ProClub MERLION: VI fall conference for “Systems Integration” department partners

In 2011, MERLION celebrates the sixth anniversary of its Systems Integration sales department. The previous years saw the strategic development of one of MERLION’s key areas, which occupies a significant place in the company’s business model and creates an important sector of the modern IT market.

The department’s current achievements would have been impossible without the professional community, the joint effort of partners who develop their businesses in close cooperation with MERLION.

To celebrate the value and importance of the accumulated experience, the creative potential of experts in partner companies and the viability of this business area, MERLION’s management decided to give the Systems Integration Department annual conference a new status and announced the creation of the Systems Integration Professionals Club, ProClub MERLION.

The new concept of ProClub MERLION was realized September 24 to 28, 2011, in Barcelona, it assembled over 100 senior and middle managers representing MERLION’s partners from the majority of Russia’s regions. 18 vendor companies working with MERLION participated in the conference. It must be noted that, compared to the previous meetings, such vendor support is extraordinary. Their representatives took an active part in the Club’s operation and organized 26 seminars and round-table meetings for partners. The total number of the conference participants (160 people) also signifies the experts’ commitment to actively develop cooperation within the professional community.

Official part

ProClub MERLION plenary session and working sessions

The central event of the ProClub MERLION conference was the plenary session, which presented leading vendors – APC, Dell, HP, Microsoft, Panasonic and Samsung.

The session was opened by Vyacheslav Simonenko, MERLION CEO, who stressed the importance of the conference, introduced the MERLION team and told the partners about the company’s strategy and development potential. Next to speak were the vendors’ representatives, with topics including IT market analysis, product positioning, partner policy, new marketing programs and short-term development programs.

The working session was divided in three parts according to the key product areas, and continued for two days. Each part allowed vendor representatives to describe their products’ competitive edge.

The first day saw the parts “PC and peripherals” (Acer, Eaton, Fujitsu, Viewsonic, WD) and “Networking equipment and telecom” (D-Link, HP, Netgear, Siemens, ZTE). Those were opened by Sergei Raskolov, MERLION sales director, who spoke about the company’s development stages, structure, new partner services and sales department working program for 2011-2012.

On the next day, the “Enterprise/Software” working session took place (Dell, Microsoft, NetApp, Quest, Symantec). The meeting was held in the FC Barcelona’s conference hall at the club’s home stadium, Camp Nou. The place wasn’t chosen accidentally, as FC Barcelona is the world football leader and a frequent winner of most prestigious tournaments, including Champions League, while the MERLION company is the acknowledged leader of the Russian IT market. The working session participants truly felt the championship atmosphere prevailing at Camp Nou.

Tatyana Andreeva, MERLION business development director, in her speech at the session, described the company’s long-term plans. Following the major market trends and partner needs, MERLION continues expanding its product portfolio and bets on products with a high added value. Pursuing this strategy, MERLION has concluded the purchase of Verysell distribution business in July 2011, which expanded its portfolio by 20 direct vendor agreements. Eight of those companies, - Eaton, Fujitsu, Microsoft, NetApp, Quest, Siemens, Symantec and ZTE – took an active part in the ProClub MERLION operation. Tatyana Andreeva noted that the purchase of Verysell Distribution had allowed MERLION to increase the VAD component in its distribution business in Enterprise solutions (both software and hardware areas), as the active development of the Enterprise area is the company’s priority for the coming year.

Apart from the working sessions, ProClub MERLION also hosted a number of business lunches set as round-table meetings. Here the partners were able to meet vendor representatives and discussed the most topical issues in detail.

Entertainment program

FC Barcelona, Torres and jamon

After the business part, the conference participants went on an exciting trip around the legendary Camp Nou stadium and visited the FC Barcelona museum exhibiting items testifying to the team’s triumphs.

On one of the evenings, the partners visited the Torres winery that belongs to a well-known Spanish family. Excellent wine, a tasteful dinner and… the opportunity to try your hand at winemaking. The visitors were enthralled with pressing fresh grapes in wooden pails, competed in accurate cutting of jamon (dry-cured Spanish ham) and karaoke.

On the last day of their stay in Spain, the conference participants traveled around the Catalonian capital, viewed Barcelona’s most fascinating historical places, felt the magnificence of the city that is rightfully famous for its “world architecture jewels”.

In the evening, the gala dinner summarized the results of the new conference status, which would in the future be called the Systems Integration Professionals Club, ProClub MERLION.

The MERLION Company would like to express its gratitude to all the participants of the 2011 conference and its hopes for further productive cooperation.