D-Link Corporation has announced it is cementing its SMB business in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) to help channel partners unlock opportunities in the cloud and Internet of Things (IoT) space.

According to the vendor that manufactures solutions in the IP Surveillance, Wireless, Switching, Storage, Security, Cloud, VoIP, Print Servers, Structured Cabling, Digital Home, 3G/4G Routers, Power over Ethernet Kit, Powerline, KVM, Structured Cabling and Digital home offerings, the move to strengthen the SMB offerings comes as governments in the Middle East are doing everything possible to get people connected to the Internet.

Sakkeer Hussain, Director – Sales and Marketing, D-Link Middle East and Africa (MEA), said in the UAE, the government’s efforts around smart initiatives is opening up the market for networking solutions and encouraging people to get more connected to the Internet at home and using mobile devices.

As a result, added Hussain, this is opening up opportunities for channel partners to offer the right networking and wireless solutions to consumers, SOHO, SMB and enterprise customers. “This is spreading across the region with government, private sector and telecom providers all getting involved,” he said.

Hussain added that the SMB market is one of the strongest performing segments in the region. “The SMB is by far the strongest performing sector for D-Link and for this reason, we have got a partner programme dedicated to this vital market segment,” he said. “We are also sharpening our focus in the cloud space IoT and smart devices space.”

He explained that D-Link is one of the few IT networking vendors that realised quite early the importance of being in the cloud. “As the market has evolved, private and public cloud have taken centre stage. We started working in the private cloud space as early as 2010 and today, we are very strong in this space and have a lot of product offerings in the segment,” he said. “I believe cloud will be big in 2017, so too will be IoT, security and networking as a service.”

Hussain said that’s why the company is honing its focus in the SMB space as it wants channel partners to capitalise on opportunities that are emerging as small businesses embrace the cloud. “A key thing for channel partners to look out for in 2017 in the networking space is the move toward machine learning and hyper-converged infrastructure,” he noted. “We are also expecting to see a lot of opportunities coming up in the ISP and SMB space in year ahead.

Hussain pointed out that along with the focus in the SMB and ISP segments, D-Link has developed a lot of incentive programmes and training schemes for channel partners that address these market verticals.

He added that with the Middle East accelerating and pushing for faster Internet speeds, the development has spurred D-Link as a networking vendor to develop solutions that meet the expectations of resellers, ISPs, distributors and their customers.