Mathieu Ploton (GDMS) and Nitin Ahuja (VMware)
Laotian cloud and digital solutions provider Global Digital Management Solutions (GDMS) has signed on to become the first VMware partner in Laos to offer the vendor’s public and hybrid cloud solutions.
The partnership, which was struck under the auspices of the VMware Cloud Provider Program (VCPP), will see GDMS draw upon VMware’s hybrid cloud capabilities to win work with organisations across key industry verticals, such as retail, logistics, financial services and the public sector.
It is thought that, thanks to the partnership with the US-based virtualisation vendor, GDMS will be in a position to help accelerate the modernisation of customers’ legacy IT systems, spurring digital innovations across the local government and private organisations in the country.
“As Laos moves faster to a digital future, cloud and digitalisation will be a no-regret decision for businesses who are looking to embrace this new environment,” said Mathieu Ploton, GDMS chief technical officer.
“By providing organisations with more secure, scalable, cost-optimised solutions, we hope to enable MSMEs [micro, small and medium enterprises] in the country to meet their most pressing business needs to stay resilient and power Laos’ economic recovery,” he added.
According to VMware, the digital economy in Laos is picking up pace, with the number of digital users growing by 468,000 from 2020 to 2021, a 15 per cent increase. However, the pandemic has impacted many local businesses.
Now, it is hoped that GDMS can help these businesses tap into cloud technologies to navigate the current market conditions with the aid of digital solutions.
“Technology is a key driver for Laos’ future, especially against the backdrop of the pandemic which has intensified the need for businesses and organiations to build their resilience with greater scalability and security and accelerate their growth in a digital-first environment”, said Nitin Ahuja, VMware general manager and country leader for Laos and emerging markets.
“VMware is committed to working with our partners in Asia’s emerging markets like GDMS to shape the recovery of all businesses – whether small or big – to help bridge the digital divide and enable Laos to take a synchronised step forward in its recovery and growth,” he added.
As reported in March, VMware rolled out a new accelerator incentive offering earlier this year, a first step towards building a programmatic framework for strategic partner-to-partner collaboration, acknowledging a sharp rise in ecosystem alliances across the channel.
Representing a progression of Partner Connect – an initiative first launched in March 2020 – the move was designed to reward “sell through” partners who identify opportunities and book eligible orders before handing off to “orchestrate with” partners to activate the solution and facilitate consumption of the vendor's core services.
In February, the vendor moved to finalise its distribution plans in Southeast Asia and India following a 16-month review process severely impacted by Covid-19.
The company maintained the status quo to a large degree in ASEAN, retaining incumbents Ingram Micro and Tech Data to maintain a strong blend of global and local expertise, which also includes VSTECS, SiS Distribution, Virtus, Technopaq, Elite Technology and CTT.
