Ubiquiti is a US-based company with two key specialisations; the first is the company’s technology products, which focus on wireless data communications for enterprise, and wireless broadband solutions. Its other specialisation is that it traditionally focuses on emerging markets.
Emerging markets need to be approached in a different fashion, as infrastructure is often limited, companies and individuals typically don’t have the same spending power as their counterparts in highly developed markets, and often the understanding of technology is simply not there. Vendors that look for success in these markets need to be innovative, creative, and nimble, while providing a high quality service at low cost.
Ubiquiti has seen a lot of success in that space since it was founded in 2005, and has grown to over 500 staff in number. Listed on the NASDAQ in 2011 for $15/ share, those same shares are, at time of writing, worth $57.78/ share. And now it has appointed Leader Computers as its national distributor in Australia in order to ramp up its presence in the local market. Australia is not an emerging market, of course, but the competencies that Ubiquiti has had to develop to reach into emerging markets are transferable to what Australian organisations demand, and as a result the company is in a good position to find a wide audience in the local market, according to Leader Computers CEO, Theo Kristoris.
“Ubiquiti is an incredibly innovative wireless brand globally, and has been for the past ten years,” Kristoris said. “Its innovation is driven by huge investments in R&D, and as a result the company is often first to market, such as it was with AC-EDU, and its Amplifi WiFi Mesh technology that is arriving January 2017.”
AC-EDU is a speaker system designed for schools, universities, or public areas with a lot of traffic, such as bus or train stops. Users simply record a broadcast through an iOS or Android application, and can pre-schedule broadcasts ahead of time.
Amplifi WiFi Mesh, meanwhile, is a home router solution designed to improve the coverage of wireless connectivity within the home, while also providing users with easier management of their devices.
“Because of Ubiquiti’s heritage as a company, it has created a wide suite of enterprise quality networking and wireless products for a fraction of the price of traditional enterprise brands,” Kristoris added.
Rather than being a simple box product, however, Ubiquiti also offers substantial support through its ‘Software Defined Networking concept. Customers gain enhanced usability, scalability, features and reporting through the software included with the box products. “It makes it very simple for resellers to deploy and manage Ubiquiti solutions,” Kristoris said.
As a challenger brand, resellers can also look forward to extensive support from both Leader and Ubiquiti as they ramp up presence in Australia, Kristoris said. “Our goal is to have thousands of Ubiquiti Certified Resellers across Australia,” he said. “We know that to achieve that we need to be available to the market, and we have dedicated trainers that will travel across Australia in 2017 to help train IT resellers to improve their knowledge and skill to grow their business in enterprise networking solutions.”
In addition to Leader Computer’s commitment to training the channel, Ubiquiti resellers are set to benefit from the extensive network of warehouses that the distributor maintains throughout Australia. With five warehouses through the country, Ubiquiti solutions can be shipped to resellers quickly and efficiently, which is important for any business that plays in the demanding consumer and SME space, where Ubiquiti products find their best fit.
And, while resellers will benefit from the substantial investment that Ubiquiti and Leader Computers are putting in to grow the local presence, at the same time, they will benefit from the existing brand and presence that the company has had locally, as well as the global prominence of the brand.
