Get to know: Somkant Mishra

What's your career history in the industry to date?

I started with a small trading company in Jebel Ali in 2003 and then after a few months I joined EZY Infotech (then known as eSys), so 90% of my career in the industry has been spent here. Initially I was taking care of sales in Saudi and some of the GCC countries and then in 2005 I took over as a product manager for the complete hard drive business in the Middle East and Africa - at the time we had Seagate, Maxtor and Western Digital. In 2008 I took over as general manager of this company.

What do you enjoy most about working in the Middle East IT market?

One thing I found very interesting when I joined is that I didn't meet any of my customers for almost one year and yet I could still do US$10m with them. That was very strange for me because I come from India where normally if you don't meet people you don't develop that confidence with each other or build a relationship where someone can just close an order of a hundred thousand dollars.

What do you dislike most about working in the market?

At times I find the response time from some parts of the channel is not as good as it should be. It is not always clear if there is an issue from the channel's side and sometimes communications are not as strong as they should be, particularly when it comes to payments. I also find at times that people operate in cents and dollar profits, but not in terms of percentages, where you can justify the overall profit in proportion to your OPEX. Sometimes you are forced to transact in that manner.

What is the most valuable business lesson you've learnt?

You should commit on what you can deliver - you should never over commit. You should be very straight with your channel, with your vendor and you should not be vague about things. Whatever you do should be clear to the vendor and to the channel.

How would you describe your management style?

A manager is only as good as their team. First of all, you have to develop a very good team because there are so many things which you have to implement and you can't do everything on your own. It has to be a team effort.

What is the best deal you have ever closed?

It is very difficult to say. There is not one deal that stands out as the best. I believe that the overall process and the business we have done has been good. I can't just highlight one and say that was the best.

What are your top channel tips for the next 12 months?

You should know what resources you have and based on those resources you should plan your business. You should not just run after the numbers - you don't have to prove anything to anyone. Just uphold your reputation and make sure your bottom line is good. That's how I look at it.

How do you relax outside of the work environment?

Whenever I get time I play cricket. I also go running and enjoy other kinds of outdoor activity as they help me relax. Sports and family - these are the two important things for me apart from my work.