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"We aspire to become the number one cybersecurity channel distributor in the APAC region," shared Mr. Foo Fang Yong, Executive Director at M.Tech. And the company is drawing on its experience in growing in the region to fulfill its aspirations.
With a presence in 28 cities across 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, M.Tech is a Singapore-grown Titan in the space of IT distributorship, providing on-site sales, technical, logistics, and marketing support to its vast network of resellers. Celebrating its 20th anniversary earlier this year, M.Tech was founded by Mr. Foo Suan Sai and Mdm. Han Juat Hoon in May 2002, and it is officially part of the SGX-listed Multi-Chem Group.
The key business philosophy of M.Tech to help spur its growth across the region is offering great business solutions combined with building dedicated long-term relationships with vendors and customers. With the company's dedication to the channel industry, M.Tech is poised to capitalize on the ongoing need for cybersecurity insights in the region Fang Yong highlighted.
Building Relationships - a Core Component for M.Tech's Success
Working in the channel business for more than 20 years now, M.Tech recognized that the landscape had changed significantly and is adapting to the changing dynamics. As Fang Yong highlights: "The APAC region is incredibly diverse, and every country has its own approach towards doing business."
Given the region's diversity, it is essential that M.Tech remains flexible and adapts to local customers' norms. He continues: "For example, in Singapore, we often invite customers to an exhibition where we show our latest cybersecurity products and solutions. However, our customers in Australia are not keen on such exhibitions, and consequently, we work closely on a 1-1 basis to share the latest innovations." This flexible and highly-localized approach has helped M.Tech solidify strong relationships with its core customers and regional vendors.
Supporting this approach are the four dedicated regions through which M.Tech conducts its business in APAC: ASEAN (which includes its HQ in Singapore), ANZ, Greater China, and India. Spearheaded by regional directors with decades of local enterprise experience, M.Tech focuses on building a diverse and locally-based workforce in each office.
Part of the relationship-building support includes offering unbiased, vendor agnostic help for its customers' problems. With an ever-changing threat landscape, M.Tech focuses on understanding customer issues first before offering product solutions, especially as every business operates in its unique way. And M.Tech is keen to continue these relationships over many years, Fang Yong said.
One example of the importance of relationships for M.Tech is the continuously strong partnership with SolarWinds across the region. Looking back at years of joint support for each other, M.Tech's resolve in collaborating with SolarWinds was not shaken despite the SUNBURST cybersecurity breach. "We are loyal and supportive of our partners, and SolarWinds communication transparency further strengthened our relationship," Fang Yong stresses.
From Singapore SME to a leading APAC MNC
The growth and business success M.Tech has had over the past couple of years goes back to the company's leadership and dedication to its business partners. Headquartered in Singapore, M.Tech and its parent company Multi-Chem Group continue to draw on the growing expertise of their team to support clients across the Asia Pacific region.
Alongside its two co-founders, Mr. Foo Suan Sai and Mdm. Han Juat Hoon, who continues to helm Multi-Chem Group, M.Tech, has an expert cybersecurity team, having worked alongside senior leadership to build a strong foundation of long-lasting relationships with their partners and customers in the cybersecurity space.
"We are looking forward to building a strong foundation with our partners and to not constantly change/ jump around," Fang Yong said. "For example, over the past couple of years, we have grown our partnership with SolarWinds. With its dedicated channel partner strategy and recent senior hires, we are excited to see where we can work together across APAC."
The team's hard work and dedication towards the industry have helped M.Tech grow beyond Singapore and become a leading APAC multi-national company.
What comes next?
With the distributor channel space changing over time, M.Tech is doubling down on its trusted relationships with its partners. "We are dedicated to this space, and our partners can trust in our goal to grow alongside them," Fang Yong highlights. In particular, he is excited to see the continuous growth of M.Tech's partnership with SolarWinds.
Over the following years, the company is looking to continue its strong business growth momentum, with the Multi-Chem Limited group recording a 26% YoY revenue increase from 2020 to 2021 – an increase of $124 million. MTech is also expanding its team in Singapore and across the region, looking to foster the next generation of IT leaders in the space. However, one is certain - it will never get boring in the cybersecurity space, and Foo Fang Yong is excited to continue growing M.Tech across the region.
