Global edge-to-cloud Platform-as-as-Service (PaaS) company, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) South Africa has appointed Sandile Dube and Tumi Kgonare as its new Sales and Channel Manager and Distribution Manager respectively.

Sandile Dube.

The company announced the appointments to strengthen its sales and channel-focused activities in country and bolster its support in the local market, whilst providing support to channel partners.

In a statement released to the media, HPE said Dube and Kgonare bring with them a wealth of industry knowledge, with more than 30 years’ combined experience in various ICT roles including sales, channel and distribution, product management and marketing.

Before joining HPE South Africa, Dube was the sales head for Britehouse, a division of Dimension Data Middle East and Africa (MEA) and Kgonare the Partner Business Manager for HP Inc.

Tumi Kgonare.

Kgonare said she is excited to be at the forefront of enterprise technology innovation that includes the continuous adoption of 4IR, AI, disruptive technology and big data.

“I feel extremely fortunate to take up this position in such an exciting time for enterprise technology. I’m passionate about our work supporting channel partners and look forward to growing our distribution business, especially in the SMB marketplace.”

Dube is also excited to take up his new role and is looking forward to fostering relationships with HPE’s business partners. “Going forward I hope to continue building on HPE’s ethos by reinforcing a culture of ownership and accountability.”

Looking at the channel, Dube emphasises HPE must continue to build out its deliberate approach, dictated by targeted and strict goals that will grow this all-important segment of the business. “We must keep enabling our channel partners to easily do business with us; growing our market share together.”

Kgonare believes her channel experience combined with her sound marketing strategies and strong industry relationships will stand her in good stead as she focuses on the growth of HPE’s channel business.

Her first objective is to provide critical support to HPE’s distributors, particularly as the industry re-emerges from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Another important goal is to reinvigorate the SMB market which forms an important part of HPE’s business. One of the key fundamentals is to establish an environment where organisations can conduct business sustainably, putting their operations and growth back on track. Enablement initiatives will therefore be an essential component of our distribution strategy in the foreseeable future,” said Kgonare.

Dube echoes her sentiment and reiterates the importance of people support. “As we gradually start recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, we must have empathy and work hard to support our partners in this challenging time - people buy from people.”

President Ntuli, Managing Director of HPE South Africa, added: “As we focus more on our growth mindset and our ambitious 2022 plan of delivering as-a-service in line with HPE’s global ambitions/goals, it is imperative that we drive HPE SA to reach profitable sales growth within targeted market segments.”

“In January 2020 at the HPE Channel Awards, we have announced our plans to transform the channel landscape and win market share in key strategic categories. Our distributors play a critical role in driving mindshare across our market and Tumi Kgonare will play an important role in reaching our goals. I have no doubt she will be an invaluable asset to the HPE SA team. I am equally excited to have Sandile Dube joining the team as he brings, not only the channel expertise but experience across different industries as well as the leadership qualities required to lead in this rapidly evolving business environment.”