Arab countries are becoming more influential in the nowadays world; that is why there are also successful business companies there. One example of such companies is Saudi Business Machines (SBM) that was founded in 1981 by the Juffali Group.
It has evolved from a serviced office of the International Business Machines (IBM) that was established in 1956 to provide services to the Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO).
In 1986, it became IBM’s General Marketing and Service Representative. In 2001, SBM was the first Saudi IT provider to be granted ISO9002 Certification of quality (SBM Corporate Timeline, 2011).
Today, Saudi Business Machines employing more than 900 project managers and certified consultants of almost 40 nationalities is the company with the largest human resources in the region (SBM Facts and Figures, 2011, para. 11).
Like any other business organization, SBM has its business mission and vision. Its mission is “to unleash the power within enterprises and organizations to allow them to transform their own industries” (SBM Vision and Mission, 2011, para. 2).
SBM’s vision is “to evolve as a fluid learning organization, to be the foremost hub for IT knowledge creation and to be a magnet for brilliant minds” (SBM Vision and Mission, 2011, para. 1). To achieve its vision, the organization turns out products and offers services.
Among the company’s main products are hardware systems and servers, storage systems, printing systems, points of self-service and sale, personal computers and software for business analytics, content and information management, etc. (SBM Products, 2011).
Among SBM’s primary services, there are providing assistance in installing and maintaining customers’ hardware and software, consultations, various technology services, data security services, different kinds of management, and training programs (SBM Services, 2011).
Providing such a wide range of services and products, SBM’s target consumers vary widely from a single individual to nationwide businesses, enterprises, and banks. The company carrying out its business focuses on the needs of the technology-dependant world, so it meets the need for hardware and software and its technical support, as well as providing IT consultations and designing business solutions. Being a company of decades-long history and high influence, SBM does not have local competitors.
Nevertheless, as an IBM representative, it may have global competitors those of the IBM, namely Oracle, Microsoft, Xerox, Google, Amazon, and others in software and Hewlett-Packard, Apple, Intel, Dell, Cisco Systems, etc. in hardware and personal computers (IBM Competitors, 2015).
Saudi Business Machines has a strong business culture coming down to doing its best to meet the needs of the company itself, its employees, customers, and their businesses through providing high-quality services and products, effective managing of recourses, and positively influencing the market (SBM Culture, 2011, para. 1).
With such kind of culture, the company desires to make sure that its customers, with the assistance of SBM, become leaders in their industries in the case of enterprises and businesses and enjoy the best quality products and services in the case of individuals. To stick to its culture, the organization keeps to certain values such as professionalism, enthusiasm, modernity, reliability, and employing experts only.
SBM is a profitable company. Being IBM’s representative in Saudi Arabia, its revenues should be viewed through the prism of IBM’s financial position. In 2015, IBM’s total revenue dropped by almost 14% (IBM Reports 2015: Second-Quarter Results, 2015, p. 6), so did SBM’s, but nevertheless, it remains a successful, profitable company.
Saudi Business Machines markets itself by providing its customers with high-quality services and products. It has a strong culture, vision, and values, so they are the core elements of the company’s self-marketing, together with being innovative, modern, and professional, focusing on the customers’ needs and turning out a lot of new products as well as improving the existing ones.
That said, the company is of high business strength. Its primary source of stability and success lies in integration. Every single task SBM faces are broken down into smaller ones dealt with by a team of highly professional experts on all levels, such as hardware, software, maintenance, and site enablement services.
One more strong side of the company is its robust system of visitor management using which SBM tracks all its visitors and employees helping them and so guarantees that every customer is provided the best quality assistance.
Another business strength is open communication between team members as well as between clients and the company. Having it, SBM can be sure that the atmosphere in the working place is trustworthy and healthy, no single fresh idea of the employee is omitted, and customers, as well as workers, are heard in their needs. What is also significant about SBM is that it is an entirely paperless environment reducing to the minimum its impact of the natural environment and demonstrating its high level of innovativeness and modernity.
Bearing in mind that all businesses are in constant development and should follow the path of innovation, it can be said what the company has already done to become innovative and what else it can do. First of all, the paperless environment mentioned above is one of the ways of innovation known as going green, i.e., protecting the natural environment and minimizing the company’s impact on its state (Kurtz & Boone, 2013).
One more way to innovate a company is by listening to employees and customers in search of fresh ideas, which is also one by SBM through open communication. Another way of innovating is by combining products and services, which is also done by the company since it is the seller of the products as well as the provider of their technical support.
That said, the company is innovative and modern, but what can and should be done is further improvement of the cloud services, so it becomes a unique platform for cooperation and data storage.
Speaking about further innovation of marketing strategy, it is not easy to find ways to innovate the company that is so modern, but some things can still be done. For example, SBM can use its long history of success and its massive customer base as the ground.
The company should highlight its success on the market. Having a Facebook account, the company should keep on telling their clients about its new products and services and sharing interesting facts from its successful path and how it managed to gain its customer base and position in the world of technology.
What can be done to increase revenues is establishing trial periods of using software and introducing different levels of payments for technical support based on the period of cooperation between the company and the customer and the package of services the customer needs.
The company should also become more visibly attractive and likable to attract new customers. For example, refreshing the company’s website and filling it with the same information as on Facebook account so that it does not look like the website is dumped and out of date. It may not be of significant importance to big enterprises that have worked with SBM for long years, but it is for the individual consumer choosing where and how to spend his money.
To expand its influence, the company may want to cooperate with local companies providing the same set of services taking over them later. It may also wish to collaborate with other global companies to strengthen its presence and influence in the region, not only in Saudi Arabia.
For example, SBM signed an agreement for cooperation with Orange Business Services in 2013 (Orange Business Services and Saudi Business Machines sign business partnership to develop common ICT projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 2013, para. 3).
Bearing in mind proposals to changes mentioned above, they will not substantially affect the vision and mission of the company; they will transform it into the regional leader, not nationwide. But it could still be “a fluid learning organization, … the foremost hub for IT knowledge creation and… a magnet for brilliant minds” (SBM Vision and Mission, 2011, para. 1).
So, Saudi Business Machines is the General Marketing and Service Representative of International Business Machines (IBM) in Saudi Arabia. It is the company with decades-long history, highly professional employees, and a massive customer base from individuals to big businesses and enterprises.
It is the leader of providing specialized hardware and software as well as different IT services in Saudi Arabia but has the potential of transforming into the regional leader.
References
IBM Competitors. (2015). Web.
IBM Reports 2015: Second-Quarter Results. (2015). Web.
Kurtz, D. L. & Boone, L. E. (2013). Contemporary Business. Cincinnati, OH: South Western College Pub.
Orange Business Services and Saudi Business Machines sign business partnership to develop common ICT projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. (2013). Web.
SBM Corporate Timeline. (2011). Web.
SBM Culture. (2011). Web.
SBM Facts and Figures. (2011). Web.
SBM Products. (2011). Web.
SBM Services. (2011). Web.
SBM Vision and Mission. (2011).Web.