Middle East case studies : Elixir Technology - Entry Into The Middle East

Entering the Middle East market through Malaysia is the best alternative at this time . Malaysia has a market not dissimilar with that of the Middle East . Entering Middle East via this option gives the Company an opportunity to partner with a company which has insights on working in a Muslim country . This way , Elixir is not starting with zero knowledge since this entry strategy is a duplication of what it did in Japan

Elixir develops and sells computer software which includes the stand-alone and the server-side versions of the Elixir Report . These two

br versions provide business an enterprise-class reporting solution . ER was designed for high-performance operation , capable of handling large report generation (O 'Neil , 2004 ,

. 4 . As such , Elixir Report is able to accommodate multiple input data source types and provide reports in multiple output formats (O 'Neil , 2004 ,

. 4 . Aside from these benefits , ER can support multilingual reporting and platform independence , and can support mobile devices

The core competencies of Elixir for its ER are

Speed in adopting changes in the environment and technologies into ER 's programs and applications . As a matter of Elixir claims that flexibility is built in into the Company 's spirit (O 'Neil , 2004 ,

. 8

Network with technology vendors . This relationship enables Elixir to rapidly fit its ER into a client 's information system which was sourced from a particular vendor or several vendors

Capacity and capability to localize the Elixir Report into specific customer requirements . This capacity and capability is a result of the unique design of ER which enables Elixir for easy modification for accommodating local cultural needs (O 'Neil , 2004 ,

. 8

As the Company recognized the positive relationship between its understanding of it 's customers ' technology vendors and the efficiency of the sales process , Elixir made developing partnerships with other technology vendors the basis of its marketing , sales and distribution strategy (O 'Neil , 2004 ,

. 6

Another component of its marketing strategy is stressing that other technology companies translate their products instead of localizing them as what Elixir does (O 'Neil , 2004 ,

. 8 . Also , the Company provided for a free trial of the software which can be downloaded from the Company 's Web site (O 'Neil , 2004 ,

. 9

By scaling the software into different versions and selling licensing agreements , Elixir is able to sell ER at a price 50 percent lower than its competitors . This scalability , however , is not a liability in terms of software performance

Elixir , as to its plan and strategy to expand outside Singapore , has been averagely successful . For example , in its entry into Japan , the Company 's initial marketing strategy - advertising in international magazines - generated low response from Japanese customers . However this was remedied with the Company 's partnership with GrapeCity which enabled Elixir to bridge cultural gap and language barriers . This same strategy can be used in entering the Middle east market

Yes , based on the facts presented , it is financially beneficial for Lau Shih Hor to take Elixir into the Middle East . I suggest that Lau pursues a distribution partnership with a Malaysian-based company . This company has a better understanding of the Middle East market than Lau which will allow the Company to better localize ER which is one of the product 's competitive advantages

References

O 'Neil , E (2004 . Elixir Technology - Entry into the Middle East . Ivey Management Services , pp . 1-24

_Middle East case studies : Elixir Technology - Entry Into The Middle East

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