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A10 Networks: New man has big plans for MEA region

A10 Networks: New man has big plans for MEA region

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Ehab Halablab tells us about his big plans to capitalise on the exciting potential of the Middle East and Africa

A10 Networks has a new face in charge of its channel programme. Newly appointed Channel Manager, Ehab Halablab, tells us about his big plans to capitalise on the exciting potential of the Middle East and Africa.

A10 Networks, a provider of intelligent and automated cybersecurity solutions, has a new face in the hotseat.

It has appointed Ehab Halablab as a channel manager across the Middle East and Africa region.

Halablab started his role at Naizak Distribution and managed Riverbed Business. He later moved to work for Sophos where he was named as a top achiever in 2015.

He then moved to Bluecoat where his role was to deliver infrastructure security solutions, building the channel landscape and business planning across the region.

While at Blue Coat, he enjoyed establishing relationships and maintained a fruitful revenue that enabled him to be named as top Channel Manager MEA in 2016.

“I have recently seen A10 Networks enter the Middle East and Africa market and it excites me to raise the brand awareness and bring A10 Networks to the next level,” said Halablab.

He joins A10 Networks from Symantec and holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Lebanese International University.

In an exclusive interview, ITC discusses his plans for the company’s channel programme, its partners and the potential of the Middle East region.

Can you tell us about your new role as Channel Manager for A10 Networks?

For the last couple of years A10 Networks did not have a dedicated plan and resources for the channel into the region so what we are starting to do now is have me create this new channel programme in the region.

What we are starting to do is create a new channel programme in the region, starting from distributors to move them from box movers to value added distributors.

This is to make sure that we have the right distribution partners that are also growing the business from hiring new potential partners in the region that will focus on A10 business and to move into the partner programme where we will be focusing on the partnership of each reseller from bronze to gold to platinum levels.

So the partners are focused on and investing into A10 Networks business, so they grow revenue and technical and sales perspectives. And, of course, to make sure that this business will grow by having this reseller or this partner, opening more doors through their customer connections in the region to have new opportunities that they will bring to A10.

We also have our account managers who are creating new business in the market that will go through the partners and resellers in the region.

So this is the main focus plus, of course, we want to grow the alliance and global partnerships of resellers like HP, Nokia Systems, McAfee and FireEye. We will be working together with our sales team from building the channel, the marketing and sales, at the same time to push it together into the market in the Middle East.

Can you explain specifically how A10 works with channel partners? What sort of organisations are your partners?

We work with all types of resellers and partners here in the region because our portfolio is mixed between security and networking solutions so we look after both types of resellers and partners – including dedicated security resellers that focus on the security business. We partner with them and build a business plan with our security solutions to be sold through their portfolio.

Plus we can look after partners such as Alpha Delta that has everything. They have networking, security, applications departments, that they sell to their customers. We sit with them, we make a business plan, we do account mapping, and start working together by knocking on customers’ doors and working on the projects together.

We don’t want our distributors to be a box mover, we want them to be involved by using resources and adding value. We don’t sell directly to partners or customers – everything should be through our distribution. We make sure the plan is working smoothly and the pipeline is healthy.

Do you train your channel partners?

Yes. We have a training centre that we signed with for training based in Dubai to train our partners, customers and distributors. They handle monthly sessions that will be scheduled from the beginning of the year. This is shared with our partners and customers asking if they would like to attend.

We are planning on increasing this training especially if we can push it to our distribution level. It will be adding value for their services to be delivered to their partners.

What trends do you expect to see in the channel this year?

I think in 2019 the channel will go back and focus into dedicated vendor partnerships between the channel and the partners. The trend is to go to a customer not talking about a product or one solution you have to open a platform of discussion.

Which areas are you covering?

Middle East and the Arabic speaking countries in Africa like Egypt and Tunisia. What we plan now is to focus on the full Middle East which is the Gulf, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the Levant region, plus the Arabic speaking parts of Africa.

Are there any particular countries that you think has a great deal of potential for A10 Networks?

We have the full Gulf region, KSA, UAE and Kuwait. These have really big potential for A10 Networks’ business. Also we have big potential in the Egyptian market because still now Egypt is recovering and the business is growing there so we have a very good connection and doors we can open for A10 Networks.

Also Levant is good but it’s still a small market. This will be dealt with purely by the channel but for the Gulf we have a dedicated sales and channel team working together in the region.

The main potential is in KSA, UAE, Qatar and Egypt. These are the countries I can see that have really big potential for us.

What can you tell me about your operations in Kuwait?

In the Kuwait market we want to focus on two areas. The enterprise market and the oil and gas market.  We focus on four main resellers there to draw up a business plan with them to start pushing for a campaign inside Kuwait and to create new opportunities. Already we have nice references in the region and customers that trust A10 Networks. They have been using A10 Networks for five or six years so in Kuwait we have a big potential.

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