IceWarp CEO sees tremendous potential for collaboration solutions in the Middle East

Given IceWarp’s recent debut into the Middle East region, TECHx Executive Editor Rabab Zehra sat down with Pramod Sharda, CEO, IceWarp India and Middle East, to learn more about the company’s products and solutions, as well as their future strategy. Here are some excerpts from the conversation. Enjoy reading!

TECHx: Give a brief overview of IceWarp as a company. What solutions do you provide to businesses? 

Pramod Sharda: IceWarp develops business email communication and collaboration solutions serving more than 50 million paid users and 50,000 customers worldwide across 50+ countries and has already acquired more than 1200+ customers in India within a span of 7 years. We believe in offering a seamlessly integrated, affordable, and easy-to-use communications solution to business and also are the only alternative to Microsoft’s and Google’s products. We strive to save our customer’s costs and help them to make a difference in their day-to-day business by covering all aspects of business collaboration and productivity from business-grade email to TeamChat, thus enabling them with all aspects of project teamwork including audio and video conferences, as well as document sharing and collaborative editing.

TECHx: What potential do you see in the Middle East given your recent entry? Are there any untapped opportunities for you?

Pramod Sharda: There is tremendous potential for collaboration solutions in the Middle East. When we look at the markets, there are opportunities across all segments: whether large enterprises looking for cost-effective alternatives to their current solution providers or small & medium entities looking for a structured & secured email & collaboration platform without putting a huge dent into their commercials or start-ups looking for an email & collaboration platform to not get into unsecured and unknown providers. Further, with the changes in visa rules & employment laws across the region, there is an as yet untapped market that will also be needed to be served. Companies hiring remote workers operating in countries outside the region and needing a state-of-the-art communication & collaboration platform to engage

TECHx: What is your channel strategy for the region?

Pramod Sharda: IceWarp is a channel driven organization. We are currently recruiting partners across the region to bring them onboard, enable & equip them so that they’re able to provide a credible & world-class solution to their customers. We’re also looking to onboard Cloud Service Providers who will help us build our instances in countries like UAE, KSA, Egypt and others

TECHx: How do you plan to expand further in the region?

Pramod Sharda: The Middle East is considered a strategic market for IceWarp. As part of our expansion plans, we’re investing in a local presence, teams and much more. We’re also expanding our channel network across the region to enable not just customer acquisition but also local support to our customers.