IN THIS ISSUE ADEBAYO ONIGBANJO BEAU ALDERSON CHRIS LAW DANIEL KOOCHEW DANIEL PARKS DARRAGH MURPHY DAVID OAKLEY DENIZ KILICCI GABBY JARRETT GUIDO GOVERNATORI GUY HOLMES JACOB NEY JAMES FORBES-MAY JAMIE WARNER AUSSIE JOHNSON HSIUNG KARL SICE LUKE ALEXANDER MARK HILTON EXPORTERS MARK ILES MARTIN TIEKLE MICHAEL TEA MILOS PEJOVIC NATALIE NGUYEN NATHAN LOWE NICK MORAN NICOLAS CHU OPHENIA LIANG EDGE2017 PETER AARON OniGroup PETER HAWKINS RILEY SIGNOR ROB KINGMA ROB MESAROS Going Google Cloud SACHIN VERMA SAJ KUMAR SCOTT JANNEY across the globe SHAFATH SYED SIMON BARLOW TIM NORRIS TONY NIKOLOVSKI VANESSA CURTIS

SEPTEMBER 20172017 | Vol.Vol.l 22 NNo.o. 8 CONTENTS 1

58 GENERATING PARTNER POWER THROUGH INTELLIGENT APPS SEPTEMBER Intelligent applications, spanning emerging technologies such as virtual personal assistants, have the potential to ANALYSIS INTERVIEWS transform the workplace by making tasks easier and users more effective – Hafizah 6 GO GLOBAL OR GO HOME? 12 SELLING SAAS TO THE WORLD Osman outlines how partners can profit. As vendors paint the picture of software- Thinking big is not new, but thinking focused start-ups being global from day beyond boundaries is taking the channel one – Tech Research executive consultant by storm – James Henderson profiles Mark Iles explains why worldwide one Sydney-based software start-up 18 expansion isn’t as easy as it appears. that was born global.

10 BE A STAR: HOW TO STAND OUT FROM 18 MEET THE VIRTUAL ASSISTANT THE CROWD CATCHING FIRE ACROSS FINANCE Most technology service providers With every major technology vendor are indistinguishable, with claims now offering a virtual assistant, Samira and capabilities merging into one Sarraf outlines how one Australian start- amorphous mass of marketing mush. up is taking data science to the world.

24 CLOSING THE GAP BETWEEN CHINA AND THE REST OF THE WORLD COLUMNS THROUGH SOFTWARE With China central to the future success 16 WHAT THE BUYER WANTS - of Australia – Sinorbis is leveraging TEACHERS MUTUAL BANK to build software capable When scouting around for a supplier of bridging the gap. to partner up with on tech projects, Teachers Mutual Bank CIO and CISO, 30 GOING GOOGLE CLOUD ACROSS Dave Champan, looks beyond the cost – THE GLOBE Leon Spencer explains. From Sydney to the streets of the28 UK and Asia Pacific, OniGroup is reaping the 22 CHANNEL CHAT WITH… CITRIX 24 rewards of a global Google Cloud alliance. James Henderson chatted with Citrix director of channels Australia and New 40 HOW HP PROVED THE MARKET WRONG Zealand Brian McColm. As HP approaches two years of 36 THE DIGITAL INNOVATORS ALIGNING independence, the tech giant continues 28 SECRET RESELLER WITH INTEL to turn the tables across personal ARN’s partners inside the industry lift As the concept of digital takes on new systems and printing. the lid on the real world of the channel. meaning, Australian channel partners are innovating with Intel. 50 BUILDING A BUSINESS THROUGH MSPS 34 START-UP SPOTLIGHT In a channel overloading with Considering the surging levels of 44 DELIVERING ON THE POTENTIAL OF consolidation and competition in innovation across the local IT industry, DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION equal measure – Bluechip Infotech is ARN uncovers the emerging start-ups Synnex Alliance 2017 uncovered the key differentiating through managed service changing the face of the channel in partner strategies required to deliver on providers. Australia – Leon Spencer reports. the potential of digital transformation in Australia, assessing the opportunities 62 WHAT ARE INTEGRATED MARKETING and challenges across the channel. CAMPAIGNS? As the need for marketing heightens 48 WHY VENDORS SHOULD LEAVE GOLD, 40 across the channel, campaign design SILVER AND BRONZE TO THE OLYMPICS and lead generation have become Vendor programs are living in the past, 20crucial tools for partners – Radial with tiering now archaic and favouring Consulting principal Vanessa Curtis longevity over skills and abilities. explains.

arnnet.com.au | SEPTEMBER 2017 | 24 INTERVIEW / SINORBIS

Nicolas Chu s a rising economic superpower, Founder and CEO, Sinorbis the market potential of China Ais creating ripples around the world. For Australian businesses, a country that is only a 12-hour flight away represents an unprecedented online commerce opportunity. “China represents Australia’s prosperity for the next 100 years,” Australian Chamber of Commerce CEO Udo Doring said. “Essentially, every core industry or key product range we have, China has an immense demand for.” Yet despite an acknowledgment of the potential, the nation has been slow to recognise the opportunity China offers, instead focusing on traditional markets such as New Zealand, the UK and the USA. “There is an explosion in demand for overseas products coming out of China,” Sinorbis CEO and founder Nicolas Chu said. Ranging from iron ore to luxury items, including tourism and education, China’s social and economic transformation over the past decade has given rise to a new age of consumerism. CLOSING Speaking as a global digital expert — with extensive experience managing online businesses from start-ups to large corporates across Europe, the US and Asia Pacific — Chu said this growing market opportunity for Australian businesses is fuelled by THE GAP three key trends. “The rise of the upper-middle BETWEEN CHINA AND class and affluent,” he explained. “The growth of digital commerce and the THE REST OF THE WORLD lifestyle and spending patterns of the new generation. THROUGH SOFTWARE “These mega-trends are not only driving spending but are having a huge impact on the types of product and services that consumers are seeking WITH CHINA CENTRAL TO THE FUTURE SUCCESS OF and the technologies and platforms AUSTRALIA — JAMES HENDERSON EXAMINES HOW SINORBIS they use to access them. IS LEVERAGING ALIBABA CLOUD TO BUILD SOFTWARE “Understanding these drivers is CAPABLE OF BRIDGING THE GAP. essential for businesses wanting to tap into the Chinese digital economy.”

| SEPTEMBER 2017 | arnnet.com.au SINORBIS / INTERVIEW 25

CHALLENGES OF CHINA From first-hand experience however, Delivering on the potential of China Chu acknowledged that for any business — irrespective of industry — Digital Crew is one of Australia’s fastest growing multi-lingual digital marketing firms it remains “incredibly difficult” to tap working with Australian, US and Hong Kong companies marketing into China. into this demand, due to the size and Since launching in 2014, the Sydney-based business now has offices in Hong Kong, complexity of the marker. Guangzhou and Melbourne, with plans in place to open in New York and Tokyo this year. “It’s hard to relearn how to do Operating as an Alibaba Cloud channel partner, Digital Crew delivers expertise across things yet the business culture is a range of digital marketing services, including research, strategy and creative concepts, different, the language is different alongside social media management, search engine optimisation and media buying. and if it wasn’t already complicated “Australian companies selling into China have to be across the latest digital landscape,” enough, the whole online ecosystem is Digital Crew co-founder and director Ophenia Liang said. different,” he explained. According to Liang, the digital landscape in China is changing rapidly, including a shift “You don’t have Google or toward m-commerce and a boom in mobile payments with recent data from Ipsos Tencent Facebook and there’s a great firewall revealing more than 600 million daily transactions on Tencent’s platforms. to deal with. For years, the internet “The mobile commerce market in China is huge, being used by more than 90 per cent of has been highly regulated in China, netizens, largely due to so many people having by-passed desktop altogether in favour of filtering out access to popular mobile devices,” Liang explained. websites and content. “Hand-in-hand with this are mobile payments, which are one of the biggest growth trends “So even if you have a website that in China, with the market dominated by Alibaba (54 per cent) and Tencent’s WeChat Pay is translated in Chinese, it doesn’t (37 per cent).” mean that it’s visible in China because Social apps are also heavily used — WeChat has more than 930 million monthly active it might not be optimised correctly.” users, while Weibo reported more than 340 million users in the first three months of 2017. Such a confined and regulated And of course, in the e-commerce space, Alibaba is king. The owner of the and environment has favoured the online marketplaces is the biggest e-commerce company in the world, with recent data emergence of a different ecosystem showing that Alibaba has nearly half a billion active buyers across its platforms. entirely, with traditional digital “This rapidly changing digital environment means that Australian companies exporting channels unavailable. to China need to keep a keen eye on what’s happening, and be responsive to change to To succeed in the Chinese online remain relevant,” Liang explained. market, Chu said it is critical to Australia’s boom in trade with China has understand the differences between had a direct impact on Digital Crew, with Western and Chinese online the business evolving from a two-person landscapes. operation to more than 300 per cent year-on- “Demographics, cultural year growth for the past three years. differences and different buying During that time, the business — which patterns all play a part in leverages the Alibaba Cloud platform — e-commerce, as do the varying search has expanded from servicing a couple engines and platforms used to access of brands to now over 100, including online sites,” Chu explained. Chemist Warehouse, the Cancer Council, The ‘Great Firewall of China’ Frasers Property, Hudson and University of refers to the legislation and projects Technology Sydney. initiated by the Chinese government to “Our biggest growth areas will be in regulate the internet in China. education, tourism, food and health, as well As the main instrument of as property,” Liang added. “Our partnership internet censorship, it is used to with Alibaba Cloud is more than just block websites — and social media working in the cloud. platforms — such as Google and “We are business partners where we Facebook, giving rise to a unique co-pitch to enterprise clients and work Chinese digital landscape. together to help Australian brands get into For Chu, a common misconception Ophenia Liang China. Alibaba Cloud can get Australian is the assumption that a Western Co-founder and director, Digital Crew business the best server solution across both solution can be applied to a scenario countries.” in China. “There are no tools to help

arnnet.com.au | JULY 2017 | 26 INTERVIEW / SINORBIS

Different Ecosystems

FUNCTION CHINA WESTERN COUNTRIES Search Engine , , So.com (360), Shenma Google, Bing Instant Message WeChat Whatsapp Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Social Media WeChat, Weibo, QZone Instagram Video Youko, IQIYI Youtube eCommerce Tmall, JD, Taobao Amazon, eBay Online Payment Alipay, WeChat payment (Tenpay) Paypal Online Travel CTrip, Qunar Priceline, Booking.com, Expedia Online Restaurant Review/Booking/Coupon Dianping, Meituan, Nuomi Yelp, Zomato, Google map

Westerners go after this market,” he on Alibaba Cloud — Sinorbis serves with Sinorbis Wizard extracting and said. “And this is completely crazy to help businesses realise the full analysing ranking data from all the top because China is the largest digital potential of the Chinese market. search engines in China. market in the world — more than 2.5X Spanning multi-channel digital Unlike in Australia, where Google times the ecommerce space of the US. services, performance indicators and takes close to 95 per cent of the “If you look back 15 years ago, optimisation, the start-up also offers market share, in China, multiple when a business wanted to expand it industry-based solutions, targeting players are present. didn’t make sense not to think of the sectors such as higher education, During the first quarter of 2017, US, now it doesn’t make sense not to tourism, consumer goods and Baidu had 67.6 per cent market share of think of China.” professional services. search engine traffic volume in China, But as a digital marketer seeking “Not everyone knows exactly what with Sogou and Shenma representing new opportunities in China, simply they should be doing but everyone 16 per cent and nine per cent reusing tools and tactics from other knows they should go after China,” respectively. markets across the world will seldom Chu said. “And when they consider the “Even simple things such as running yield positive results. market, they realise we can help them a YouTube video will result in your “China has over 730 million internet enter this space. website being blocked,” Chu added. users and when you put that into “Our platform allows users to “This will increase loading time to a context, that represents a quarter recreate their website in a very easy minute which means that it’s no longer of the world’s internet population,” to use interface and you don’t need to visible as nobody waits that long.” Chu added. “So, if you want to expand know a single line of code.” From a technology perspective, internationally then you can only target Leveraging Alibaba Cloud to Sinorbis works closely with Alibaba 75 per cent of the world’s population. provide flexible hosting environments, Cloud, leveraging a platform used by “You can’t miss China because you Chu and his team have developed a over 2.3 million customers worldwide. miss a quarter of the world.” product capable of helping Western “Alibaba Cloud is a huge partner companies build a brand in China. because we host a large chunk of CLOSING THE GAP “We met with a very big bank in our platform on Alibaba Cloud,” Chu THROUGH SOFTWARE Australia recently that runs a Chinese said. “Everything that we produce With the name derived from the Latin website,” Chu added. “We ran quick is generated by customers that are for China in sina and for world in orbis, loading tests and everything was hosted on Alibaba Cloud. Sinorbis has been international from flashing red which showed that the “While our interface sits on day one, since starting operations in website wasn’t visible. Amazon Web Services (AWS), we are February 2016. “We then created a page through a customer and a partner of Alibaba In short, the Sydney-based business our platform — which took no longer Cloud. Because we are building two serves one clear purpose — “we build than three hours — and everything thirds of our platform on Alibaba software to close the gap between started flashing green. And that is the Cloud, we’re in a partnership. China and the rest of the world.” value proposition of our platform.” “If you really want to be performing In developing a cloud-based Delving deeper, the software- in China, which is our whole value marketing platform — with 75 per as-a-service (SaaS) offering is also proposition, Alibaba Cloud is the only cent of the company’s infrastructure powered through artificial intelligence, way to go.” „

| SEPTEMBER 2017 | arnnet.com.au