Tuning into the Future: an exclusive interview with Mindware CEO Philippe Jarre

Enterprise Channels MEA recently published an exclusive cover story featuring Mindware CEO, Philippe Jarre. “Tuning into the Future” revealed insights from Philippe into Mindware’s visionary approach to AI, cloud solutions, and beyond.

At the start of the interview Philippe answered questions about Mindware’s approach to identifying and capitalizing on emerging IT trends. He told that the Group uses a variety of ways to track and analyse data and trends, allowing them to understand how the industry is developing. Important insights also come from Mindware’s major partners worldwide, and this market intelligence effort makes sure that Mindware is always up-to-date and in tune with the latest market dynamics.

“We categorize all this information by solution area, which helps us maintain a clear and organized perspective. We aim to introduce a few new vendors each year, focusing on those who can bridge existing technology gaps in the market” added Philippe.

The interview then shifted to how Mindware selects vendors and products. He explained that research into gaps in Mindware’s portfolio guides their decisions. A key realization came when they explored AI but found they lacked relationships with major AI vendors. They then identified and onboarded key AI companies, such as NVIDIA in 2023. This move connected them with other AI vendors, enabling Mindware to offer leading AI technologies to partners and customers.

Philippe expanded further on this development methodology, talking about how the Group sees Cloud as another important area of business focus, adding that this same strategy led to Mindware partnering with Microsoft Asia in the last few years.

“Our vendor analysis follows a well-defined technology assessment process. We evaluate the technologies they bring, ensuring they complement our existing vendors without creating competition, thereby adding value” added Philippe in the interview.

An important aspect of the value-added distribution business is the extra support offered to channel partners, and Mindware have an excellent track record in helping partners grow their business and capabilities.

“Companies must make strategic decisions about which technologies to adopt.”

He identified three important challenges facing the market. “The first is the rapid acceleration of new technologies. Companies must make strategic decisions about which technologies to adopt. The second is financial. Managing risk in the current market conditions is tough, and companies need support in this area. The third issue is skills. Investing in new technologies requires a serious commitment to hiring skilled architects and professionals who are both hard to find and expensive. Companies need to ensure that their investments will yield a return on investment.”

To meet those three challenges, Philippe suggests that Mindware’s important market function as a multi aggregator is to position the Group as ‘a hub to support partners with skills, risk assessment and financial capabilities to help them grow their businesses.’

Mindware uses MAGIC to help partners navigate these complex market opportunities. MAGIC is Mindware’s Aggregation Gateway for Innovation and Collaboration, developed to give partners business confidence, providing them with effective support across technical, financial and training needs amongst others.

“We offer pre-configured solutions to their partners, offering the necessary skills and support to enhance their capabilities and go to market in various industry specific use cases, including healthcare, finance, public sector, oil and gas, to name a few.”

“Managing risk in the current market conditions is tough, and companies need support in this area.”

Looking to the future, Philippe was asked what emerging solutions or technologies does he see as a game changer next year? His response was to detail his participation in the recent Global Technology Distribution Council or GTDC. This was a global summit which brought together top distributors from across the world for high level talks over three days.

“The consensus amongst participants – and one I fully agree with – is that AI is poised to revolutionize everything. AI will drive advancements across sectors from cybersecurity to wearable technology and spur the development of specialized chips for PCs, exemplified by Dell and Lenovo in incorporating Qualcomm chips for AI capabilities” said Philippe.

“Investing in new technologies requires a serious commitment to hiring skilled architects and professionals who are both hard to find and expensive.”

For Mindware, the way forward is now to comprehensively understand AI’s impact. “From component-led innovations to business applications, and identifying key players who will shape the future. Our commitment lies in bringing these pivotal vendors into our region, many of whom are concurrently concentrated in the United States or Europe, particularly around the AI ecosystem.”

Philippe sees many companies as being unprepared for a world marketplace dominated by AI. “We navigate challenges, such as skills shortages, which we address as an aggregator of skills and capabilities. Mindware Academy addresses this challenge and support the development of young talent to bridge the skills gap” said Philippe.

Read more about the way that Mindware Academy is building academic and business-led partnerships to tackle AI-related skills shortages in the full interview with Philippe Jarre in the July edition of Enterprise Channels MEA, here.

There’s more about how Mindware recently premiered its MAGIC methodology to tackle the AI skills deficit, here.

More about Mindware

Mindware, a leading IT distributor in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, takes pride in offering top-quality global brands to over 5,000 partners with legal entities in 13 countries. With a rich history dating back to 1991 and headquartered in Dubai, UAE, Mindware’s unwavering commitment spans over three decades, empowering businesses with cutting-edge IT solutions and fostering digital transformation. Mindware’s comprehensive offering encompasses a selection of leading brands in infrastructure, networking, security, and storage. As part of its Value-Added Distribution (VAD) methodology, Mindware goes the extra mile to provide supplementary value-added services to its reselling partners including pre-sales consultancy, implementation services, local technical support, marketing enablement tools, and multiple channel-enabling programs. Supported by strategically positioned logistic centres in key locations, Mindware ensures seamless distribution across all channels, efficiently catering to the needs of its esteemed partners and customers.