NEW POSSIBILITIES

CEO Syed Nophil Rizvi explains how Asian Continental seeks to crack a crowded MEA IT market

Discuss some key recent launches by Asian Continental and their expected impact on the market

Asian Continental LLC has been focused on providing diligent and efficient technical services to the business community of Dubai and the region since it started operations in the UAE. Originally one of the top 40 pharmaceutical manufacturing and marketing concerns based in Pakistan, we know everything there is to know about product/service quality and the impact it makes in the long term.

After studying the local UAE market, we felt there was a huge gap in B2B services which we were confident we could bridge, and I am happy to confirm that within a very short period we have managed to create a very positive reputation for ourselves based on our straight forward services and complete commitment to the client’s benefit. We have now entered into distribution of high end, innovative technology products and once again aim to impress our customers with our great service and support.

You recently launched a revolutionary product-the Almond router. Discuss some key specs of this product and why you feel it’s a game changer

The Almond router brings a unique freshness to the existing “Consumer Networking Products” segment. It is the world’s first router that has been designed with one purpose in mind: convenience. Sporting a one-of-a-kind touchscreen, the router comes almost preconfigured to the point that users need not engage in any complicated configuration procedures before using it. The step-by-step friendly setup wizard on the touchscreen guides you through and you can be up and running within minutes. The Almond is also a very powerful product as it also provides the customer with the option of using it as a conventional router (wired or wireless connection to an existing network), range extender (repeating an existing Wi-Fi signal to increase its effective range) or as a wireless bridge (connecting a wired device to a Wi-Fi network).

Securifi, the company behind Almond, is great at keeping up with trending technologies and releasing frequent firmware updates to keep the Almond at par with consumer needs. With the availability of Almond rapidly improving in the region, the consumer now has a great option to choose when seeking to cover all their networking needs with just one, very cool looking product. I’d like to add that the Almond is currently Amazon customer’s #1 choice as Router, Repeater and Access Point.

Discuss some trends in the IT resale business in the region and Asian Continental’s position in this market

The Middle East has rapidly become a huge technology market. With the top companies operating here, followed by a huge number of expatriates and local customers following the buying trends of the West it has become very easy to predict which products would be readily accepted. Obviously, the basics remain the same everywhere: honest and straight dealing will guarantee you success every time. Asian Continental is relatively new to the market but we are gaining new relationships every day.

Discuss some key segments that you target

Asian Continental will always focus on bringing unique and innovative products to the discerning customer. We prefer to work on niche products and strive to convert them into mainstream choices. Since our current field of business is technology related, we will continue to monitor emerging products and solutions globally and selecting the ones we feel would click with the consumer in our region. That said, we are currently focused on unique networking products and are also seeking to enter the communications segment with even more innovative solutions very soon.

Discuss your growth as 2013 ends moving to 2014

Our growth has been satisfactorily on an incline since we started operations but we are expecting rapid growth in the next few months as we appoint distributors for the Almond in all GCC countries before the end of 2013 and work together with them to bring the Almond to mainstream retail shelves in time for the holiday season.

Are there any new brands you are looking to add to your portfolio?

Definitely. There are various extremely innovative products we have in the pipeline at various stages of development. It might be too early right now to provide details but we are sure that VAR readers will be hearing about them very