FVC is a leading provider of solutions for rich media as well as networking and security solutions in the MENA region.Mr. Ronald Hajj, General Manager of FVC, explains to us its mission, services and goals.

What are the services/ products offered by FVC to its clients?

FVC is a leading Value Added Distributor (VAD) across the Middle East and North Africa, with dedicated offices in United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt and Morocco. FVC focuses on the best of global solutions and provides market leading products for emerging technologies. Our next-generation IT and networking solutions vary from Rich media communications to network and information security to advanced networking to universal search to IP telephony. To view the brands we stand for, please visit our web site: www.fvc.com

Who and where are your major clients?

FVC specializes in enterprise level solutions and these have been sold into the oil and gas, education, corporate, government, financial and healthcare sectors. As one of the leading VADs in the region to introduce video-conferencing through a structured distribution model in the region, FVC was the first to introduce these solutions in the education sector from Georgetown University in Qatar to Higher Colleges of Technology in UAE. As the regional distributor for Polycom, it was also the first to introduce immersive Telepresence with its first project with the new RPX solution installed in Georgetown University in Qatar.
Leading customers using solutions from FVC, range from the energy industry to banking to aviation, education and health industries among others.

Who are your main competitors and what is your competitive advantage?

FVC’s main competitive advantages reside in the following:

• Working through a growing network of more than 100 channel partners in over 17 countries across the region gives partners and their customers the full confidence to invest in integrated next generation IT and Networking solutions.

FVC also offers ongoing channel initiative programs to its network of partners, filtering down to its sales engineers.

• Usually a service provided by vendors, FVC is probably one of select few VADs to provide a dedicated channel portal for its partners across the region, providing access to a wide range of services from special offers tailor-made to the partner’s requirements to technical, pre- and post-sales support especially for large projects.
• FVC’s dedicated marketing department also helps its partners participate in local trade shows, conferences and other marketing activities including lead generation programs for its partners.

• Having a wide range of products, constantly growing, enables FVC to add value to the solutions offered and to insure these solutions are complete. In addition to its normal pre- and post-sales support, FVC also offer its partners, and their customers, project consultancy to match the needs of the end-customer.
• FVC also invested in training centers in Dubai (UAE), Riyadh (KSA), Cairo (Egypt) and Beirut (Lebanon), dedicated to providing special training and certification on behalf of all their vendors for a better transfer of knowledge, be it to partners or customers.

What are your mid and long term objectives?

Mid term objectives:

• Leverage and enforce FVC market penetration in the Levant and the French speaking part of Africa and acquire more market share, and achieving more steady growth in our area
• Work to actively contribute putting FVC on the right track to go public in 2011
• Successfully achieve a decentralized geographical expansion in the region (Morocco operation already launched in 2009, to be followed by Algeria office by 2010–2011)
• Establish strategic partnerships with key suppliers / operators / customers
• Help diversify solutions offering bouquet

Long term Objectives:

• Leadership, and being THE reference in Excellence
• Build a solid profitable and IMMUNE business all over our region, insuring steady growth and healthy/profitable operation
• Establish local FVC presence all over key countries in our region
• Developing and marketing our own solutions

Since you are a spin off company from FVC, why have you decided to join Berytech?

When FVC first decided to open a branch in Lebanon, we found that Berytech would be an excellent location to start up this branch. Indeed as a distributor we didn’t need to be located in the heart of Beirut and in the same time we had to be close enough. Being located at Mansourieh, Berytech answered this criterion.

Apart from the geographical location itself, Berytech offers a business environment and many helpful facilities and services that made our day to day business smoother. We could benefit from the meeting rooms that we extensively used to conduct trainings to our Partners / Customers. Also Connectivity was not a problem since we could have out internet connection via Berytech terrestrial, microwave or satellite links, as well as the internal phone network.

The most important factor was to be located in a business environment surrounded by many companies in the Multimedia and Technology business, and that’s what makes the difference between any office and a Technological Pole.

www.fvc.com