January 2008

Inside This Issue

IT execs say Vista
uptake slow p6>>

Cisco sights set on virtu-

alisation, video p7>>

WCS eyes the export

market p8>>
 EDITOR’S: NOTE

Big up to 2008
T
he year 2008 is upon us. Judging by the way 2007 panned out, this year
looks set to be an interesting one for the solution provider channel. For
starters, resellers are hoping the channel credit crunch and IT spending
slow down both in the consumer and retail space begins to show signs of
turning around.
The country’s economy has grown every year since 1994. Key
contributors to this growth have been strong consumer spending and
higher commodity prices, which have mainly boosted the growth rate to
more than four per cent in each of the past three years.
Government, through the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for
SA (ASGISA) is seeking to increase economic growth and participation
through: infrastructure programmes; industrial strategies; skills initiatives;
interventions in the second economy; inflation targeting and other
macroeconomic policies; and better public administration. One can only
hope that ASGISA plan goes a long way in easing the IT skills shortage in
the local channel.
However, recent developments have cast a cloud on the economy. Rising inflation has prompted the Reserve Bank
to increase interest rates by four percentage points since June last year, which some IT pundits warn will reduce not
only spending in this sector but hamper overall economic growth.
For those involved in the cut-throat business of selling IT solutions, now is the time to plan for the year ahead.
This process should involve critical analysis of the areas of your business that didn’t show any growth let alone
revenue contribution.
Refining your business and developing a strategy that should take it to new heights should be on top of your
to-do list. This should entail choosing the right technology manufacturers, getting relevant certifications and
identifying vertical markets that provide your business with the opportunity to earn recurring revenues. Along with
this, most vendors in the channel are moving towards an exclusive-type arrangement with their channel partners.
Understanding which partner programme best suits your business strategy and goals is vital before selecting the best
one out there.
As the channel landscape continues to evolve, it has become a business imperative for solution providers and
resellers of all sizes to select the right vendor and distributor partners. In addition to choosing the right vendor or
distributor partner, survival in the channel is enhanced when a reseller specialises and develops expertise in a couple
of technologies and vertical markets.
Being everything to everybody is a recipe for failure.

CRN would like to engage with you more this year, so let me know what you have planned for 2008. I can be
reached at mandab@systems.co.za

Manda Banda – publisher

 Contents
News & Analysis
4 – News round-ups

4 – Dmoves

6 – IT execs say Vista uptake slow

Adoption of Windows Vista is lagging and will continue to do so as 2008
begins. By Manda Banda and Scott Campbell, CMP

7 – Cisco sights set on virtualisation, video

Cisco Systems chairman and CEO John Chambers has identified virtualisation
as the biggest opportunity the networking company will focus on in fiscal 06
Cover: The Digi Awards 2008. By Jennifer Hagendorf Follett, CMP

8 – Eyeing the export market

CRN Contacts: World Computer Systems (WCS) has set its eyes on significantly increasing its export
Publisher: business. By Manda Banda
Manda Banda
10 – SAP unveils Business ByDesign for SMEs
mandab@systems.co.za SAP has unveiled Business ByDesign, the most complete on-demand business soft-
ware solution specifically addressing a new market of prospective, fast-growing
Online editor: midsize customers. By Dudu Shaba
Kaunda Chama
12 – Hi Five: Sithabile Technology’s MD has new plans for the company.
kaundac@systems.co.za By Dudu Shaba
08
Journalists: 13 – Demand generator: KSS overhauls Kyocera Mita SA’s
communications infrastructure. By Dudu Shaba
Portia Shaba
portias@systems.co.za 14 – Microsoft focuses on the Unified
Communications market. By Dudu Shaba
Brand executive:
26 – CRN showcases the winners of the 2008
Nirosh Moodley Outlook Digi Awards. By Kaunda Chama, Stanley Chishala &
nirosh@systems.co.za Dudu Shaba

Designer:
Features
Spencer van Graan 16 – More education needed on consumables
Customer satisfaction is a powerful contributor to profitability.
19
spencerg@systems.co.za
Companies must ensure that their customers are knowledgeable and
comfortable using their products. By Dudu Shaba
Database and subscriptions:
Daisy Mulenga 22 – Graphics software promise
daisym@systems.co.za Find out how you can earn margins in this niche software market.
By Kaunda Chama

copyright notice
Technology
CRN Southern Africa is published monthly by
Systems Publishers (Pty) Ltd. The copyright of all
material in this publication is reserved by the proprietors, 38 – Product review: Nokia E90. By Kaunda Chama
except where expressly stated. The publisher, however,
will consider reasonable requests for the use of material
by others on condition that the source and author
Parting shots
23
of the report are clearly attributed. Due to the nature
of the newspaper print process, Systems Publishers
cannot be held responsible for colour variations
in printed advertising. Printed by Ultra Litho. 40 – Dilbert
CRN Southern Africa is a licensee of CMP Media LLC.

Private Bag X12, Rivonia, 2128

Tel: (011) 234 7008
40 – Snapshot: Christo Briedenhann,
Fax: (011) 234 7025 Riverbed Scans in this publication have been reproduced
Registered with the Audit
Bureau of Circulation on the EPSON PERFECTiON 2450 photo
NEWS: ROUNDUPS
Datacentrix gets Riverbed
IT services and solutions provider, Datacentrix, has signed an
agreement with wide-area data services (WDS) solution provider,
Riverbed Technology, to resell the company’s Steelhead products,
becoming a certified partner locally.
Riverbed’s Steelhead WDS product range addresses the issues
affecting application performance over the WAN, dramatically
improving the performance of applications that companies and
knowledge workers rely on every day - including file sharing,
e-mail, backup, document management systems and IT tools as
well as ERP and CRM solutions.
Datacentrix: Nteseng Maboe, 012 348-7555,
nmaboe@datacentrix.co.za
Channel partners alternative to major
competitor: Dell
With a business that’s been losing market share and struggling to
grow, Dell’s top executive suggested that the company is posi-
tioned to win channel partners who are looking for a top-to-bot-
tom alternative to Hewlett-Packard.
Dell Chairman and CEO Michael Dell made the remarks in a con-
ference call with financial analysts after the company posted its
quarterly earnings. The Texas-based company has also told solution
providers it is poised to make a major announcement on the future
of its channel operations.
Security flaw opens Cisco VoIP phones to
eavesdropping
Cisco Systems has confirmed a security vulnerability discovered in its
VoIP phones that enables attackers to eavesdrop on voice calls.
The vendor issued a security alert that identified 11 models of its
Cisco Unified IP Phone 7900 Series handsets that are vulnerable to
attacks. All Cisco IP phones that support Extension Mobility, a fea-
ture that allows users to log into a phone and configure it as their
own on a temporary basis are vulnerable.
Cisco classified it as a low-level risk with a base score of 4.0 on the
common vulnerability scoring system. No updates are available, though
Cisco has identified several workarounds to combat the problem.
Windows vulnerability could compromise
millions of PCs
A serious security flaw affecting every version of Microsoft
Windows operating systems, including Vista, could enable cyber
criminals to take control of an untold number of machines around
the globe and manipulate personal information.
The bug, which was first reported by the Sydney Morning
Herald, was demonstrated at the Kiwicon hacker conference in
New Zealand by researcher Beau Butler.
The flaw could ultimately compromise millions of home and
office machines, particularly those outside the US, subjecting them
to attacks by cyber criminals who could acquire passwords, monitor
Internet use, or steal personal, financial or identifying information.
4 • CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JANUARY 2008
Distribution Move
Pinnacle Micro lands Mio deal
ICT distributor Pinnacle Micro has announced that it has
landed southern African distribution rights to Mio
Technology, one of the leading brands of mobile communi-
cation devices.
“The announcement forms part of a decision by Pinnacle
Micro to move into the increasingly converging world of
consumer-based technology and the general business and
ICT marketplace,” says Tim Humphreys-Davies, the compa-
ny’s national sales and marketing director.
With preloaded maps by Tele Atlas, one of the world’s top
map data companies, users can now enjoy seamless navi-
gation throughout the region, doing away with the cum-
bersome installation of additional country maps.
Even Flow appointed Siemens
distributor
Local VoIP hardware distributor Even Flow Distribution was
recently awarded the distributorship for Siemens’ range of
home and office communication products in SA.
Siemens SA, noting the imminent growth in open-stan-
dards IP communication products, says it has secured a
partner with an established track record in the VoIP mar-
ket, and a thorough understanding of the technology dri-
ving the revolution in telecommunications.
Even Flow will distribute the entire range of Siemens cord-
ed and cordless IP phones as well as an assortment of IP-
based CPE hardware devices. The products will be intro-
duced to Even Flow’s established base of VARs and solu-
tion providers as well as specific VoIP service providers.
Intel upgrades Leopard support
Intel Corporation announced an upgrade of its popular software tools
suite for Mac OS X Leopard, the sixth major version of Apple’s
advanced operating system.
The latest 10.1 version of the Intel C++ Compiler and Intel Fortran
Compiler, as well as the Intel Threading Building Blocks, Intel Math
Kernel Libraries and Intel Performance Primitives, have been optimised
for Apple’s Leopard and Xcode 3.0 development environment launched
last month.
Westcon SA ups earnings
Westcon SA has announced a 31 per cent increase in revenues for the
first half of 2007, when compared to the corresponding period last year.
This is according to its holding company, Datatec’s, results
announced on 25 October 2007.
According to Westcon SA CEO, Jacques Malherbe, this is as a
result of the company’s strong organic growth and value-added
distribution model.
According to Datatec’s results breakdown, Middle East and Africa
operations made up six per cent of the group’s revenue, up from three
per cent in 2004. Westcon SA’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes,
depreciation and amortisation) was up 66 per cent.
ANALYSIS: VISTA
SOLUTION PROVIDERS
IT execs say Vista uptake slow
...but remain optimistic.
BY MANDA BANDA AND SCOTT CAMPBELL, CMP
A
doption of Windows Vista is lagging and will
continue to do so as 2008 begins, said chan-
nel and IT executives at the Raymond James
IT Supply Chain Conference in New York.
“That’s been a disappointment. Our cus-
tomer surveys tell us [customers] are adopt-
ing at a slower rate than we – or anyone
else – thought. Even those that have
licences and can move quickly are not,”
says John Edwardson, chairman and CEO
of CDW.
“Customers still do not see the
benefits of upgrading to Vista from XP,”
Edwardson adds.
“Our CIO has been using Vista for a long
time. His comment is that it would take
three or four hours for every user to learn
Vista. He thinks it will be a big investment,”
Edwardson says. “For [end user] customers,
the investment is not just in teaching Vista,
but in new hardware to go along with it. It
will continue to be adopted, but it’s a slow-
er rate than anyone thought it would be a
“I have no doubt Vista SP 1 release expected in January/February
2008 timeframe will do good to the business.”
– Mark Lu, Rectron
couple of years ago.”
Cathie Lesjak, executive VP and CFO at
Hewlett-Packard, told analysts that Vista
Service Pack 1 will be an important event in
the adoption of the OS in corporate America.
“We didn’t think we’d see any significant
Have you read
uptake of Vista until that came out. We saw
growth. Our commercial business is up 16
per cent on the PSG side. [But] it’s still not a
Vista commercial moment or a consumer
Vista moment. We’ll see what happens. Our
view is about the same,” she says.
Mark Lu, CEO at local Microsoft DSP dis-
tributor Rectron, concurs and says the sen-
timent on Vista at the moment in the local
channel is negative. Lu says the common
complaints the company is receiving are
that the new OS is too slow and uses too
much hardware resources. “From what I
heard from most of our corporate clients,
they are very reluctant to rollout Vista at
the moment,” he says.
Despite the gloomy picture, Lu is upbeat
that Vista will take off during the course of
2008. He says the uptake will kick-off from
the consumers side, then move into the
SME space before corporate SA rolls out
massive Vista upgrades. “I have no doubt
Vista SP 1 release expected in January/
February 2008 timeframe will do good to
the business,” he says. Lu says although
Vista will take off after the release of SP 1 it
won’t be as successful as Windows 95 or
Windows XP.
But it’s still not clear when SP1 will be
Mark Lu, Rectron
released or what will be included in it,
says Greg Spierkel, chairman and CEO of
Ingram Micro.
“It’s not a factor. It’s not a positive. It’s not
a negative. I was really hoping it would be a
catalyst by now but it’s not,” Spierkel says.
“We’ve seen our clients upgrading to
Vista, although I can’t say whether that
rate of adoption is comparatively fast or
slow,” says Jim Leto, president and CEO of
GTSI Corporation. “But nobody’s come to
us with any upgrade problems – and I love
it.” The executives’ comments echoed
sentiments from John Paget, president of
Avnet Technology Solutions, speaking at
Avnet’s Investor Day in New York City.
“We’re not seeing a rapid movement to
Vista,” Paget says. “We’re reading the same
things you’re reading about the amount of
memory involved. We’re not seeing a rapid
introduction to small and/or large businesses.
“Microsoft has talked about doing some
upgrades and so on and so forth. It’s not a
big part of our business either. It’s more of
a value play,” he concludes.
 ANALYSIS: CISCO
SOLUTION PROVIDERS

Cisco sights set on

virtualisation, video
…as Westcon targets greenfield markets.

BY JENNIFER HAGENDORF FOLLETT, CMP

C
isco Systems chairman and CEO John
Chambers has identified virtualisation as the
biggest opportunity the networking
company will focus on in fiscal 2008.
In a keynote address at the vendor’s
recent Cisco C-Scape Global Forum 2007
analyst conference in its hometown of San
Jose, California, Chambers laid out several
technology and business areas the
networking company plans to concentrate
on in its current fiscal year and says
virtualisation is at the top of the list.
“If you look at where we’re going, the
biggest play of all is virtualisation: any
content to any device in any format you
want anywhere in the world with the
proper security,” Chambers says.
Virtualisation is one of the foundational
elements to Cisco’s vision for the role the
network will play in the “second phase” of
the Internet, driven by collaboration and
Web 2.0. Cisco lumps technologies such as
social networking, unified communications,
telepresence, podcasts, mash-ups, blogs and
peer-to-peer under the Web 2.0 banner.
“Over time we will design our virtualisation,
if we do our jobs right, to the point where
the user will have no idea what’s going
on,” Chambers says, speaking of the
transparency Cisco wants to provide in the
interactions customers have with their
content. Customers won’t have to worry
about where their data is housed or how it
is served, as resources such as servers and
storage become shared entities, he says.
Technologies such as virtualisation,
unified communications and video will spur
the next decade of productivity gains,
Chambers says.
Video, particularly high-definition video-
conferencing in the form of Cisco’s
TelePresence product line, is changing the
way the vendor does business, Chambers
says, noting that the company conducted
“If you look at where we’re going, the biggest play of all
is virtualisation: any content to any device in any format
you want anywhere in the world with the proper security.”
– John Chambers, Cisco
42 000 virtual meetings this year.
“I spend 50 per cent of my time touching
customers. Within three years, I will double
the number of customers I touch and cut
my travel time in half,” Chambers says. In
an example of how the vendor is using
TelePresence, Chambers opened the
conference by moderating a panel that
used the videoconferencing technology to
connect to three remote speakers located in
Cincinnati, Boston and London. In addition,
a small audience had been participating in
the conference via a video link to New York.
The company expects businesses of all
sizes to increase their adoption of video-
driven collaboration technologies. In a
technology demonstration, the company
showed its forthcoming WebEx Connect
offering, now in beta, which enables
customers to create collaborative spaces
online. Users can see other personnel
working on a given project team, log chat
sessions between individuals so other team
members can view them, create video blogs
and search a corporate directory of user-
created profile pages to find employees that
have needed expertise. From those pages,
users can initiate video calls with each other
and share digital information. In the
demonstration, for example, a user shared
images taken from a networked microscope
via TelePresence.
Cisco also demonstrated how employees
could use a Cisco IP phone to create and
distribute a podcast. “Video is the great
driver,” says Charles Giancarlo, executive
VP and chief development officer at Cisco,
during his keynote address. Roughly 250
billion video streams are expected to be
served in 2007, up from 9 billion in 2005,
he says.
Video for Cisco means more than just
TelePresence, Giancarlo says. The company
is also investing in areas such as digital
signage, IP video surveillance and IPTV.
Cisco is looking at several technology
areas that are expected to grow into $10
billion businesses, including TelePresence
services, hosted software (from its recent
acquisition of WebEx Communications) and
next-generation enterprise architecture.
Other focus areas for Cisco in fiscal 2008
include mobility, the SME market, the
consumer market, managed services, green
technology and its business strategies in
India and China, Chambers concludes.

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JANUARY 2008 • 7

ANALYSIS: WCS
SOLUTION PROVIDERS
Eyeing
…as WCS sees potential in greenfield markets.
BY MANDA BANDA
I
n what is seen as the lure of sub-Saharan
Africa, which is fast emerging as a
significant IT market, local independent
distributor World Computer Systems (WCS)
has set its eyes on significantly increasing its
export business.
The initiative comes on the back of the
distributor’s broader channel plan, unveiled
earlier this year, in which it stated it would
like to spread its footprint in sub-Saharan
Africa starting with the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) region.
Two key things have motivated WCS
to embark on this plan. Firstly, the
potential for sustained channel growth in
the export market
sub-Saharan Africa, unlike in the past, is
now assured. And second, the growing
need by governments and private
sector organisations to embrace technology
has created a market and demand for
IT equipment.
At the same time, increased political
stability, especially in the SADC region, has
persuaded WCS that the time is right to
partner with resellers in specific countries in Inocencia Mojane, WCS
this region.
It is precisely these positive economic WCS’ Export Division and head of the
indicators that WCS sees as too compelling expansion initiative says the company has
to ignore or merely serve on an ad hoc basis. performed extremely well in the past
Inocencia Mojane, sales consultant at 12 months and has grown its export

business by about 30 per cent.
She believes now is the right time to
cement and formalise relationships with
resellers in the countries in which WCS
does business.
The distributor has reseller partners in
DRC, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Swaziland,
Lesotho, Zambia and Botswana.
“What I would like to see as this initiative
takes shape, is expansion of the export
business to include all countries on the
continent and the surrounding islands south
of the equator,” she says. “I know it is a
challenge but one that the division would
like to take on.”
Although there is no denying the oppor-
tunities that exist in sub-Saharan Africa and
particularly the SADC region, what weapon
will WCS use to penetrate this untapped yet
potentially lucrative IT market?
Mojane believes the brands that WCS
sources from the local channel give it the
upper hand. She also says that because
WCS is a small and focused independent
distributor it is able to give its clients per-
ANALYSIS: WCS
SOLUTION PROVIDERS
“What I would like to see as this initiative takes shape is expansion
of the export business to include all countries on the continent and
the surrounding islands south of the equator.” – Inocencia
Mojane, WCS
sonalised after-sales support. not supply them with an LG desktop with
She goes on to say that as the company the monitor like other brands such as HP
expands its footprint in other parts of sub- and Dell. Now that LG has responded posi-
Saharan Africa, it is vital that it has in its tively in this regard, we will offer our reseller
stable best-of-breed IT products that will partners the freedom to choose.
help to cement the company’s position in She adds that key to WCS’ success in
other markets on the continent. cementing its position in the rest of sub-
WCS offers end-to end solutions on HP, Saharan Africa as it expands its operation will
LG and Dell, which are the most sought be the level and quality of support it offers to
after brands by cross-border clients. Mojane resellers in the countries it is doing business
adds the recent launch of the LG desktop in. “We need to be proactive in the way we
PC will not only complement the monitor sell and provide after-sales service if we are to
and display business but also boost overall grow our footprint in SADC fast,” she says.
revenue and profits for the export division. “The growth and business potential in the
“The LG monitor range has done well for us SADC region will be huge if we develop a
in this division,” she says. “For a long time, mutual and sustained relationship with the
clients have been asking us why we could reseller partners we do business with.”
ANALYSIS: SAP
SOLUTION PROVIDERS
SAP unveils Business ByDesign
foe SMEs
The most on-demand solution designed to improve business processes
BY MANDA BANDA
S
AP has unveiled Business ByDesign, the
most complete on-demand business soft-
ware solution specifically addressing a new
market of prospective, fast-growing midsize
customers with 100 to 500 employees, and
growing companies that typically have not
invested in these types of integrated busi-
ness solutions.
“SAP Business ByDesign delivers an on-demand software solution
with built-in service and support. The solution will help an inaugural
group of live customers to improve business processes across their
organisations.” – Rainer Zinow, SAP.
The business software solution was intro-
duced at the SAP Saphila Conference held
in Cape Town, attended by more than 1
300 delegates from the private and public
sectors across sub-Saharan Africa.
Léo Apotheker, SAP AG deputy CE and
president of customer solutions and opera-
tions said that SAP designed this product
mainly to simplify IT for midsize companies
by substantially reducing the cost of owner-
ship and combining efficiency with business
flexibility. He added that the launch of the
product at the conference was another
strategy by the company aimed at doubling
its addressable market by 2010.
Rainer Zinow, Senior VP, SAP, Global
Service Support, says SAP Business ByDesign
was designed around four key principles:
completeness; ease of use; adaptability; and
significantly cutting total cost of ownership.
“SAP Business ByDesign delivers an on-
demand software solution with built-in ser-
vice and support. It offers a personalised
trial for invited customers to explore, evalu-
ate and experience. The solution will help
an inaugural group of live customers to
improve business processes across their
organisations,” he says.
10 • CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JANUARY 2008
Zinow says Business ByDesign is a fully inte-
grated solution with features such as cus-
tomer relationship management, supply chain
management, financial management, project
Management, built-in business analytics,
human resources management, supply rela-
tionship management, compliance manage-
ment and executive management support.
“SMEs will find it easier to adapt to and
understand, it has all the relevant information
required, it is not for technical fundis and is
very simple to use at any time,” he says.
He added that users of the solution only
need to have a solid business understand-
ing and relatively low technical skills.
“This is also going to allow SMEs to con-
centrate on business delivery rather than on
deep technical issues,” he says.
Launch
Zinow says SAP Business ByDesign will only
be shipped in the middle of 2008.
“In our pre-launch phase we will start by
selling the product directly to our pilot pro-
jects by picking up the first eight customers
and getting them to production. When a
good reference has been established, we
intend having a channel model. This is the
first SAP ERP on-demand system and it is a
strategic product for now and the future,”
he says.
Leadership
Director of SAP’s SME business in Africa,
Derek Kudsee says “Being first to market
with a solution that companies can buy on
a subscription basis confirms SAP’s leader-
ship in this space. We believe that this new
solution will further accelerate our growth
across the SME spectrum. It strongly com-
plements the existing SAP Business One and
SAP Business All-in-One solutions that have
achieved significant take-up in the local
SME sector.”
HIGH FIVE: SITHABILE TECHNOLOGY
SOLUTION PROVIDERS

Sithabile Technology’s MD has new plans

Intending to attract a larger reseller base.

BY DUDU SHABA

G iles Calenborne has been appointed the

new GM at Sithabile Technology Group.
Calenborne has returned to SA from the UK
after a successful career with Microsoft for
almost 10 years, starting in 1998 in Retail
Account Management and growing an
enviable reputation as he progressed to the
position of specialist manager, Software
Asset Management, Security and Microsoft
Business Solutions in the UK. Throughout
his career, he has focused extensively on
channel business, and has developed a
unique insight into the requirements and
challenges of the IT channel.
“I have missed SA and the opportunity to join a black-owned com-
pany. I believe that Sithabile Technology Group has a tremendous
future, particularly as it has aligned with quality brands and has
established a reputable market position.” – Giles Calenborne,
CRN: What is unique about Sithabile
Technology?
GC: We are an extremely focused
black-owned company. Our strategy
dictates that we remain focused on
products and solutions in which we can
offer expertise. Alongside excellent products
from selected vendors, we offer
comprehensive solutions and advice to our
customers and back this up with service
and warranties that make doing business
with us easier.
CRN: You have accepted the position
of GM of Branded Products at Sithabile
Technology Group and you promise to
use your expertise and experience to
grow the brands, develop the channel
structures and further expand market
share, can you elaborate as to how
you are going to do that?

Sithabile Technology
to grow the Sithabile Technology brand.
Giles Calenborne, Sithabile Technology
Calenborne promises to use his expertise
The brands that will immediately fall into
his portfolio are Quantum, XioTech,
QLogic, Tripp-Lite and Seagate Data
Recovery Services.
CRN: Can you tell us more about
Sithabile Technology Group?
GC: Sithabile Technology Group is a
black-owned holding company that
operates through subsidiaries which
specialise in the information technology
component and data management
industry. These companies are storage
hardware specialist Quantum Africa,
specialist components distributor ASBIS
Africa, storage solutions specialist
Sithabile Storage Integration and
storage distributor Odirile Storage
Distribution. Recent additions to the
group include Sithabile Power Services,
Sithabile Engineering and Sithabile
Technology Services.
GC: I have learned many aspects of the
industry through my experience. While it is
too soon to detail plans and initiatives in
this area, I intend building some channel
programmes and to increase our reach
through attracting a larger reseller base.
CRN: Who are your partners and
what sort of programmes do you offer
them?
GC: We have many partners, some of
whom are certified and some of whom are
incubation partners. The programmes we
offer vary according to which vendors are
represented by the partners.
CRN: What opportunities are there
for Sithabile Technology in the local
market?
GC: There are many opportunities for us to
increase our reach in terms of resellers. We
offer a differentiated approach and credible
services, and we are growing our share of
business within our existing customer base
as well as recruiting new customers on an
ongoing basis.

12 • CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JANUARY 2008


KSS overhauls Kyocera Mita
SA’s communications infrastructure
Helping the company to keep up with increasing business demands.
BY DUDU SHABA
K
yocera Mita SA, a printer and multi-
functional products manufacturer, selected
KSS, a converged network integrator focusing
on integrated data, voice and video solu-
tions, to revamp and expand its networks,
install an IP-telephony system and roll out a
standardised Microsoft messaging platform.
“Due to the company’s constant growth
in market share, it is continuously driven to
reassess its infrastructure, and expand and
renew it to keep up with increasing business
demands,” says Werner Engelbrecht,
Manager Shared Services, Kyocera Mita SA.
“The Private Analogue Branch Exchange
(PABX) was old and could not cater for
much needed staff growth. Reliability was
also an issue. The organisation required a
stable communications platform to support
our reseller base which relies on us for
telephonic support,” he says.
In addition, Kyocera Mita SA needed to
overhaul its network to cater for the growth
and expansion of the business. He says that
Lotus Notes was used as a messaging
platform and the company outsourced the
support function to reduce complexity.
However, due to standardisation requirements
from the international head office the
manufacturer needed to bring this function
in-house and migrate to a Microsoft
Mail environment.
Engelbrecht says the company
approached a few systems integrators with
these requirements. KSS was finally selected
to revamp the company’s communications
infrastructure.
“KSS was chosen as the local supplier as
result of the professional solution presented,
its BEE status and commitment to high-
quality service delivery. Kyocera Mita SA
chose Cisco as the preferred brand as its
products are reliable and the company is
focused on short repair or replacement
SOLUTION PROVIDERS
response times in the event of downtime,”
he says. Sydney du Pont, senior voice
engineer at KSS says the company recom-
mended an overhaul of the network with
standardisation on Cisco products.
“Cisco’s Unified Call Manager 4.2, an
IP-based solution, was implemented,
replacing the existing PABX. Cisco’s Unified
Communications Messaging 4.0 delivered
integration of unified messaging with
Microsoft Exchange, reducing the complexity
of business communications. Cisco 7900 IP
phones were deployed using power over
Ethernet throughout the company’s office
and warehouse, providing staff with a wire-
less handset that allows them to be com-
pletely mobile.
The IP-based solution will scale to cater
to Kyocera Mita’s constant growth and will
make its planned move to new offices a
breeze. Meantime, the use of the Cisco Call
Manager and Communications Messaging
products improve office productivity,
efficiency and customer service,” he says.
“KSS created pick-up groups for each
department. This functionality means that if
a staff member’s phone rings and they are
not at their desk to take the call, a colleague
can use their phone to answer the call. The
solution also features remote voice mail
access. An employee can dial into the office
telephony system remotely and retrieve their
voice mail messages from outside the office.
This is done securely as authentication is
built into the process,” he explains.
All the attributes of that extension are linked
to that phone. This was a key consideration for
Kyocera Mita SA’ s call centre that provides
after-sales service and support to its clients, as
well as handles warranty issues and general
queries. The system also accommodates toll-
free numbers and transferred the old analogue
numbers onto the new system, routing callers
CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JANUARY 2008 •
DEMAND GENERATOR: KYOCERA MITA
to the correct person. This limited the disrup-
tion that a change of numbers would have
created,” he adds.
In line with security, Du Pont says that
KSS deployed Cisco Wireless Access Points
using a Microsoft RADIUS server that pro-
vides built-in security, including authentica-
tion and encryption.
In line with international standards, he
further explains that KSS migrated Kyocera
Mita SA’s Lotus Notes messaging platform
to Microsoft Exchange.
Du Pont says that KSS also supplied and
installed two Cisco MCS servers (a Unity
server for voice mail and a call manager
server for the soft PABX) to cater for the
new communication platform and growth
requirements.
“This provides the company with a stable
server environment that is reliable and
meets performance requirements. The
implementation took just over two months
to complete and fell within the required
deadlines,” he says.
“The convenience of receiving an e-mail
that includes your voice-mail message has
proven to be a huge benefit for those users
that are mobile and spend a number of
days away from the office,” remarks
Engelbrecht.
Engelbrecht says that Kyocera has also
realised substantial savings on costs associ-
ated with moving users around or adding
new users.
Training was a key component of the
acceptance and user adoption of the IP
telephony solution and new messaging
platform. KSS provided the necessary
training and the company is benefiting signifi-
cantly from the investment,” he concludes.
Do you have demand generator stories to
share with us? Please e-mail Dudu Shaba at
portias@systems.co.za
13
ANALYSIS: MICROSOFT
SOLUTION PROVIDERS

Microsoft focuses on
Unified Communications
Introducing the fasted growing product.

BY DUDU SHABA

M
icrosoft hosted a two-day conference attend-
ed by its partners, IT professionals and cus-
tomers at Vodaworld, Midrand, aimed at
generating awareness of SharePoint Server
2007 and Unified Communications.
Addressing partners from more than 50
companies in SA, Derek Burney, GM,
Sharepoint Platform and Tools, Office
Business Platform, emphasised that the
Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, a
new server program that is part of the 2007
Microsoft Office system allows businesses to
take decisions in the most effective way.
“Organisations can use Office SharePoint
Server 2007 to facilitate collaboration, pro-
vide content management features, imple-
ment business processes and provide access
to information that is essential to organisa-
tional goals and processes.
“Microsoft Office system allows businesses to be productive and
to take decisions in the most effective way. It can facilitate
collaboration, provide content management features, implement
business processes and provide access to information that is
essential to organisational goals and processes.” – Derek
Burney, Microsoft.
“This tool provides a single, integrated
location where employees can efficiently
collaborate with team members, find organ-
isational resources, search for experts and
corporate information, manage content and
workflow, and leverage business insight to
make informed decisions,” he said.
More than 1 000 partners have imple-
mented SharePoint Server 2007. “This is
due to the fact that it is effective and it has
turned out to be fastest-growing product
at Microsoft,” he said.
Derek Burney, Microsoft.
He added that the product is sold
through its channel model and it embarked
on readiness programmes based on this
product. “We will continue driving techni-
cal training and creating more awareness
of this product.” he said.
“Resellers will also make money as this is
the fastest-growing product globally and is
in high demand. This will bring fast solu-
tions to your businesses as the SME sector
will also realise it sooner and adopt it
faster,” he said.
Gary Ackerman, MD, Galdon Data com-
mented: “This is the most exciting product
Microsoft has introduced. It allows you to
apply the way customers want to do their
business. The highest demand from our
side is Business Intelligence.
This will open more partner opportuni-
ties as they will be doing different things
with one product,” he added.
The availability of two new search prod-
ucts, Server 2008 and Server 2008 Express
were also announced at the conference.
“Server 2008 Express can be down-
loaded free by everybody and Server 2008
is a charged for product,” he concluded.

14 • CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JANUARY 2008

CONSUMABLES FEATURE
SOLUTION PROVIDERS
More education
needed on consumables
Ensuring profitability.
BY DUDU SHABA
C ustomer satisfaction is a powerful contribu-
tor to profitability. Companies must ensure
that their customers are knowledgeable
and comfortable using their products. This
can also be a good way for them to gain
further preference and sales.
Consumables, like other products that
are sold in the IT space, are continuing to
offer channel players increasing profit
opportunities and ensuring recurring rev-
enue. While the management of consum-
ables usage remains essential, CRN asks the
question of whether the use of generic
consumables or refills is still a growing con-
cern in the channel.
Hans Dummer, regional manager, Epson
SA, believes that solution providers are still
faced with the challenge of making sure
that their customers are knowledgeable
about the company’s products.
“When customers buy printers, it is
important not to let them walk out of the
store without ensuring they understand
that they are buying into a printing system
and that the consumables will need to be
replaced. They must be informed at the
point of purchase of the costs and ensure
that the solution they are choosing is the
most cost-effective option for them,”
he says
Ronnie Oeschger, divisional manager
office systems group and channel opera-
tions at Bytes Document Solutions says that
the challenge of selling consumables is that
they are available almost everywhere with
little differentiation between the products.
16 • CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JANUARY 2008
“It is tough to discern the difference
between various brands of A4 paper. The
only real difference seen in consumable
products is with toner.
Solution providers should print images
using various toners to show the difference
in quality between each brand. They should
also bundle consumables with hardware
and software products to provide cus-
tomers with full solutions and to push their
consumables,” he comments.
One of the challenges we face is that
end users don’t always understand the
complexities of managing consumables to
achieve the best results, says Michael
Powell, product marketing manager at
Kyocera Mita SA.
“The good news is that proper manage-
ment of consumables and equipment
means that green goals can be achieved at
the same time as savings on operating
costs. Apart from our overall commitment
to low environmental impact, we have spe-
cific technologies that support this in view
of long term use, such as toners cartridges,
which do not work on a refill system and
produce much less waste and pollutants,”
says Powell.
“Consumables are absolute commodi-
ties. The supply chain is generally very
good and the product is standardised. This
means margins will be under pressure and
it must be a volume game,” says Neil
Watson, MD, Digital Planet.
“As mentioned, the market is flooded
with new players, making it highly
CONSUMABLES FEATURE
SOLUTION PROVIDERS
Epson SA.
Hans Dummer,
“Solution providers are still faced with the challenge of making
sure that their customers are knowledgeable about their products.
They must be informed at the point of purchase of the costs and
ensure that the solution they are choosing is the most cost-effective
option for them.” – Hans Dummer, Epson SA.
competitive with already shrinking margins
further reduced.
In addition, black market products have
the lure of being cheaper. Refills and
remanufactured cartridges are also
increasing in popularity due to the
economics of this choice, further eroding
business for companies that sell originals,”
says Nicolette Williams, HP Consumables
Product Manager, Drive Control Corporation
Hotspots in the consumables
space
According to Ronnie Oeschger, divisional
manager office systems group and channel
18 • CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JANUARY 2008
operations at Bytes Document Solutions,
emulsion aggregate (EA) toner is a new
development in colour laser printing that
delivers sharper, more uniform image quali-
ty and enhanced performance.
“While most toner is pulverised into a
dust and then filtered, EA toner is chemical-
ly created to a uniform size and shape (5.5
microns). Toner application is more exact,
yielding finer lines and higher image quali-
ty,” he says.
“The consumables business is predomi-
nantly sustained within the commercial
environment. A lot of effort is put into
growing the channel with the likes of small-
er customers with the right support and
the evolution to increase output. The con-
sumer space is where we are afforded com-
munication from a product perspective.
With HP’s Best Choice Portfolio (BCP) we
now have offerings that are affordable for
all consumers through Twinpack offerings,”
says Siva Naicker, commercial market and
SME manager for Supplies, HP SA.
Christelle Fensham, HP consumables
product manager, Drive Control
Corporation says a few months ago HP
introduced colour-coded, easy-to-interpret
packaging as well as cartridges that include
more ink and are more economical, reduc-
ing the total cost of ownership (TC).
“In addition, the company’s latest range
of HP LaserJet printers include cartridges
that feature new technology innovation.
For example, the patented spherical toner
delivers bold, crisp text and sharper images.
HP is also introducing page-yield informa-
tion on HP Inkjet cartridge packaging, pro-
viding customers with information that can
assist them to make the best and most eco-
nomical choice,” says Naicker.
“We’ve had record sales of our consum-
ables in the past few months. We’ve seen
an increase in the amount of ink we sell.
This increase is strongly fuelled by our pric-
ing as well as the many promotions we’ve
been running,” says Watson.
Use of refills and total cost of
ownership
Although some people might be prepared
to take a chance on using refilled toner car-
tridges in their printers, Oeschger says the
channel should discourage the practice as it

is simply too risky.
“It could lead to printers being damaged
and guarantees being invalidated.
Most printer drums have a set lifespan,
so if the cartridge is refilled, print quality
suffers and the drum could begin deterio-
rating and start printing streaks.
In addition, the grade, quality and parti-
cle size of toner used by remanufactures is
not the same as that from original produc-
ers. This will also affect print quality and
damage the drum,” he says.
“Refills are certainly a factor but are pret-
ty minor compared to our European coun-
terparts. The warranty on hardware is at risk
with refills and remanufactured use. Pricing
is the focus when it comes to sales but
often the end-user is not made aware of
the risks involved,” says Naicker.
Robby Russo, consumables manager,
Sahara agrees that the total cost of owner-
ship of printers involves more than just
hardware and consumables.
“Costs included in printing TCO are hard-
ware, software, consumables, network
management, infrastructure, end-use opera-
Ronnie Oesch
ger, Bytes Docu
ment Solutions
CONSUMABLES FEATURE
SOLUTION PROVIDERS
tions, maintenance and support.
“Reliability, quality and ease of use, plus
manufacturers’ warranties are key drivers of
printing costs because they drive labour,
which is the single biggest cost of printing,
“The channel should discourage the practice of using refilled toner
cartridges in printers as it is too risky. Printers can be damaged and
guarantees can be invalidated.” – Ronnie Oeschger, Bytes
Document Solutions.
so the message is “buyer beware, watch for
long-term service problems with printers
using non-OEM toner cartridges, you can-
not put a price the downtime of printers as
the negative results impact on the entire
operation,” he says.
Raising awareness
According to Dummer, in order to continue
raising awareness of consumables, solutions
providers should be able to determine and
recommend the right printer and cartridges
to customers.
CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JANUARY 2008 • 19
CONSUMABLES FEATURE
SOLUTION PROVIDERS
“If a customer is investing in a high-quality
printer for the long term, it’s likely they will
want to ensure that the ink they are using is
helping to maintain the life of their product.
“The consumables market is massive and if you crack it, it means
good business. It will ultimately be the efficiency of your business
that will determine if there’s money to be made in consumables.” –
Neil Watson, MD, Digital Planet.
If a customer is printing photos, and
producing general documents for presenta-
tions, business and external communica-
tions on plain paper they will want their
printer to produce crisp, clean and
smudge-proof text. For any of these
requirements genuine ink is superior.
Genuine ink is developed specifically by
Epson for Epson printers, the two are
designed to work together for optimum
output,” he says.
According to Oeschger, solution providers
should conduct ongoing education through
D, Digital Planet
Neil Watson, M
20 • CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JANUARY 2008
public relations and advertising.
“The acceptance of remanufactured car-
tridges opens the way to counterfeit car-
tridges. Winning the hearts and minds of
customers does not happen overnight.
Many customers are swayed by the
thought of short-term savings on each car-
tridge, and dealers might be tempted to
offer refill cartridges.
“But for both it is false economy and the
onus is on solution providers to educate
customers about the benefits of using origi-
nal equipment and the perils of using
remanufactured kits,” he says.
“HP and DCC expect their resellers
to sell the value of HP original products,
including reliability, higher yield and better
quality. We also need to communicate that
there are additional advantages to using HP
originals, not only lower TCO. Time and
money is lost if the quality of printing is
inferior or unacceptable, with reprints
eroding the cost benefit of refills,”
says Fensham.
“Kyocera aims at raising awareness
among users at all levels to help them to
make the right purchasing decisions, with
all factors taken into account. A single
printer or a network of machines is not a
once-off purchase, it is a long-term
commitment. We focus on encouraging
green practices for our customers and are
leading the way with our own commitment
to becoming a carbon-neutral vendor,”
says Powell.
The future of consumables
Looking forward, Naicker says that at EMEA
and local level HP will strive to deliver
double-digit growth in the next couple of
years and this is dependent on the growth
of the hardware install base.
“As SA is considered an emerging
market, the support from HP’s global as
well as local partners will be maintained
and grown with different kinds of activities
and go-to-market strategies.
In conclusion, Russo says that
distributors and resellers associated with
top OEM-branded consumables, equipped
with the right product set and value-add
approach to the end-user market should
continue to see recurring revenues at
reasonable margins.
GRAPHICS FEATURE
SOLUTION PROVIDERS
The race for perfect
Graphics software market remains vibrant
visuals
BY KAUNDA CHAMA
T he consolidation taking place in the graph-
ics software market continues to see solu-
tion providers grappling with the pace of
change.
Adobe has maintained a comfortable
lead in the graphics software market with a
number of acquisitions, while others such
as Corel have been enhancing their graph-
ics software suites.
“The excitement surrounding properties like YouTube clearly show-
cases why the multimedia software and services segment is so
incredibly hot right now.” – Rob Enderle, Enderle Group
However, with most digital photography
vendors selling their own photo-editing
software, it is a challenge for resellers in the
graphics software market to keep abreast
of the rapid changes in the sector.
Although locally, the dominant players
are Adobe and Corel, the top five global
players are:
 Adobe Systems, a leading developer of
software solutions for graphic designers
and professional publishers that include
Illustrator, Photoshop, Premiere, After
Effects, LiveMotion, InDesign, Studio,
FrameMaker, PhotoDeluxe and several oth-
ers. It also develops third-party plug-ins.
 Corel Corporation, a developer of graph-
ics, Web, desktop publishing, photo-edit-
ing and business software.
 Image Content Technology, a provider of
digital image processing software for med-
ical imaging, forensics and astronomy.
 Quark, a developer of software for page
layout, enterprise workflow, system inte-
gration, and the delivery of content.
 Panopticum, a developer of effects and
plug-ins for image and video editing.
22 • CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JANUARY 2008
Software includes After Effects,
Illustrator, Photoshop and Premiere.
Top products
Corel’s CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 has
combined two full-featured applications:
CorelDRAW for vector-based drawing and
page layout; and PHOTO-PAINT for image
editing and photo retouching as well as
other supporting utilities.
It has a new PowerTRACE tool for bitmap
to vector conversions, Bitstream Font Navigator
for font management, Corel Capture for
screen capture and RawShooter Essentials for
working with raw digital camera files.
Graphics Suite also offers import/export
support for more than 100 file formats and
a large collection of clip art, stock photos,
fonts and templates.
The package also has new tools for
drawing and image editing, improvements
to text handling and a completely reworked
raster-to-vector conversion tool.
CorelDRAW is a very capable design tool
that is suited for design pros, small busi-
nesses, home users, students and educators.
As part of its Digital Media Software
Strategy, at the end of 2006, Corel
acquired InterVideo, a leading provider of
digital media authoring and playback soft-
ware with a focus on high-definition video
and DVD technologies.
The acquisition substantially expands
Corel’s presence in the digital media soft-
ware market by creating the industry’s
broadest portfolio of digital imaging and
DVD video products.
“This strategic combination further
strengthens Corel’s leadership position in
digital media software and will enable us to
deliver even greater value to our customers,
partners and shareholders worldwide,” says

Corel CEO David Dobson.
The combination of Corel, InterVideo and
Ulead product lines form the industry’s
broadest portfolio of digital media software
ranging from photo sharing and image
editing products to advanced digital imag-
ing, video editing, and high-definition DVD
creation and playback software.
The InterVideo and Ulead product lines
complement Corel’s digital imaging and video
products in several areas, including perfor-
mance, ease of use and price. In addition, the
companies share a common vision around
delivering high-quality, full-featured software
to consumers through leading OEMs, retailers
and Internet distribution channels.
Says Blaine Mathieu, general manager of
Corel’s Digital Imaging Business: “With the
ongoing convergence of different media
and devices, consumers need easy-to-use
tools that can handle all media types –
video, photo and audio – on an equal basis.
Corel will fulfil this growing demand by
delivering new, easier-to-use, multi-purpose
video and imaging software products to
consumers and enterprises worldwide.”
“The excitement surrounding properties
like YouTube clearly showcases why the mul-
timedia software and services segment is so
incredibly hot right now,” says Rob Enderle,
principal analyst for the Enderle Group, a
leading research firm covering emerging
hardware and software markets. “The enor-
mous mass market potential for products
that provide solutions for this rapidly grow-
ing segment has not yet been realised.
Corel is placing itself in the middle of this
huge opportunity so that it can capitalise
on this incredible opportunity and help
drive market growth.”
Meanwhile, InterVideo and Ulead cus-
tomers and partners have continued to
access support through their existing con-
tacts and channels. Corel says its goal is to
support its partners’ businesses by providing
high-quality software and solutions that will
create incremental value for customers and
deliver positive results to their bottom line.
As one of the top 10 packaged software
brands in the world, Corel offers a broad
range of feature-rich applications address-
ing four key market segments:
 Digital image editing
 Natural-media painting and illustration
 PC graphics
GRAPHICS FEATURE
SOLUTION PROVIDERS
 Office productivity
The vendor says its technology partners
include businesses that embed Corel tech-
nology in their products, develop plug-in
applications for Corel software or integrate
standalone applications into Corel technolo-
gy solutions.
The Corel Partner Programme is designed
specially for developers and consultants. It
includes all the necessary components to
successfully design, develop, test and market
custom solutions related to Corel products.
The Corel Partner Programme has three
distinct levels, whose features and benefits
vary depending on whether one qualifies as
an Associate, Alliance or Strategic Partner.
In general, the programme aims to help
the vendor’s partners improve their profits
by giving them access to sales tools; prod-
uct and sales training; joint sales calls; regu-
lar sales pipeline reviews; and lead referrals.
On the marketing side, access to market-
ing tools and information; reciprocal Web Voula Philippides, Edutain
site listing and links; listing in Corel’s online
partner directory; reciprocal logo use; the
right to use Corel marketing materials; if eli-
gible, marketing development funds; joint
sales campaigns; and other benefits
Similarly, Adobe’s partner programmes
“Our Magix and Pinnacle rages are enjoying some good demand
because end users now want to do more than just remove red-eye
and sharpen colours.” – Voula Philippides, Edutain
deliver tools, resources and the expertise to
meet its partners’ and customers’ needs when
implementing its products and solutions.
Adobe channel partners’ primary busi-
ness model is focused on selling and sup-
porting Adobe software and services to
offer complete solutions to their customers.
Adobe’s channel partners’ customers cross
multiple regions, have software option
needs that include the Adobe Open Option
(AOO) Licensing Program, and fall into spe-
cific categories like education, commercial
and/or government.
In addition, access to the Partner
Connection Portal provides channel partners
with the necessary tools to succeed in all facets
of selling the Adobe software family. Tools such
as pricing, sales programme information and
product information are all available.
CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JANUARY 2008 • 23
GRAPHICS FEATURE
SOLUTION PROVIDERS
There are three type of membership of
this programme: Authorised Adobe
Reseller; Authorised Adobe License Centre
and Authorised Adobe Distributor.
The Adobe Solution Partner Programme
focuses on providing high-quality tools,
information and services. Membership not
only gives companies timely product infor-
mation and development support, but also
the chance to participate in a wide variety
of co-marketing opportunities with Adobe.
Because needs vary, Adobe offers two levels
of membership: Basic and Premium.
Membership at either level makes a compa-
ny eligible to participate in a growing num-
ber of opportunities with Adobe.
Adobe channel partners’ primary business model is focused on
selling and supporting Adobe software and services to offer
complete solutions to their customers.
Eligible partners include companies who
sell Adobe products or extend its technolo-
gy, or otherwise provide services or solu-
tions that directly influence the sale of
Adobe products or technologies as part of
their business model.
Adobe offers other developer pro-
grammes and opportunities for in-house or
individual developers who are not eligible
to join the Solution Partner Programme,
including a la carte support options
through access to development support.
The availability of free Adobe software
products through the Solution Partner
Programme is solely at the discretion of
Adobe, and it reserves the right to discontin-
ue the availability of any product at any time.
Only certain software products are made
available at no charge through the Adobe
Solution Partner Programme. The use of
any discounted Adobe software product is
subject to the terms and conditions of the
End User License Agreement included with
such product, save that the developer may
use the product only for development pur-
poses, and it may not be resold or trans-
ferred to third parties.
Hardware
The trends in computer-aided engineering
(CAE) toward increasingly powerful, less
24 • CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JANUARY 2008
expensive hardware and more sophisticat-
ed, easier-to-use software combine to make
engineering analysis feasible. This has
enabled analytical engineering and process
manufacturing organisations to vastly
improve productivity and bring products to
market faster and cheaper.
For example, complex optimisation
studies, using computational fluid and solid
mechanic techniques, enable product
design integrity to be improved before
costly investments are made in downstream
operations. Building complex analysis-
capable infrastructures no longer means
high investments.
However, rapidly changing hardware and
software architectures brings CAE to every
engineer’s workplace – running on high-
performance workstations based on leading
Intel and AMD processor technology.
Hardware vendors are teaming up with
leading independent software vendors to
offer the best technical computing solu-
tions for CAE solutions.
Voula Philippides, CEO of Software distri-
bution compan Edutain says that the local
market is seeing a good increase in
demand for graphics software. According
to her most of this is for mid-rage solutions
that is not so highly priced, but has good
functionality.
“Our Magix and Pinnacle rages are
enjoying some good demand because end
users now want to do more than just
remove red-eye and sharpen colours,”
she says.
As a way of helping its reseller partners
to get more profit from graphics software,
Philippides says her company works with
them with marketing and advertising initia-
tives, commenting that the consolidation
taking place in the graphics software space
is only affecting business with high-end
packages and the mid-range solutions
remain profitable.
“The improvement in the quality of
graphics packages is also helping the
gaming sector improve the creation
of 3D virtual environments,”
she comments.
On the piracy side, she comments that
the graphics space has not really been
affected by software pirates, attributing this
to the fact that the nature software does
not lend itself to being pirated.
26 • CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JANUARY 2008
 LCD TV
By Dudu Shaba

“LG Electronics has achieved breakthroughs with groundbreaking technologies

that have led to the creation of international standards through steady research
and development efforts over many years.” – Peet van Rooyen.

LG simply the best

Excelling in providing best LCD TV designs

LG has made it to the top position in the LCD TV category of the CRN
Digi-Awards 2008. Solution providers in the channel gave the vendor an
average rating of 4.98 out of 6.00.
According to Peet van Rooyen, sales director at LG Electronics
recognises the importance of design and is strongly promoting it as a
core competency and has been spearheading efforts to research and
develop world-class designs.
The company achieved its highest score of 5.42 for product quality, 1st – LG
5.23 for plug and play, 5.19 for customer appeal, 5.04 for service
LG
supply and 4.00 for contribution to profit margin.
011 571 6700
“LG Electronics has achieved breakthroughs with groundbreaking
www.lge.com
technologies that have led to the creation of international standards
through steady research and development efforts over many years.
We believe this has also led to LG receiving its highest score for
product quality.
“Although LG received its lowest score for contribution to profit
margin, we plan on improving the situation through our marketing
strategy,” he says.
Van Rooyen adds that LG is committed to offering competitive prices
and to providing products its partners need.
“We will continue differentiating ourselves in this category through
active marketing approaches and state-of-the-art technology
development,” he concludes. 

Peet van
Rooyen

28 • CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JANUARY 2008

 PLASMA TV
By Dudu Shaba

1st – Samsung
Samsung channel’s choice Samsung
011 549 1500
www.samsung.co.za
Understanding the target market’s requirements
Samsung has been nominated best in the Plasma TV category in the leader in understand-
CRN Outlook Digi-Awards 2008. The CRN Outlook Digi-Awards hon- ing the target market’s
our technology vendors serving the home, SoHo and SME markets. The requirements,” he says.
awards also recognise the service excellence of vendors manufacturing “Consumer electronics is
products for these markets, not only for product quality, but entering an exciting phase in that
also their solid research and development commitment to the digital providing a total solution for the
lifestyle product evolution and convergence in the IT and consumer home is now a reality. Samsung
electronics space. offers world-class products in a
Samsung managed to achieve an overall satisfaction rating of 5.12 manner that demystifies the traditional
from solution providers in the channel. beliefs that all home theatre purchases
Solution providers gave the vendor high average ratings of 5.44 for have to be made separately,” says Vertue.
plug and play, 5.32 for product quality, 5.16 for customer appeal, 4.92 “In digital media products, technology is not the essence but rather an
for service supply and 4.76 for contribution to profit margin. enabler. These are the unprecedented experiences our cutting-edge
Wayne Vertue, product manager, CTV, Samsung, says that the flat- products deliver – because we continue to develop technology beyond limits.
panel TV market is extremely competitive and that the major differentia- One core focus is to deliver value to our dealer network and, as
tors in the market can be summed up as class-leading picture quality such, with the introduction of new products we will strive to provide
and, of course, stylish design. value to our partners while maintaining our market competitiveness,”
“There can be no doubt that Samsung has established itself as the he adds. 

MEDIA CENTRE PCs

By Stanley Chishala

1st – Thermaltake
Thermaltake Corex
011 238 2315
www.corex.co.za

debuts with a bang

Taiwan-headquartered Thermaltake was a clear winner in the Media Although Thermaltake, through
Centre PC Products category of the inaugural CRN Outlook Digital its local distributor Corex, didn’t
Lifestyle (Digi-Awards) after resellers gave it a healthy 5.29 out of a pos- offer any specific comment
sible 6.00. regarding the low rating in the
This is a great showing from the vendor given the fact that it does not contribution to profit margin subset,
have a local office for support and is represented through its authorised resellers feel that the vendor’s media
distributor Corex IT Dynamics. centre PC range offers them less mar-
Clearly, Corex’s channel efforts in the past 12 months have not gin in an already tight reseller channel
gone unnoticed as resellers have rewarded its vendor partner with where margins have continued to decrease.
this accolade. And while the vendor had superb scores in all the other subsets, it
The strongest showing came in the plug-and-play (ease-of-use) subset needs to fix the perception that resellers have of it regarding contribution
where it scored an impressive 5.58 out of a possible 6.00. to profit margin.
Thermaltake received another 5.58 for product quality, 5.42 for cus- Judging by the way Thermaltake has performed this year, it will be
tomer appeal and 5.26 for service support. interesting to see if it retains this position come January 2009 as the
However, Thermaltake dipped below the telling 5.00 barrier in contri- likes of AOpen, Mecer, Gigabyte, Toshiba and Sony all have media
bution to profit margin and could only manage a paltry 4.63. centre offerings. 

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JANUARY 2008 • 29

 AUDIO VISUAL
By Dudu Shaba

“Acer strives to bring digital products to market products that offer unbeatable value, are
super-efficient and the finest in home entertainment in slim, stylish and robust units.” –
Graham Braum, Acer SA.

Acer dominates
Always trying to make a radical change in the way people interact with technology

Acer has won the Audio Visual category in the CRN Digi-Awards 2008.
Solution providers gave the vendor an average rating of 4.67 out of a
possible 6.00. Graham Braum, sales manager at Acer SA, says that the
1st – Acer
Acer name is recognised around the world for its advanced, user friendly Acer SA
and dependable technology. 011 233 6122
He says that Acer has constantly pursued its goal of breaking the bar- www.acer.com
riers between people and technology.
“Perfect presentations are the result of seamless integration between
professionals and their equipment. Acer strives to bring digital products
to market that offer unbeatable value, are super-efficient and the finest
in home entertainment in slim, stylish and robust units.
Hardware and software technologies have evolved to the point where
they should make individuals’ lives trouble-free by providing instant
solutions to their everyday problems.
Braum adds that complex menus, hidden commands and inflexible
settings are common problems facing the end-user.
“Acer’s Empowering Technology includes several utilities that address
security, data recovery, performance optimisation and interface manage-
ment needs. It addresses the problems normally associated with the
day-to-day use of electronic devices by integrating simple-to-use
interfaces that can be customised for different usage profiles,” he says.
Solution providers in the channel gave the vendor high ratings of Graham
Braum
5.13 for product quality, 5.07 for plug and play, 4.73 for customer
appeal, 4.53 for service supply and 3.87 for contribution to
profit margin.
Commenting on the high score received for product quality, Braum
says that research and development is vital, from the material used for
the chassis right down to the key specifications. overlaps between market segments handled by different partners. A
“Beyond this, user experience, the quality of the image presented and successful channel strategy takes years to develop, and consistency year-
easy-to-use utilities are equally important when creating a product of on-year is key to a successful channel strategy based on trust,” he says.
real quality,” he adds. Braum adds that this year, Acer will continue to focus on the most
“Contribution to profit margin is relative to what percentage of the up to date, micro-sized DLP chipset technology, extensive video
products make up the basket of IT products sold by the reseller. enhancement features and wireless technologies integrated into its
“Acer will continue striving to add as much bottom line to the reseller digital projector range.
channel as possible. Being a 100 per cent indirect vendor that only “Portability in stylish designs offering true flexibility and maximum
works through our channel to deliver our products to market, we do impact are still key areas to exploit going forward as well as long-term
understand that profitability is key to their survival,” he comments. performance, superior ergonomics, mobile versatility and minimising
Braum says there is one aspect of Acer’s operations that can be total cost of ownership.
described as unmovable - its commitment to moving stock through “Complete with Acer’s highly functional Empowering Key for one-but-
its channel. ton switching, our projector range will continue offering the end-user the
“It is very important to categorise channel partners for maximum latest advanced tools to enhance their presentations, allowing them to
efficiency and it is also imperative to make sure that there are no brand truly engage with their audience,” he concludes. 

30 • CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JANUARY 2008

 GRAPHICS SOFTWARE
By Stanley Chishala

1st – Adobe Software

Brand power Adobe
082 457 6362
www.adobe.com
… as Adobe shines.
In one of the few categories that was moved from the Channel
Champions Awards, there can only be one winner in the graphics soft- providers are compelled to buy
ware category in the current local channel. Adobe Software has once Adobe products no matter what the
again romped to first place in the first CRN Outlook Digi Awards. premium is and how much margin
Corel Draw and Quark, which are rumoured to be in merger talks there are making or not making.
with Adobe, could only manage second and third positions respectively. At the same time, perception of
Although Adobe is the undisputed winner, the overall score of 4.46 is contribution to profit margin can be
weak for a leader in the graphics software market. A close look at the skewed by other factors besides out-
average scores in all the subsets solution providers used to rate it reveals right costs.
some areas that are in need of attention. For instance, customer appeal and plug
The graphics software maker received a weak 3.72 for contribution to and play (ease of use) came up as just plain
profit margin, 4.47 for customer appeal, 4.48 for plug and play (ease problematic for the graphics software maker.
of use), 4.83 for product quality and 4.79 for service support. Regardless of how niche the software is, the channel has a lot of
While Adobe Software could not secure an average overall score of experience in measuring what it deems are acceptable levels of cus-
above 5.00 in each of the five subsets used to rate it, the vendor’s high- tomer appeal and ease of use of the vendor’s graphic software suites.
est scores were for product quality and service support. Given the consolidation that has seen Adobe sweep most of it com-
Adobe struggles in the area of contribution to profit margin because as petitor through acquisitions, it will be interesting to see how this market
a dominant player in this space, it demands premium pricing on products pans out and whether Adobe will have any contenders or remains
for which, in many cases, there are no competitors. This means solution unchallenged when next year’s awards come around. 

PHOTO PRINTERS
By Stanley Chishala

1st – Canon
Reigning supreme Canon
011 265 4900
www.canon.co.za
Canon emerges victorious.

The Photo Printer category is one of the few categories dropped from securing an overall score above the
the Channel Champions Awards to give a better indication of how the 5.00 mark.
commercial printer market has evolved. In the eyes of solution
This product category looks set for a sharp increase over the coming providers, Canon is doing a lot to
year as the tide turns back towards photo printers, particularly in the ensure that the products it brings
home environment. The emergence of relatively cheap digital cameras to market are of the highest quali-
matched with affordable photo printers is the main driving point behind ty. It is no wonder then that resellers
photo printing technology, and Canon looks as though it is in the driving gave the vendor an impressive score
seat after solution providers gave it an overall score of 4.94. of 5.37 for product quality.
This is a sweet win for Canon given that it managed to beat Lexmark, The emergence of vendors such as
HP and Epson as they could only manage second, third and fourth posi- Samsung in the printer arena have added more spice to an already
tions respectively. competitive market, which has seen the likes of HP, Epson, Lexmark,
Solution providers that rated Canon in this category gave it 4.11 Xerox and Canon reinvent themselves to stay competitive.
for contribution to profit margin, 5.05 for customer appeal, 5.18 for As Canon has won the inaugural award in this category, only time will
plug and play (ease of use), 5.37 for product quality and 5.00 for tell if solution providers will harbour the same views about its product
service support. range come January 2009.
An analysis of Canon’s performance shows that the weak score of For now, Canon can enjoy its reign as the 2008 Digi Awards winner
4.11 in the contribution to profit margin subset prevented it from for photo-printers. 

32 • CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JANUARY 2008

 SMARTPHONES
By Kaunda Chama

1st – HTC
Handheld by HTC HTC
0861 445323
www.htc.com
Voted above the rest

High Tech Computer Corporation (HTC) has won the first CRN Digi
Award in the Smartphones category managing to take a comfortable
lead over the competition.
The company’s products were highly rated by its channel partners giv-
ing it an average score of 5.57. Its highest rating was 5.58 for ease of
use and product quality.
Even in a highly competitive industry, HTC maintains its position as
one of the leading and innovative suppliers of mobile information and
communication devices by providing value-added design, world-class
manufacturing, and logistic and service capabilities.
The nine-year-old company, which was also behind some of the best
products to come out of iMate, designs, manufactures and markets
innovative, feature-rich smartphones and PDA phones.
Since its establishment, HTC has developed strong research and
development capabilities, pioneered many new designs and product
innovations, and launched state-of-the-art PDA phones and smart-
phones for mobile operators and distributors in Europe, the US, Asia,
Africa and the Middle East.
These are available as HTC devices
and as products individually customised
for operator and device partners.
It is no surprise that HTC topped this
category as it is considered one of the
fastest growing companies in the mobile
device market. The company is also listed on
the Taiwan Stock Exchange under ticker 2498.
Financial performance-wise, the company has also
been impressive, on 6 December 2007, HTC announced its total rev-
enues for November 2007 were NT$14 543 million, up 32.74% year
on year, while total revenues from January to November 2007 were
NT$107 213 million, up 9.37% year on year.
Even in a market where the vendor does not dominate the handset
business, its interaction with partners has earned it the top spot in this
year’s awards. 

PDA PHONES
By dudu Shaba

1st – HP
HP at the forefront HP
011 785 1500
www.hp.com
Putting mobility at its heart
HP has won the PDA Phones category in the CRN Digi-Awards 2008.
Solution providers in the channel gave the vendor an average rating of breaking into a stiff market,
4.72 out of 6.00. Nadia Hufkie PSG product manager, Commercial dominated by traditional mobile
Notebooks, Desktops and iPAQs at HP, says the vendor has always been phones and the outstanding
at the forefront of the transformation to all things digital, mobile, virtual progress we have been making
and personal. speaks volumes about where we
“Mobility is at the heart of HP’s heritage. The breadth of its portfolio are headed,” she adds.
stretches from PDAs to smart phones. HP launched its first smart phone Hufkie says that the HP Preferred
in2007. HP is renowned for delivering the latest technology available Partner programme is vital to its
and providing innovative solutions designed to ensure high product distribution, and sees the channel as an
quality and durability,” she says. extension of HP.
Solution providers in the channel gave the vendor a high percentage “Our approach to the channel is focused on profitability and good
of 4.98 for service supply, 4.93 for product quality, 4.93 for customer solutions, and surveys such as the CRN Outlook Awards assist us in
appeal and 4.28 for contribution to profit margin. tracking our effectiveness with the channel.
“Reliability is one of the pillars of the HP DNA that ensures high “In addition, we have aggressive financial rewards and incentive
product quality and durability. All our products undergo the HP Total schemes in place which are designed to compensate our partners not
Quality Test Process,” she says. only in terms of their sales but also their certification level. We are
“Regarding profit margins, HP continues to strive for excellence in all constantly assessing the programme and ensuring that it meets our goals
spheres of business, including profitability. Our iPAQs and PDAs are in terms of partner development and channel strategy,” she says. 

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JANUARY 2008 • 33

 GAMING CONSOLES
By Kaunda Chama

1st – Sony

PS3 gets top Sony

011 690 3200
www.sony.co.za

console
Ease of use and product quality have helped Sony’s PS3 clinch the top
spot in CRN’s first Digi Awards, where it scored an average of 4.82 out
of a possible 6.00.
The vendor received high ratings for the quality of its product, its cus-
tomer appeal as well as ease of use.
This next-generation gaming console with an integrated Blu-ray
player??
Despite sentiments that the console is rather expensive compared to
competitor brands released at the same time, its media features like the
Blu-ray player gave it the edge.
Even though its closest competitor, the Xbox 360, comes in many ver-
sions, the PS3 is only available in one version with a Blu-ray drive, HDMI
output, a 60GB hard drive, built-in Wi-Fi, a multi-format memory card
reader and silver trim.
On design, the PS3’s quite a stunning looker, simply because of its
futuristic shape. One look at its glossy black exterior and touch-sensitive
power and eject buttons on its face, and a consumer is hooked.
Like the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, the PS3 can stand vertically or
lie horizontally in a rack.
The console measures 99 x
325 x 274mm, slightly smaller
than the Xbox 360 and it does
not have a bulky external power
supply.
The device’s slot-loading, Blu-ray
optical-disc drive on the front contributes
to its consumer appeal.
It has enough USB ports on the front for connecting or charging con-
trollers and other accessories, including USB keyboards, thumb drives
and the PSP. In addition, it has a built-in memory card reader that sup-
ports a wide variety of memory stick types.
It also works with all modern TVs because it comes fully packed with
ports for Ethernet, HDMI output, optical digital audio output (SPDIF),
and the PlayStation AV output for analogue audio and video.
Even with the relatively stiff competition, the PS3 has enough features
and consumer appeal to leave the rest behind. 

PROJECTORS
By Stanley Chishala

Toshiba
wins tight contest
Toshiba is this year’s winner in the Projector category of the CRN
Outlook Digi Awards after solution providers gave it an overall average
of 5.25 out of a possible 6.00.
High scores in the plug and play (ease of use) subset where the ven-
dor got a 5.35 rating and product quality where it again garnered 5.35
ensured that Toshiba finished ahead of Acer and BenQ, which came in
second and third places respectively.
Projectors is another category that was dropped from the Channel
Champions Awards as projectors have been rapidly commoditised and
converged with traditional consumer electronics.
A closer look at how solution providers rated Toshiba reveals that the
channel is particularly impressed with its products.
Solution providers gave Toshiba 5.00 for contribution to profit mar-
gin, 5.30 for customer appeal and 5.25 for service support.
The high average score for service support comes as no surprise
given the level of service support investment Toshiba has made through
its distribution partners, including Rectron, Mustek and DCC.
Of note is the service centre at Rectron, which has not only served the
1st – Toshiba
Toshiba
011 783 0373
www.toshiba.co.za
channel well but has also improved the
spare part holding, especially for prod-
ucts under warranty.
Form factor has become the main
selling feature as small and light pro-
jectors are in fashion and Toshiba has
not been shy to bring out smaller form
factor models.
Of note is Toshiba’s TDP-ET20 model, which
comes with a built-in DVD player, extreme short throw
projection lens and built-in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound.
Each Toshiba projector is equipped with wireless-ready solutions for
seamless exchange of data and images in either a single peer-to-peer
set up or a network. Compatible with all WiFi PC and Mac systems,
Toshiba projectors offer outstanding image performance as well as
enhanced on-screen operations and Eco modes.
Given the channel’s confidence in Toshiba, it will be interesting to see
whether the vendor retains this award in 2009. 

34 • CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JANUARY 2008

 GAMING DESKTOP PCs
By Stanley Chishala

1st – AOpen
Gaming Corex
011 238 2315
www.corex.co.zaa

momentum
AOpen appeals to gamers.

PC vendor AOpen has opened its account in the 2008 Outlook
Digi-Awards after solution providers gave it an excellent 5.37 out of a
possible 6.00. In winning this category, AOpen has also cemented its
position as the preferred gaming PC brand in the local channel.
The Gaming Desktop PC category was created to distinguish the
products from commercial desktop PCs and to recognise the growing
gaming fraternity.
Impressive scores, which all passed the critical 5.00 barrier, ensured
that AOpen emerged victorious ahead of other multinationals, including
HP, Dell, Lenovo, Fujitsu Siemens and Gigabyte.
The category was tightly contested and had 12 gaming PC brands
comprising multinational and local OEM brands.
AOpen, to its credit, polled a 5.08 for contribution to profit margin,
5.42 for customer appeal, 5.33
for plug and play (ease of use)
and 5.42 for product quality.
The vendor scored a whopping
5.58 for service support, clearly indicating
that solution providers in the channel are happy
with AOpen’s after-sales service support. The vendor, which is also repre-
sented through its authorised sole distributor, Corex IT Dynamics, fared
extremely well against rivals that have local offices.
Like the commercial desktop PC category in the Channel Champions
Awards, the gaming PC group is equally competitive.
What will be interesting to see is how the category pans out come
January 2009. 

DIGITAL CAMERAS
By Dudu Shaba

1st – Canon
Canon
011 265 4937
www.canon.com

Canon
takes gold
Providing the best of digital cameras.

Canon has made its mark in the Digital Cameras category of the CRN
Digi-Awards 2008. The vendor company received an exceptionally
high score of 4.94 from solution providers in the channel.
Currently, in their first year, the CRN Outlook Digi-Awards honour
technology vendors serving the home, SoHo and SME markets. The
awards also recognise the service excellence of vendors manufacturing
products for these markets, not only for product quality, but also for
solid research and development (R&D), commitment to the digital
lifestyle product evolution, and convergence in the IT and consumer
electronics space. Solution providers in the channel gave Canon a
score of 5.24 for product quality, 5.22 for service supply, 5.11 for plug
and play, 4.91 for customer appeal and 4.20 for contribution to profit
margin. These results have seen Canon become the best vendor in the
Digital Cameras category. 

CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JANUARY 2008 • 35

 MP3 PLAYERS
By Kaunda Chama

1st – Apple
Music on the move Apple
011 719 9191
www.apple.com
Apple’s iPod takes the crown

At a time when portable music players are common and available in The brand offers a simple user
many variations and brands, Apple’s iPod has managed to stay ahead interface and a central scroll wheel
of its competitors, both in functionality and cosmetics. to browse the navigation system.
In the first CRN Digi Awards, the Apple iPod soared above all compe- The scroll wheel has been
tition, managing high ratings in all judging criteria reaching scores of redesigned for various models,
more than 4.9 out of a possible 6.00 in contribution to reseller profit; such as the Nano, which is now so
customer appeal; ease of use; product quality; and service and support. small that previous scroll wheels
Apple has impressively managed to outdo even companies like Sony would not fit it. Unlike portable cassette
that were early to market in the late 1970s with devices such as the or CD players the iPod stores media on
walkman. built-in memory.
Apple’s iPod brand comprises a variety of pocket-sized, lightweight This means users do not need to insert a form of media to play back
hard drive-based audio and video players designed and marketed by digital content. Current models come with up to 120GB of storage.
the vendor. These use hard drives, while the smaller and more modern iPod Nano
Currently, the iPod comes in a range of models, including the Nano and Shuffle use flash memory.
and Shuffle. Besides launching its much famed iPhone in 2007, Apple did a total
All of the models in the iPod family are designed to be user-friendly, makeover of its iPod lineup and launched the iPod Touch, which features
can easily be used by people of all ages and come with menus in a the iPhone interface, and players like the Nano were upgraded to be
number of languages. more video friendly. 

GPSes
By Kaunda Chama

1st – Garmin
Garmin finds Garmin
08614 27646
the way www.garmin.co.za

As one of the largest consumer GPS manufacturers, Garmin has most out of the journey; marine units
become almost synonymous with “GPS”. It is no surprise that it was that supplement detailed charts with
voted the top GPS brand in the CRN Digi awards. essential data; aviation technology
Garmin was started in 1989 and has a history of producing leading that provides everything pilots
GPS products and has sold millions of GPS receivers to date. need at a glance; fitness devices
Garmin says it is thriving because it takes pride in the cooperative that aim to make every step of a
environment that stems from vertical integration and that it designs, workout more efficient; outdoor
manufactures, markets and sells its products itself. recreation options are available for
The company is not shy when it comes to investing in innovation as a hikers, campers and geocachers; and
way of ensuring it retains its competitive advantage. The original handful other wireless applications that bring the
of employees in 1989 grew to a workforce of 1 000 in just 10 years. power of GPS to the user’s smart phone.
That number more than doubled within four years and had eclipsed 4 The company prides itself on the belief that it does not just design and
000 by 2006. In 2007, Garmin’s worldwide workforce topped 7 000 sell products, but embraces lifestyles.
and showed little sign of slowing amid expansion in Europe and Asia. “From aviation to marine, automotive to fitness, wireless solutions to
The vendor says it designs its products with the customer in mind. outdoor recreation, Garmin employees are in the air, on the water, in
Sidestepping the stress of navigation or travel begins with easy-to-use the woods, behind the wheel and on the run. And we’re always thinking
menus, logical options and intuitive features. of ways to adapt and improve. At Garmin, you never know how the
There is a wide range of Garmin devices such as automotive products next great idea will be born. But you know it’s coming soon,” the
that help drivers to reach their destination effortlessly while getting the company says. 

36 • CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JANUARY 2008

 PORTABLE GAMING DEVICES
By Kaunda Chama

1st – Sony PSP

The art of prtable gaming Sony
011 690 3200
www.sony.co.za
Sony tops with PSP
Not since the Nintendo Game Boy devices has a portable gaming music, video, game and
device received as much acclaim as Sony’s PlayStation Portable (PSP), a Internet icons. Each section has
factor which helped it claim the top spot in the Portable Gaming Devices other icons attached to it on a
category of the Digi Awards. vertical axis.
The success of this device is based on Sony’s decision to adopt the Games and officially licensed
same tactics that made the PlayStation 2 a runaway success. movies come on Sony’s propri-
It did this by offering sophisticated, graphically intense games and etary Universal Media Disc (UMD)
some serious multimedia functionality. media, which are housed in protec-
Added to this, the PSP can play music and movies (downloaded or tive cartridges. The UMD drive is con-
via disk) and surf the Web, making it an all-in-one device. veniently located at the back of the unit.
Channel players gave the device an average rating of 4.48 out of a The top edge also sports infrared and a USB
possible maximum of 6.00 for its features, design and appeal to users 2.0 port that gamers can use to link the device to computers.
as well as Sony’s support and services. The headphone jack is at the bottom left of the unit; Sony’s official
From an aesthetic perspective, the Sony PSP is a well-designed earbud-style headphones sport an in-line remote to control basic playback.
device. Weighing the same as the Nintendo DS and measuring 6.7 x Beyond gaming, the PSP’s video prowess is definitely its most
2.9 x 0.9 inches impressive trait. On the music side, the PSP plays many types of audio
The centrepiece of the handheld is its especially impressive 4.3-inch files without having to convert them to Sony’s proprietary ATRAC format
wide-screen display (480x272 pixels, 16.77 million colours). The screen first. Users simply have to drag audio files into the music folder on the
is flanked by controls that are easily recognised by PlayStations users. memory stick duo card and they show up on the PSP.
The PSP uses Sony’s cross media bar interface. Gamers can use the On the battery life, users can get up to about five-and-a-half hours
directional keypad to horizontally navigate through settings, photo, of game play. 
 Recommended

Return of the
communicator
Enter the Nokia E90
BY KAUNDA CHAMA

F
or those who need maximum function-
ality in their pockets, the Nokia E90
Communicator is definitely for you.
This handset, if I may call it that, is
an all-in-one communication device
that gives the user rich functionality as
well as multiple connectivity options,
including HSDPA, Wi-Fi and GPS. It is
basically a miniature laptop.
On functionality alone, when one
looks at the smart devices on the
market, the E90 does not have much
competition, if any.
Although Nokia managed to pack
plenty impressive features into this
relatively compact device, imaging was
definitely not a top priority because the
camera is nothing to rave about, but
this is a business device, after all.
It is a major improvement on the
9300i Communicator, with a built-in
GPS and a large 800 x 352-pixel LCD
and a full QWERTY keyboard.
Unlike the 9300i, which was based
on the older S80 system, the E90 runs on the Symbian Series60 programs such as Quickoffice, a PDF reader and Team suite for
platform which has a more robust interface. contacts management.
In addition to the QWERTY keyboard, users can use the numeric Other features include FM radio, a music player, voice recorder,
keypad and a 2-inch QVGA screen on the top face. Although the 128MB of onboard memory with a microSD expansion slot, a
E90 may look like all other candy-bar phones when closed, it really 2.5mm audio jack and Bluetooth stereo.
shines when opened like a mini laptop. Essentially, the E90 is a very impressive business device that
On the side of the 4-inch, 800 x 352-pixel LCD screen are provides users with plenty features and functionality, and its
numerous shortcut buttons for commonly used applications and performance is good due to the impressive processor and memory.
two customisable keys for user-specific programs.
On the speed side, opening applications and navigating the
menus on the device is much faster than that of its predecessor the
Ratings scale Ratings 90 percent
9300i. This can be attributed to the 330MHz TI OMAP2420
processor and 128MB of RAM. Great ***** User Friendly ****
Setting up the E90 to connect to an Exchange server is also Good **** Size
relatively simple. One needs only to download the Mail for Exchange
***
Average *** Functionality
program from Nokia’s Web site. The application allows users to sync *****
Poor ** Look
calendar, contacts and email on their server to the mobile device. *****
The E90 also supports other popular messaging clients such as Don’t Bother * Value for money *****
RIM’s BlackBerry Connect and Intellisync Wireless Email.
For the serious business user, the E90 comes preloaded with Note: Recommended status is earned with a score of at least 15 stars out of 25.

38 • CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JANUARY 2008

PARTING: SHOTS

DILBERT www.dilbert.com by Scott Adams

S n a pshot
Christo Briedenhann
Company: Riverbed
Position: Regional Sales Manager, SA
Age: 48
Best persona achivement: I completed my BComm degree as
a part time student through UNISA. At the same time, I did my
computer studies (Cobol programmer and Systems Analyst). I still
don’t know how I managed to do it with three kids, a full time
job at Infoplan and playing rugby for Centurion rugby club.
Management style: To be a leader and not a manager. My
management philosophy is to know myself and my abilities,
know where our organisation is going to and to get the team to
take us there by acting upon the best ideas Where do you live: Pretoria
Most admired company: General Electric Favourite car: Porsche Cayenne
Most admired executives: Anton Rupert Your car: Pajero
Best IT product: Riverbed’s SteelHead Appliance Favourite author: Con Iggulden
Most pressing local business issues: Sharing of applica- Birthplace: Westonarea
tions and data over the Wide Area Network and associated band- Hobbies/sports: Cattle farming/Golf
width costs. Favourite periodical: Finance Week, Sports Illustrated, Golf Digest
Key to success: In order to be successful, one needs the will to Pet hates: I enjoy the company of people, and to work with
be a winner, you need energy that will spark others to perform people. It is however very important to show integrity, honesty
and lastly it is important to have character that will display your and work ethic’s. I find it extremely difficult to work with people
true self who lack these qualities in life.

40 • CRN SOUTHERN AFRICA • JANUARY 2008