Extreme Networks, a leader in cloud-driven networking, successfully kicked-off its inaugural Extreme Cloud NOW roadshow in the Middle East, with the first event held in Dubai. The debut event focused on helping end-customers and channel partners unlock the potential of cloud technologies by giving attendees direct access to Extreme’s new product innovations, solution demos, top EMEA and META executives, and its sales strategy.

As one of the key areas of digital transformation investment in the Middle East, the roadshow event was firmly focused on discussing the potential of cloud technologies. IDC predicts that regional businesses will spend upwards of US$2.7 billion on the cloud this year[1]. However, for these cloud investments to drive positive business outcomes, organizations need to ensure their networks are ready for such a fundamental technological shift. Through a series of presentations by Extreme’s top systems engineers, attendees were given insights into how the vendor’s solutions, such as ExtremeCloud™ IQ, leverage machine learning and artificial intelligence to provide enterprises with insights, as well as complete visibility, control, and automation of their entire network.

Having recently launched its new Extreme Retail Select platform, the company also showcased this powerful solution, demonstrating its ability to remove the cost and complexity associated with selecting, buying, building, deploying, and managing network services at retail locations. The live demos highlighted how the solution enables customers to automate new store setups, maximize operational efficiencies, and deliver consistent services and experiences at scale.

With a large number of channel partners in attendance, Extreme used the inaugural ExtremeCloud NOW event as an opportunity to highlight its commitment to its partners and outline its channel strategy for the year ahead. This includes a move away from a centralized global channel approach, towards a more local, personal, and direct approach via the regional channel managers. Furthermore, Extreme’s META channel strategy is built around incentivizing partners to integrate cloud-based solutions into their portfolio. The company emphasized its belief that managed services offer channel partners the greatest potential for growth and expressed its intention to launch its Managed Services Program in the region later this year.

The next leg of the ExtremeCloud NOW roadshow will take place in Saudi Arabia with the company set to soon announce details of the event in Riyadh.

Executive Perspective

Maan Al-Shakarchi, Regional Director for Middle East, Turkey, and Africa, Extreme Networks

“The response to our event has been overwhelmingly positive, confirming that Extreme is indeed addressing key pain points customers face on their digital transformation journeys. Cloud-fueled digital transformation projects are no longer the sole responsibility of IT departments. Instead, businesses need to adjust their digital strategies as a cross-organizational effort in order to meet modern customer demands. The use cases we demonstrated highlight that Extreme isn’t just simplifying the control and management of networks, but also empowering businesses to tap into the wealth of incredibly valuable actionable insights and analytics that they can gain from their networks.”

Sean Collins, Senior Director EMEA, Channels

“We care a huge amount about our channel community around the world and in the META region in particular. Everything we do – now and in the future – is aimed at supporting them with the tools and solutions they need to help them reduce sales friction wherever possible. We have made some adjustments to our channel program to further empower our partners this year. We have decentralized our approach by giving the local channel teams more autonomy to meet the needs of our local partners and local market dynamics. We are also offering our channel partners greater flexibility, know-how, and advanced cloud-based solutions that will help them create new revenue streams and accelerate their grow across the region.”