills and more flexible product implementations.

Products across three key areas:

• Security

  Symantec and McAfee products are covered under security and include a broad range of solutions for antivirus, firewall, data protection, intrusion detection and security management.

• Storage

  Quantum, Imation and Symantec (including the Old Veritas) are the key storage brands and include storage and backup hardware, consumables and management software.

Support and Training

For resellers to succeed in rolling out complete solutions that cover all areas of security, backup and storage, it is critical for their skills to be constantly updated as well as access to a comprehensive range of support resources maintained. The Security & Storage Business Unit has invested heavily in a number of initiatives designed to educate resellers as well as equip them to provide ongoing support to their customers. The unit maintains access to vendor-certified skills sets in all areas, making them available to resellers from pre-sales all the way through to after-sales support.

Training is offered on a monthly basis and covers three main programmes:

• Training for mid-tier customers and includes solutions selling, identifying of opportunities and the fundamentals of security;
• Training on the link between security and storage as well as creating complete solutions and identifying upselling opportunities; and
• A security & storage school for resellers.

The Unit also provides extensive workshops which cover important areas such as policy development, troubleshooting; threat identification and management, configuration and setup. In addition to training and skills development, the Unit provides a lead-generation programme to help resellers enhance their sales efforts.

The Unit’s dedicated product experts are certified at a business level to provide customers with a complete analysis of their IT and business requirements and access to data on compliance issues, security concerns and storage strategies.