Storage solutions vendor EMC has stressed the strategic role and contribution of services for value creation in demanding business environments. And, according to Palesa Mapetla recently appointed Technology Solutions Manager at EMC South Africa, the company’s focus on services is intended to support further empowerment of its channel business.

“EMC was traditionally viewed as a hardware company; that has changed substantially as the company has noted the market requirement for providing solutions that meet business needs for data protection, storage, access and use,” says Mapetla.

The services for which she is responsible, she explains, include those related to consolidation, Information Technology Service Management (ITSM), backup and recovery and related disciplines. “With EMC’s strategy for growth based firmly on building and supporting an effective partner network, it is my intention to empower the channel with EMC’s services portfolio. Specifically, we will look to share and make available skills and competencies which enable the channel to deliver.” Mapetla adds.

With a diploma in business IT systems and another in Advanced Business Programme Management from Wits Technikon, Mapetla was also a recently awarded her MBA from the University of Johannesburg. She combines her formidable qualifications with considerable industry experience, having worked for several years in various roles at other international information technology vendors.

“Having spent the last four years within the IT services environment, there is no question that this is what customers are asking for and this is how vendors will remain competitive. By providing services and solutions rather than products, vendors are enabling businesses to meet their needs and compete effectively without making substantial capital investments,” says Mapetla.

“Where information management is concerned, that means a lower total cost of ownership for the infrastructure which is necessary to support this critical function.”

With this understanding of the market, Mapetla says she is anticipating double-digit growth for EMC’s services business in the year ahead. “BMI-T indicates that the IT services market is expected to grow at 6,4% per annum to reach R26,9-billion by 2011; it is my intention to see EMC getting a share of that growth while matching or exceeding market expectations.”