Flexible functionality with Crayon ME
Karim Kalaawi, General Manager, Cloud & Distribution, Crayon ME

Flexible functionality with Crayon ME

Following a recent successful partner event in Dubai, Karim Kalaawi, General Manager, Cloud & Distribution, Crayon ME, breaks down the company’s one- stop-shop cloud-iQ portal and Microsoft’s SPLA.

Can you give is a brief history of Crayon ME in the region and products and solutions provided?

Crayon are experts at optimising client ROI from complex technology. We believe passionately that organisations should only pay for the IT resources they actually need and use but we understand that in today’s complex technology landscape that can be difficult to achieve. This is why we have developed a unique methodology to deliver on our belief for our customers.

With over 2,500 resellers in 15 global markets and over one million end user customers, we are leaders in software asset management (SAM), cloud and volume licensing and associated consulting services and are trusted advisor’s to many of the globe’s leading organisations. Through our unique people, tools and systems we help optimise our client’s technology estates within the new hybrid cloud world.

Can you give a breakdown of Crayon’s Cloud-iQ portal and the strategy and rationale behind this initiative?

Crayon has offered the intuitive and much appreciated XSP-portal to our resellers since 2010, creating a distinct value add by combining easy to use tools, billing, flexibility, reporting capabilities and industry information updates. Thus far this has extended to over 2,500 resellers and over 15 global markets, managing over 90,000 annual transactions.

The obvious rationale is a strategic decision to own the IP to secure profitability and excel competitive edge, consolidate all partner features, enabling front-end simplicity and ease of use, combined with back end intelligence. In addition, this feature is built on existing and proven technology, with multi-language and multi-currency support.

What is the SPLA program and what are the benefits?

The SPLA Program enables service providers and independent software vendors (ISVs) to license Microsoft products to provide software services and hosted applications to end customers on a monthly basis.

The benefits are widespread. They can include, but are not restricted to:

  • No start-up costs, and no long-term commitments, pay for what you are using; on a monthly basis
  • Competitive pricing
  • Price advantage on some products
  • Incorporates Software Assurance (SA)
  • SA – providing clients with the latest versions of the products
  • Try before you pay and use
  • Offer demonstrations and evaluations (Up to 50 users, for 60 days)
  • Specific discounted price available to academic end customers
  • Switch Models. between (SAL or CPU/Core) from one month to the next
  • Install at customer facilities (SPLA on premises)

Looking at 2016, why should enterprises consider hosting and cloud?

Seventy per cent of customers will adopt a cloud strategy in 2016. They will need to understand deeply the different options and cloud models (public Cloud, Private, Hybrid, Iaas, Paas, SaaS, etc..). A Cloud strategy addresses the following needs:

Costs reduction

Reduction of the total cost of operations

Increased agility

Deliver quicker new services to customers

Better scalability

Immediately answer to the demand increase without wasting resources

Licenses acquired under the SPLA are monthly non-perpetual licenses that customers can use during the agreement’s term. The Microsoft licensed products included in the program are available for licensing through three models; per subscriber, per processor, or, per core.

The Middle East is notorious for a more reluctant adoption of cloud than other more developed markets. How is Crayon ME adequately reassuring current and potential partners and clients that workloads migrating off of dedicated servers and onto the cloud is the better business decision?

There are several reasons why cloud adoption has been slower in the region – you have to take into account not only security concerns, but also technical reasons such as bandwidth and, in the case of the large public sectors in the region, data sovereignty laws. There is of course the traditional emotional attachment, but SMBs are taking cloud adoption to the forefront in 2016 and will drive cloud adoption as part of the strategy of economies of scale.

About

Karim Kalaawi has more than twenty years of professional experience covering a wide range of skills in business development, technology and sales management within the IT and telecom industries, with focus on SaaS and cloud computing in Gulf and Emerging markets across Europe, Middle East and Africa. A team player and leader with great experience in managing cross cultural teams in very diverse environments, Karim is passionate about building relationships with customers and partners.

 

 

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