Technology Is No Longer About Cost Saving, It Is About Business Growth

As enterprises across emerging markets accelerate digital transformation efforts, technology distributors are increasingly evolving beyond their traditional role of moving hardware products into becoming strategic solution orchestrators.

Speaking to CIO Africa during AI Everything x GITEX Kenya, Serkan Çelik, CEO for Turkey, Africa, Egypt, and the CIS Region at Redington Group, said the future of technology distribution lies in helping enterprises solve business challenges through integrated technology solutions rather than simply supplying products.

Celik oversees some of the world’s most diverse and volatile technology markets, spanning Africa, Turkey, Egypt, and Central Asia. While these markets differ significantly in economic conditions, political environments, and digital maturity, he noted that the broader technology transformation trends remain remarkably similar across regions.

“Technology is the same for everyone, and the requirement is the same for everyone,” Celik said. “All around the world, we see the trend of digitalization. We see new business models and the transformation of industries through technologies like AI systems, robotic process automation, cloud services, and cybersecurity.”

He explained that Redington’s long-standing experience in emerging markets has enabled the company to navigate uncertainty by building strong local partner ecosystems capable of delivering technology solutions to enterprises.

“These are all markets with high volatility in terms of economy, politics, and demand conditions,” he said. “Our experience is to find the right partners to develop the channel sector and distribute our products and services to end users together with our partners.”

According to Celik, Redington has built extensive partner networks across African markets including Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Ethiopia, enabling the company to remain close to local enterprise needs.

The comments come at a time when the role of technology distributors is rapidly changing. Enterprises are no longer looking to simply purchase hardware devices such as PCs or servers, but are instead seeking integrated solutions that directly address operational and business challenges.

“The end user’s purpose is not to buy a box or buy a PC. They are looking for a solution,” Celik said. “They have a problem and they are looking for a solution for their problem or they want to grow their business.”

He described Redington’s role as that of an “orchestrator” bringing together different vendors, technologies, cloud platforms, security tools, and partners into unified solutions tailored for enterprise customers.

“Our role is to understand the requirements of the market and what kind of solutions we can offer together with our partners,” he explained. “Services like cloud, security, AI services, and solution provider services are becoming more important.”

Celik noted that artificial intelligence adoption is now moving beyond experimentation across many enterprise environments. While organizations initially approached AI through pilot projects and testing phases, he said many companies are now actively integrating AI into core business operations.

“Most of our enterprise customers are now implementing AI solutions in their businesses,” he said. “They are using AI in forecasting, customer relations, process automation, and production systems.”

He added that organizations are beginning to realize measurable value from AI deployments through faster processes, more accurate forecasting, and improved customer service quality.

The growing adoption of AI, however, is also intensifying discussions around digital sovereignty, local cloud infrastructure, and data protection regulations. Celik said many governments and enterprises are increasingly prioritizing local data control while still seeking to benefit from global AI capabilities.

“On one hand, countries want to protect their own data, which is very normal,” he said. “But on the other hand, there are global AI solutions feeding from information coming from all around the world.”

As a result, Celik believes demand for localized cloud infrastructure and customized AI solutions will continue growing across emerging markets.

“We see local cloud solutions and customized AI solutions as a growing trend,” he noted.

Beyond infrastructure, Celik believes the technology industry is also experiencing a fundamental competitive shift. In the past, competition largely centered around product quality, pricing, and availability. Today, he said success increasingly depends on expertise, integration capability, and the ability to act as a trusted advisor to customers.

“It is not about the product anymore,” he said. “It is about how you design the solution, how you understand the problem, and how you create the solution by using different products, software, cloud solutions, and security items.”

This evolution is placing greater pressure on technology partners and distributors to deepen their consultative capabilities.

“Being an advisor for the end user is key now in the technology services area,” Celik added.

Looking ahead, Celik argued that enterprises must fundamentally rethink how they approach technology investments. Rather than viewing technology purely as a cost-saving tool, he believes organizations should position digital transformation as a growth engine capable of creating entirely new business opportunities.

“In the past, companies looked at technology investment from the cost-saving perspective,” he said. “But it is wrong. Technology should be used to grow the business.”

He emphasized that technology is now becoming central to virtually every industry, including sectors traditionally viewed as non-technical.

Using the restaurant industry as an example, Celik explained how even small businesses are increasingly dependent on digital systems.

“Technology is now the core of the business,” he said. “Even a small restaurant now needs online ordering systems, delivery tracking, and mobile technology to improve service quality and delivery time.”

For enterprises navigating uncertain economic conditions, Celik advised business leaders to work closely with experienced technology advisors capable of aligning digital investments with long-term business growth strategies.

“If you are not an expert, that is very normal because this is a huge area,” he said. “You need to have a good advisor partner who fully understands your business and can provide the right solutions for your business to grow.”