Credit: Huawei
Huawei has announced a major new distribution strategy, as it seeks to reach more SMEs and help them achieve digital transformation.
IDC predicts that global spending on digital transformation will reach $3.4 trillion by 2026. Huawei wants to help companies at the smaller end of the market to catch up with the growth opportunities. The new effort to deliver this is spearheaded by a new brand, called Huawei eKit, a one-stop platform integrating Huawei's policies, products, solutions, services, and digital tools for enterprise digital transformation. The global availability of this new solution was announced at the recent Huawei Asia Pacific Partners Conference 2023.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's report reveals that 70 per cent of SMEs are strengthening their use of digital technologies which Huawei is targeting this huge market. “Digital and intelligent transformation is creating waves that will sweep across the globe. Together, they will create a huge market space. Huawei wants to work with partners to seize these tremendous opportunities.” Executive Director of the Board, Chairman of the ICT Infrastructure Managing Board, President of the Enterprise BG of Huawei, David Wang said.
In order to address the unique needs of each market, Huawei has tailored strategies for three major markets, namely the named account (NA) market, commercial market, and distribution business. The NA market consists of tens of thousands of large-scale companies while the commercial market and distribution business cover SMEs and micro companies. “By working together, we can help named accounts go digital, accelerate SMEs' digital transformation, and expand new distribution business. During this process, we will grow together and achieve shared success.”
Credit: Huawei
The Huawei eKit has been structured specifically to help Huawei assist its distributors and their partner networks reach the SMEs that it cannot reach directly. Huawei eKit includes five series of distribution products and solutions focusing on three pillars:
- For distributors, the products need to be easy to buy and sell.
- For installers/integrators/resellers, the products need to be easy to install and maintain.
- For end users, the products need to be easy to learn and use.
According to Wang, a comprehensive portfolio of technologies of value to the SME market – over 70 products in total – will be supported by the Huawei eKit platform, and this will give distributors and their partners the ability to reach verticals as varied as SOHO office and hotel catering, through to commercial real estate.
The portfolio includes the Huawei IdeaHub Boards, for presentations and office communications, wired and wireless connectivity and networking, firewall, and storage and computing solutions.
According to Asian Development Bank, there are 71 million micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in Southeast Asia, and more than 72 per cent of which are located in rural towns. Products for network connectivity, data storage and security become important necessities for enterprises to go digital, opening up a world of opportunities for Huawei. The distribution transaction chain and partner system of Huawei would help the distributors to serve more installers and expand the market.
“We believe that Huawei can only succeed when our partners succeed. So, let’s work together to seize these opportunities and achieve shared growth.” Wang said.
Solutions designed for SMEs
Also at the Huawei Asia Pacific Partners Conference 2023, Vice President of Huawei Enterprise BG, Bob Chen presented two case examples where Huawei products, supported by the channel, can be of benefit to SMEs.
One focused on Huawei’s IdeaHub, which allows engineers to deploy and upgrade software in a fraction of the time of what was once required. The other was Huawei’s Soho All-in-One Gateway. Through the eKit Engine, this end-to-end solution allows an entire network to be deployed in just a few minutes.
In other words, Huawei is pitching this solution at each level of the distribution chain as one of convenience. The end user SMEs will benefit from short deployment times and the ease with which they can be managed. With technology skill shortages being as severe as they are, it is the SMEs that are struggling to recruit and retain talent. Having access to technologies that don’t require large, dedicated teams to manage is of significant value to them, and the Huawei eKit helps to facilitate this by giving SMEs access to enterprise expertise and support.
It's also a solution that will appeal to the channel, for the way that it allows them to add value across the chain. MSPs benefit from the additional expertise and resources that are available throughout the sales process, allowing them to engage deeply with their customers and take over the management of much of the infrastructure. Distributors, meanwhile, can become a facilitator in bringing enterprise IT to the SME market.
Facilitating a smoother end-to-end process for getting this technology into customers is at the core of the Huawei eKit’s functionality.
“There's an old Chinese saying: if a worker wants to do a good job, he must first sharpen his tools. Together with our partners, we will accelerate the digital transformation of government and enterprise customers.” Chen said.
Integrating five major functions: transactions, enablement, marketing, services, and partner operation for distribution business, Huawei eKit official website and Huawei eKit app would enable customers and partners to enjoy end-to-end digital deals. The Huawei eKit Website platform will be available in July, and the app will release later in August. For more information, click here.
