Axis and Milestone on the Mideast market

In this feature, the dynamic duo share with a&s their vertical and channel development efforts in the thriving region.

Axis Communications
Banking, retail, education and transportation are our top four vertical markets in this region, and we also have critical infrastructure projects that are usually government-driven. Our channel partners program based on loyal and long-lasting relationships has been the role model in the industry, and was designed to help channel partners capitalize on Axis' market leadership in the fast-growing network video market. Our academy is another value-added tool for our systems integrators and end customers to share the knowledge that we have gained in the market since we first introduced the technology in 1996.

Based on our market outlook, we feel that it is critical to have a bigger physical presence in the countries we are focused on. We are now underway with a big recruitment strategy, which will lead to a substantial increase of personnel across the region in the short- and long-term to best serve our markets.

Milestone Systems
Throughout the five years Milestone has been in the Middle East, we have grown to cover all the countries in the GCC and high-end market sectors. For example, we have developed a partner channel that has been focusing on retail, and we've seen a very healthy business with the large retail sites. What we are planning to do in 2013 is to focus on expanding the partners with the distributors we have in the region to work with us on growing the mid- to low-end markets.

One of the things we see in the Middle East is that we have a great potential in the mid- to low-end markets with our wider variety of product offerings for these segments. The high-end market is dominated by two to three manufacturers in the Middle East, and Milestone already has a majority presence. What we aim to achieve now is a majority presence in the professional to low-end market. Milestone definitely has software products that are designed for these parts of the market. What we can do is make them more appealing to those users. We basically plan to strengthen our position in those markets, making it easier and more attractive to do business with our entire product portfolio.

Milestone has multiple distribution channels working with the main camera brands that our software supports, and the same applies to the mid- to low-range camera brands that cover the market's full range of needs. Some of our distributors are able to focus on the mid-market, and we have global partners like Anixter, Network Information Technology, Norbain, Westec and Cerebra, as well as some good local installing partners and distributors since 2002. Milestone also has a decent base of systems integrators who are certified to sell and implement our solutions in the region.