STME, EMC’s only authorized services network partner in the region, is expanding its year-old regional relationship with Dell Computer Corporation, and will now source, sell, implement, and support Dell/EMC co-branded CLARiiON storage solutions.
Based on major joint installations thus far in the Middle East’s education and government sectors, STME will act as a Dell storage reseller in Saudi Arabia, and will continue to offer CLARiiON support services for Dell customers across the Kingdom. The co-branded Dell/EMC CLARiiON product line is Dell’s primary offering for both storage area networks (SAN) and high-end network-attached storage (NAS) installations in the Middle East. In its capacity as an EMC partner, STME was the first company in the Middle East to certify its engineers on the CLARiiON system, and has managed more than 12 CLARiiON implementations.
“The expansion of Dell and STME’s relationship demonstrates both the success we’ve realized thus far with our service-related partnership, and the additional prospects we foresee in joint sales. Dell is a leader in Saudi Arabia’s hardware market, and we will couple that market share with STME’s experience in the region’s storage sector, and a strong CLARiiON product range,” stated Andrew Calthorpe, STME’s senior corporate vice president.
The timing of STME and Dell’s expanded alliance is more than coincidence. Storage spending in the Middle East is outpacing all other areas of IT investment. Just as Dell has become the largest reseller of EMC’s CLARiiON systems globally, STME is positioning itself to be Dell’s principal storage reseller in the Kingdom and elsewhere in the Middle East. “Storage expertise and market reach are the two primary reasons that Dell is enhancing its relationship with STME. Over the last twelve months, we’ve witnessed significant in-country demand for the solutions and services that Dell and STME can offer, and we’re gearing up for opportunities across the Saudi market,” said Gary Withington, Saudi Arabia country manager, Dell Middle East FZ-LLC.
Arab News Compunet 20 May 2003
