 | Issue: | Asia-Pacific II 2008 |
| Article no.: | 13 | |
| Topic: | Security support | |
| Author: | K. P. Tang | |
| Title: | President | |
| Organisation: | Avnet Technology Solutions, Asia-Pacific | |
| PDF size: | 308KB |
About author
As President of Avnet Technology Solutions in the Asia-Pacific region, K. P. Tang is responsible for the strategic direction and growth of Avnet’s computing business in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India and the ASEAN countries. Mr Tang was previously a corporate vice president in Avnet. Prior to joining Avnet, Mr Tang served as Vice President of Asia Business Development and Sales for Celestica, Inc. His career also includes more than 30 years with IBM in the US, Hong Kong, China and Japan. During his tenure with IBM, Mr Tang was in Corporate Development with responsibility for forming business alliances and directing investment in a variety of opportunities. He also held several other positions and has experience in sales, marketing, operations and business planning. Mr Tang holds a Master of science degree in management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Article abstract
Industry experts believe that consumer adoption of wireless technology in Asia is almost twice that in the USA. This rising adoption of wireless technologies in the Asian marketplace has increased the need for broad-based security solutions that fully meet both enterprise and consumer needs. To provide appropriate support for the diverse security needs this will generate, business solution partners need to align themselves with global solutions distributors with the needed expertise through global franchise agreements and localised support capabilities.
Full Article
Wireless and security As the world moves to wireless – many of the world’s households are doing away with landlines and billions of text messages buzz around the globe each day – the need for security has escalated. It’s no longer something that is nice to have, it’s a must-have. Nowadays, without security you can’t roll out applications. Especially in Asia, many future applications require it. It is not only about IT communication; even voice communications demand it. In China and India, many households do not have a fixed line. That is also true in many other countries; many residences are doing away with landlines, so even with voice communication there is a security element involved. Furthermore, there are billions of text messages going around every day. The whole world is going wireless, but as we do so the security requirements will increase, and wireless applications will need to be fully protected. However, the threats are not just external. Today, security professionals in regulated industries face a daunting challenge protecting the organisation’s most valuable asset – its information. Over the past few years, IT departments have invested heavily to protect against breaches that compromise IT and information assets. However, their efforts have been focused on preventing outsiders from hacking into the organization, not securing the company and information from insider threats. Insider threats are not always malicious events or done with malicious intent. In fact, according to most industry analysts today, the majority of all leaks are the result of unintentional information loss from employees and business partners. The high cost of a breach can have a profound effect on an organisation’s profits, market presence and competitive advantage as a result of damage to brand and reputation, and loss of customers and intellectual property (IP). Information leaks encompass more than the loss of personally identifiable information. Financial services, healthcare and government organisations must also consider the security of confidential information, such as intellectual property, merger and acquisition plans, and other critical assets that are strategic to the competitive advantage of the organisation. Determining the solution Given the rise in threats from internal and external security leaks, how can you wade through the numerous security solutions options? How can business solution partners ensure that they are recommending the correct solution to protect the company? Where do business solution partners go to find independent information that does not have a supplier bias attached to it? Quite simply, there is no real answer, whichever way one turns there are many options, and the solutions offered these days, are superficially all pretty much identical. Business solution partners often need a trusted advisor to help them understand the market: e.g., what is happening in wireless and security technologies, how big is the market and how can I as a business solution partner take advantage of this market? Business solution partners need to return to a ‘consultative’ approach to providing solutions, coupled with an overarching strategy aimed at solving end user business problems as opposed to positioning IT products that may or may not solve the business problem. Solution distribution vs. volume distribution Business solution partners operating in the wireless and security markets need to focus on their customers, in particular the business needs of their customers. In the traditional volume distribution model, business solution partners would ordinarily know what products and/or services their customers required and they would order from their volume distribution partner. This is typically referred to as ‘brought’ methodology. A solutions distribution partner recommends a series of solutions that fit together to solve an end user’s business problem. Based on close collaboration with the business partner, the solutions distributor can assemble a collection of products and services (sometimes from a combination of different suppliers) that solve the end user’s problem. The rationale for recommending a solution should be based on the collaboration between the business solution partner and the solution distributor, as well as a sound understanding of the end user environment. Often these solutions will combine a variety of complex technologies, services, financing and high-touch consulting options. In the Asian marketplace today, the adoption of wireless technology is growing at an extremely fast rate. With the rise of wireless technology comes the threat of unsecured environments and the challenge of ensuring that these environments are secure and fully conform to current security compliance standards. With this expanding market place, it is paramount that business solution partners are able to be in a position to not only capitalise on the growth, but to be able to grow their business in a manner that does incur unrecoverable sunk costs. That is why the rise of solutions distribution will become increasingly important as new and emerging markets begin to take hold in the Asian region. A recent worldwide Gartner group survey of 1,011 CIOs concluded that, whilst the growth of global IT budgets should remain unchanged at 3.3 per cent during 2008, Asia-Pacific respondents said their budgets were increasing at almost six per cent. Since the Asian IT market seems set to continue its rapid growth, this growth needs to be managed in such a way that business solution partners and solutions distributors can work together to ensure smooth information flow while working together on new opportunities. Solutions distribution will, over time, become the industry standard for business solution partners looking to expand their business in industries within which they currently have little experience. A strong relationship between a business solution partner and a solutions distributor will accelerate the success of business solution partners in new markets by providing their customers with effective solutions that appropriately address the business challenges they face.
