To support its push into this market, CA says it is investing ¬20m in infrastructure and marketing activities, and will offer a portfolio of products, packaged to meet the specific needs of SMEs, that will be sold through its 17 000-strong partner community in EMEA
 
Our move into the SME market is the cornerstone of CAs growth strategy in EMEA, says Hayley Tabor, CAs senior vice-president and GM, EMEA. We already have an established foothold in the SME market, with products such as ARCserve Backup so we are confident that, with this increased focus and investment, we will see a significant boost in revenues and market share. CA is delivering tailored ICT solutions that will enable SMEs to protect their ICT assets with convenience, simplicity and enterprise-class reliability.
 
CA says that by providing a ‘one stop shop for best-in-class anti-virus, backup, anti-spyware and desktop migration, it plans to differentiate itself against single product suppliers and large ICT systems vendors.

CAs proposition to SMEs, it notes, is its depth and breadth of software solutions that work together seamlessly and deliver total protection.

The product portfolio includes BrightStor ARCserve Backup, eTrust Antivirus, Unicenter Desktop DNA and eTrust PestPatrol, all of the elements that SMEs need to protect their IT investments.

To support its increased focus on the SME market, CA also announced a ¬3,5m pan-European marketing and advertising campaign, targeting SMEs with the message that CA can deliver ‘total protection of their ICT environment, allowing them to focus on their core business.
 
According to CA, central to the long-term success of its SME strategy is its partner community, through which it will sell its SME solutions.

The company notes that its investment in a new ¬16,5m Customer Interaction Centre (CIC) in Barcelona is now fully operational and will be officially opened later this month.
 
Employing more than 100 multilingual staff, the CIC team focuses on identifying new SME customers and proactively creating revenue-generating opportunities that will be fulfilled entirely through CAs channel partners, the company says.

The CIC team also co-ordinates high-level technical support for partners via an advanced ICT infrastructure, best practices and a staff of experienced CA software engineers, it says.
 
In order to provide resellers with direct access to these sales leads for quick follow-up, CA says it has implemented a purpose-built integrated lead management and distribution system accessible to both CIC and partner sales staff.

In parallel, CA says it is creating a global software development group, with significant resources targeted at the EMEA region that will help customise, tailor and enhance CAs products to meet the specific needs of SMEs.

CA says it plans to expand its $1bn annual EMEA revenues faster than the overall market by implementing a three-pronged growth strategy.

In addition to its expansion in the SME market, the strategy calls for deeper penetration of selected emerging markets such as the Middle East and Central and Eastern Europe and increased business with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), it says.