JEDDAH – “Knee-jerk” and price-led technology vendor partnerships can hurt business operations and profitability, according to one of the region's top ICT experts. Andrew Calthorpe, CEO of Condo Protego, one of the industry's leading data storage and protection companies, warned that technology partnerships in region often lack a crucial strategic dimension, including a worrying tendency for rapid change based on price rather than strategy. “Technology partnerships should be exhaustively structured and entirely goal-oriented. A long-term solution that works is never knee-jerk and is always about more than just pure technology - it is consultation-driven, it is tactical and it is people powered,” he said. “The best solutions are always derived from a reference architecture that considers all variables of software and hardware interaction.” Calthorpe added that companies looking to change technology partners within two years can often be problematic. “Smooth operations are always desirable,” he said. “Those that ask the right questions at the outset, and connect with adaptable partners that can scale to specific needs, are always likely to be more successful. Constant technology refreshes can cause unwanted disruption and end up hurting the bottom line.” Calthorpe also noted that there is also a danger of being swayed by new technology without fully understanding its eventual use and benefits. “Getting the right technology in place is a complex task. Depending on your business and goals, there might be other options or configurations that work better,” he explained. Condo Protego is a specialist value added reseller (VAR) dealing entirely with data protection and availability storage, with a strong focus on Symantec and EMC products. CondoProtego is one of the Middle East's most experienced and capable Symantec partners. In 2011, Condo Protego achieved Master Specialization in all four Availability specialization areas - Archiving and e-Discovery, Storage Management, Data Protection Plus and High Availability. Condo Protego was the first partner in the region to have passed the rigorous quality control processes and trainings to achieve Master Specialization and currently is the only partner in the United Arab Emirates that has achieved Master Specialization. Condo Protego is also a Signature EMC Velocity Partner, the highest possible tier of accreditation. Depending on the project specification, Condo Protego can also call on input from vendors such as Dell, Websense, Riverbed, RSA, VMWare, Cisco, Brocade and Emulex. – SG
