Customers in West and Central Africa will have the opportunity and ease of purchasing software through an online portal
COTE D’IVOIRE, 06 OCTOBER 2016 – Microsoft distributor in West and Central Africa (WCA) – AITEK, has launched its Electronic Software Delivery (ESD) platform – SOFTWAREFORAFRICA.com, a first for the region. AITEK has been granted the franchise for ESD across all WCA countries including Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cap Verde, Comores, Congo (RC), Congo (RDC), Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Central African Republic, Rwanda, Sénégal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Chad and Togo with the exception of Nigeria.
ESD is a secure and instant delivery of software product keys directly to consumers and small businesses via retailers and resellers. The SOFTWAREFORAFRICA platform will allow AITEK’s resellers across the region to order Full Packaged Product (FPP) licenses online.
Simon Ouattara, Country Manager of Microsoft WCA, says that Microsoft is proud to be partnering with AITEK for the launch of SOFTWAREFORAFRICA in the region. “Our CEO, Satya Nadella, said earlier this year that businesses must embrace digital transformation to survive and thrive in this new era,” he comments. “Companies succeeding at digital transformation are engaging their customers, empowering their employees, optimising their business and transforming their products. ESD is an important element of this, ensuring resellers in our region remain relevant and can continue to grow through online capabilities.”
This growth is fostered by several features of ESD, which help to drive sales and increase profitability:
- Licenses are delivered electronically, which means there is no need to hold stock and it is easy for resellers to add new products to their portfolio, all of which are available instantly
- Distributors and resellers can manage customer promotional initiatives on a daily basis, as well as track their digital sales and keep track of when renewals are due. This allows for greater opportunity to up-sell and cross-sell
- Payments can be made by credit card, PayPal or through a customer’s existing account, making it easier for customers to pay in the way that suits them
- The digital nature of the platform means distributors and resellers can respond faster to consumer trends to compete in an evolving market
The ESD marketplace is already there, with one in three Microsoft resellers having purchased ESD versions of Office in the last six months, and 50% of Office 365 sales worldwide now taking place through ESD.
Redda BEN GELOUNE founder and CEO of AITEK is positive about the impact ESD and SOFTWAREFORAFRICA.com will have on the WCA region. “We are seeing more resellers demand ESD from distribution,” he says. “Many devices no longer have an optical drive to be able to download software from a DVD, and there is little point in having an FPP card worth $100 on the shelf, when the only valuable component is the product key. With Microsoft’s help, we are excited to bring ESD to our region and offer our resellers and customers real value that is in keeping with global trends.”
AITEK is also offering its resellers the chance to create their own online stores, via white labelling, to facilitate ESD.
For more information, visit http://www.softwareforafrica.com.
For more information, please contact
Redda Ben Geloune
CEO Aitek Group
[email protected]
And/or
Lilian Nganda
Communications Manager, Microsoft
[email protected]
