hardware do not receive much in the way of attention, possibly because they might not be the most

glamorous of products. Channel Middle East talks to major racking and cabinet vendors to find out

if image is everything or if there are more margins to be made from racks than meets the eye.

Q. Racking and cabinets are perhaps not the most glamorous of products to be involved with. How do you get the reseller channel interested in such products?

Though not glamorous, racks or cabinets are the entry point for resellers to go into a customer’s

business critical infrastructure requirement. They offer better margins to resellers, and APW

President also offers good quality and support. In terms of incentives, our channel partners are

qualified as Platinum, Gold or Silver, depending on their offtake, which entitles them to special

privileges. For example, Platinum partners may get extra credit period, free delivery at site (UAE)

and special pricing.

Q. What is your current channel strategy in the Middle East and how do you intend to develop it over the next year?

Our strategy is to focus on giving more advertising and visibility through promotions for the brand.

We also have a strong local presence to assure timely and ongoing support, with an office in the

SAIF Zone, Sharjah, FTZ. The present channel network consists of one premier distributor and

others reaching out through a reseller network of over 100 resellers. We provide our products in

FKD or SKD condition, kept ready to deliver. In the next year, we have plans to add a system of

sub-distributors, where the focus will be on stocking and keeping products ready to ship.

Q. What skills do resellers need to be able to successfully sell cabinets and racking?

Resellers should have business and technical skills. On the business side, they must have

thorough knowledge of the customer’s applications, as well as their business strategy and

expansion plans. On the technical side, they should have pre-sales application engineering skills

for configuring the most appropriate solutions. They should be up-to-date on technology

(especially power and cooling at the rack level). Lastly, they should have system integrator skills –

they should be able to install, mount and assemble our rack systems, and service it with

confidence.

Q. What level of value-add can the channel include in a rack sale?

APW President’s range of racks and enclosure systems offers a host of value add-ons. These

include solutions for monitoring and control of power and environment inside the rack through

remote infrastructure management (Sinetica), and a full range of accessories such as cable

management systems, LCD keyboards, fire-alarm systems and power strips.

Q. What challenges do resellers face when it comes to selling racking and cabinets?

Two major challenges are product availability on demand and lack of technical skills. To make life

easier for resellers, we have minimized these pain points by ensuring ready availability of

high-quality products, backed by comprehensive spot demonstrations and training. Our focus is on

optimal stocking, technical support and training.

Q. If racks are predominantly sold as part of a bundle or wider implementation how important are they to the overall sale?

Racks and cabinets are the vital backbone of the typical IT / Telecom infrastructure. They house

the operating network brains of the customer’s business. They offer administrative ease, security

and safety for the most valuable business and knowledge assets of a customer.

Q. What trends will shape the growth of the rack market in the Middle East in the coming year?

We see a boom in wired network growth, as well as higher penetration of broadband and

networking across the business spectrum. In the IT Sector, new technologies like blade servers,

virtualization and infrastructure consolidation will change the profile of the rack market and drive

innovation. Telecom sector growth will require more outdoor and datacenter cabinets with

customized features to handle environment and load challenges. APW President has got several

contracts recently for such products in the MEA region.

Systems with LAN-WAN architecture with the introduction of the APW President FlexiBox,

continuing a long tradition of innovation. The FlexiBox is the latest addition to the first family of

networking solutions from President – which includes the UNISERV, CYBERack and Patchrack.

While the Uniserv is optimized for housing computer servers, the Cyberack is ideal for providing a

reliable and secure frame for critical networking infrastructure, while the PatchRack is a highly

versatile 2-post rack for the effective management of cables. The Flexibox addresses the needs

of small equipment clusters in LANs and WANs.

The Flexibox range of wall mount cabinets from APW President is an ideal solution for LAN, WAN

applications. The Flexibox is supplied as a completely-knocked-down (CKD) product packed in a

box, thus making is easy to handle and store. The bolted construction offers flexibility of shipping

in CKD or assembled condition, without any compromise on rigidity.  Cable entry provision on top

and bottom panels offers better cable management.

The latest product introductions extend the company’s already established family of world-class

modular enclosure systems that the company makes in India and exports around the world. APW

President leads the market in standard and custom-designed infrastructure, system management,

operations and interactive interface solutions for various industry sectors such as IT and data

networking, OEM / professional equipment manufacturing, scientific and analytical instrumentation

and process automation.

“As leaders in enclosure systems, we continue to innovate and come up with finely engineered

solutions that are designed to set standards in customer value. We have designed the FlexiBox

specifically for addressing the equipment housing, switching and connectivity issues in local and

wide area network administration,” said E. A. Elias, Managing Director, APW President Systems.

The product is being introduced through the company’s network of sales and service outlets in

India and abroad.

“FlexiBox’s design makes the job easy for LAN and WAN network architects, system installers and

network administrators. It is a flexible modular open concept, which allows all-round accessibility

and ease of maintenance. The versatile features provided with the FlexiBox makes it extremely

easy to transport, install and configure,” said Nilesh Joshi, General Manager – Marketing & Kiosks,

APW President Systems.

“APW President has over 25 years of experience in innovating custom designs for infrastructure,

systems management, operations and interactive interfaces across many application

environments. The FlexiBox reflects our commitment to meeting the immediate as well as the

future challenges of the network administrator,” he added.

About APW President

Headquartered in Mumbai, APW President Systems Limited is a 25-year-old company engaged in

the business of designing, manufacturing and supply of modular enclosure systems for

infrastructure, system management, operations and interactive interfaces (such as touch-screen

technology kiosks). These products offer a versatile packaging and remote facilities management

platform, which can be deployed in business-critical environments where network performance,

reliability, security and ease of operation are essential.

APW President has developed special proficiency in designing and delivering custom designed

infrastructure solutions. Service skills include IT infrastructure consulting, product design,

customization, networking logistics and layout, and support and service packages for IT

administration and strategic development.

For over 25 years, world-class APW President solutions have been accepted by every prestigious

name in Indian business, and they are exported to several countries as well. Products are shipped

to 20 countries, including Australia, USA, Singapore and the Middle East.

Backed by a countrywide network of sales offices, distributors and agents, the company’s highly

trained team of sales engineers and technical support staff has rich experience in customer

support. For more information about the company and products, visit APW President’s home page

at www.apwpresident.com

For further information, please contact:

APW President Systems Ltd.
R-2, Technopolis Knowledge Park
Mahakali Caves Road
Andheri (East), Mumbai 400 093

The TableRack is ideal for use by small businesses, self-employed individuals and professionals such as doctors, lawyers, tax consultants, estate agents and others who require to secure their information database. They are also well suited for use in educational institutions such as schools, colleges, R&D establishments, nursing homes, stores and other small business establishments.

The TableRack is the latest addition to the first family of networking enclosures from President – which includes the UNISERV, CYBERack and FlexiBOX, among others. While the Uniserv is optimized for housing computer servers, the Cyberack is ideal for providing a reliable and secure frame for critical networking infrastructure, while the Flexibox addresses the needs of small equipment clusters in LANs and WANs. The new TableRack complements this family by offering a compact and sturdy packaging solution.

The TableRack series is designed for table-top and floor standing use. The product is similar to the wall mount units, but with a front and rear door.  They are meant for use either on the table top (with feet) or under the table (with castors). They accept all equipment conforming to 19″ rack mounting specifications.

The latest product introductions extend the company’s already established family of world-class modular enclosure systems that the company makes in India and exports around the world. APW President leads the market in standard and custom-designed infrastructure, system management, operations and interactive interface solutions for various industry sectors such as IT and data networking, OEM / professional equipment manufacturing, scientific and analytical instrumentation and process automation.

“As leaders in enclosure systems, we continue to innovate and come up with finely engineered solutions that are designed to set standards in customer value. We have designed the TableRack specifically for addressing the equipment housing problems of small business users, professionals in service functions and institutions,” said E. A. Elias, Managing Director, APW President Systems.

The product is being introduced through the company’s network of sales and service outlets in India and abroad.

“TableRack’s design addresses the problems of users faced with the headache of working with limited space and with assorted expensive electronic equipment that need rugged and secure enclosures, adequate ventilation and cooling and safe cable and wire handling” said Nilesh Joshi, General Manager – Marketing & Kiosks, APW President Systems.

“APW President has over 25 years of experience in innovating custom designs for infrastructure, systems management, operations and interactive interfaces across many application environments. The TableRack reflects our commitment to needs of the small business users, thus making it a sound investment that provides safety and security for costly equipment,” he added.

About APW President

Headquartered in Mumbai, APW President Systems Limited is a 25-year-old company engaged in the business of designing, manufacturing and supply of modular enclosure systems for infrastructure, system management, operations and interactive interfaces (such as touch-screen technology kiosks). These products offer a versatile packaging and remote facilities management platform, which can be deployed in business-critical environments where network performance, reliability, security and ease of operation are essential.

APW President has developed special proficiency in designing and delivering custom designed infrastructure solutions. Service skills include IT infrastructure consulting, product design, customization, networking logistics and layout, and support and service packages for IT administration and strategic development.

For over 25 years, world-class APW President solutions have been accepted by every prestigious name in Indian business, and they are exported to several countries as well. Products are shipped to 20 countries, including Australia, USA, Singapore and the Middle East.

Backed by a countrywide network of sales offices, distributors and agents, the company’s highly trained team of sales engineers and technical support staff has rich experience in customer support. For more information about the company and products, visit APW President’s home page at www.apwpresident.com

For further information, please contact:

APW President Systems Ltd.
R-2, Technopolis Knowledge Park
Mahakali Caves Road
Andheri (East), Mumbai 400 093

Phone: 022 6644 8888, Fax: 022 6644 8899

E-Mail: info@apwpresident.com

Website: www.apwpresident.com

“We have has recently moved into a new office in the SAIF Zone, Sharjah, UAE, in order to service the growing demand for our world-class enclosure systems from partners and customers across the Middle East. We have been leading in the enclosures business over more than 25 years, supplying to major IT, networking and telecom customers, not only across the Middle East, but  around the world,” said E. A. Elias Managing Director, APW President Systems.

The current range of high-quality networking and telecom products includes the new Uniserv, CYBERack, NetServer, ServeRack, Ecorack, Easibox and Street-side.

Uniserv cabinets greatly extend the facility for housing servers, networking equipment and various structured cabling components.  CybeRack has been designed specifically for easy assembly and rapid equipment integration. NetServer has been widely acclaimed for its award-winning multipurpose design that allows for 19 inch metric as well as ETSI equipment to be accommodated. Easibox is a range of wall-mount cabinets, ideal for the modern office environment. Street-side enclosures are designed to prevent dust, heat and humidity from effecting sensitive electronic equipment. All the products are robustly built, with attention to aesthetic appearance that match the sophistication of modern office and working environments. Also in the product line-up is the new line of APW President Kiosks, which are creating a wave of customer excitement in many parts of the world.

“The complete range of Networking and Server Cabinets, along with other industrial enclosure products, will continue to be available to customers through our well-established channel partners,” Elias said.

For more information, contact:

Reginald Borges, Business Leader – Middle East & Africa
Email :  reginald@apwpresident.com

Tel: +91 22 6644 8830
Mobile : +91 93223 41782