Select Technologies: The Trusted Name in Security Software Space

Partnering with Select Technologies, a highly recognized Value-Added Distributor of IT Security Solutions, to ensure a competitive advantage makes sense. The company’s expertise in all issues related to security and software management is unique and its commitment to the quality of products and support and innovative marketing initiatives are constantly winning praises from channel and end-users.

IT security threats are here to stay. But in a world where new technology becomes obsolete with the lightening rapidity, the role of channel has only been strengthened.

In India, Select Technologies offers security products from the leading best-of-breed vendors, including Trend Micro, RSA Security, SonicWall, Nokia and Check Point, and a diverse bunch of security services. Select Technologies has transformed itself from a traditional business of PCs and peripherals to managed services provider and consultancy over the past few years. The company has come a long way in security and storage management software products (information protection and management). For the last one year, Select Technologies has been evangelizing EMC Insignia products as a Value-Added Distributor.

Select Technologies has also taken the responsibility of popularizing File Area Network (FAN) offered by SAN switch vendor Brocade as its national distributor. Select Technologies, a 100-per cent wholly-owned subsidiary of WeP Peripherals solutions and services organization, is a market leader in the distribution of information and communication security solutions in India.

The company has been delivering quality solutions and outstanding service to over 5,000 clients representing top companies, government departments and reseller channel throughout India. “Select Technologies today is one of India’s largest VAD in the Information Security segment. At Select, our endeavour is always that of an enabler. We have always been associated with bringing the best-of-breed solutions worldwide to India,” says Sunil Pillai, Business Head, Select Technologies Ltd.

The fastest growing domain in IT today is Security & Storage space (Data Protection) and with exponential increase in the level of Internet adoption the segment has seen a consistent growth across verticals during the last three years.

With Data Protection solutions becoming a compelling necessity, the Security products market grew at 42 per cent, while services grew at 46 per cent last year. This has been the third consecutive year of robust growth and CAGR of 35 per cent-plus is predicted till 2010.

The security and storage business of Select Technologies has grown exponentially, targeting mainly enterprises and verticals such as financial services, government, healthcare and utilities.

Understanding of the adoption of various Data Protection solutions across different customer verticals and segments has been a key to Select’s success. “Partnership with Select Technologies has enabled us to sell more at our existing customer base and also acquire new customers due to regular introductions of compelling and new solutions in security and storage space,” says Mr. Prabhakar Kini of Kinfotech, Bangalore.

Headquartered in Bangalore, Select Technologies has worked hard at hiring and training the right staff – a challenging task made easier by the distribution giant’s considerable size and resource base. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of WeP Peripherals (WeP), India’s leading IT peripherals solutions and services organization.

The company is well aware that success is about knowing the vendors and solutions used, and not about having the right vendors or using high margin product. Select’s key differentiation is understanding of adoption of various Data Protection solutions across different customer verticals and segments.

Select Technologies has delivered quality solutions and outstanding service to over 5,000 customers and conducts business through more than 238 channel partners.

The competitive advantage of Select Technologies lies in its unique value-added “technology enabler” distribution model with solution- centric approach. Select’s uniqueness lies in its business model, which is based on manifold principles, i.e. Business Development at the end-user through consultative selling, enabling channel partners to leverage on the emerging security solutions for their customer base, strong pre-sales and post-sales support for end-to-end customer requirements and efficient and flexible billing options to suit different customers’ needs. “Select’s go-to-market strategy revolves around Customer Life Cycle Adaptation with respect to data protection. Select’s challenge is to provide customers and channel an end-to-end solution, which is both best-of-the-breed, scalable and cost-effective,” says Pillai. Select Technologies markets and sells the complete range of security products and solutions through a network of accredited Systems Integrators (SI) and Value-Added Resellers (VARs) who, in turn, deliver the company’s technology as part of their turnkey solutions.

The company enhances the sales value proposition by providing commercial, logistical, technical and managed services to its channel partners. This empowers channel partners to best serve enterprises of all sizes – large, medium and small.

Pillai says, “We believe in strong and enduring relationships with our channel partners. We follow the Indirect Model due to which we have been on a growing path by leaps and bounds consistently and encouragingly year after year. This has been possible because of the leveraged model which we follow, which is scalable. Our philosophy has been to enable partners through training so that we can mutually take advantage of the best-of-breed relationships with all our vendors.”

Select Technologies has offices in eleven locations in India and every sale in any account is through a Select authorized partner/dealer. The company believes that training is the vital part to understand the security products. Therefore, the company provides exhaustive training opportunity to the partners. “We ensure that for all products launched, partners get training for effective pre-sales and post-sales support to the customers,” says Pillai.

“In addition, we have been helping partners to give an end-to-end solution to the customer taking into consideration the current and the long-term needs of the customer, customer’s constraints in terms of legacy applications/infrastructure and his future scalability requirements combined with his budgeted IT spending,” adds Pillai.

On an average, the company has 3–5 training programmes each week across different locations spread across India. The types of training include: Pre-sales, Post-sales, Hands-on Training, New Solutions Awareness Training, etc.

Select Technologies keeps coming out with aggressive schemes for the channel to keep them motivated and the excitement going. These schemes range from a healthy backend on target achievements to incentives on the sale of certain products for the channel.

For the customer, the most recent scheme is an Exchange Scheme, where they can trade their old traditional firewall with the new SonicWALL UTM at a very attractive price, the response to the scheme has been phenomenal and both the customers and our channel partners are finding it very good.

Finally… 

Select Technologies is the authority in India in the value-added distribution of IT Security. Partnering with Select Technologies to ensure a competitive advantage makes sense. The company’s expertise in all issues related to security and software management is unique and its commitment to quality of products and support and innovative marketing initiatives are constantly winning praises from channel and end-users.