Dubai, UAE – April 17, 2017

Gulf Business Machines (GBM), the region’s number one provider of IT solutions, has become the first regional IT company in the GCC to adopt LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator tool for its sales force. LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator enables salespeople to more easily tap into the world’s largest professional network to find and build relationships with prospects and customers through social selling. 

The partnership between GBM and LinkedIn signals the onset of a transformation of the regional IT sector, and the growing adoption of the social selling concept as a means to improve sales. Through this collaboration, GBM places itself at the forefront of using the social channel to revolutionize the relationship between the business and its customers. Sales Navigator is expected to further strengthen the GBM brand by providing its sales team with insights on the target audience. It also helps the sales force connect with decision makers and build on these relationships to seal business deals.

Kevin Jones, Vice President of Software Solutions at GBM said, “LinkedIn has changed the nature of how we connect on a professional level. LinkedIn Sales Navigator takes this one step further and helps us convert these relationships into business opportunities.

“We are excited to be the first regional IT company to partner with LinkedIn to adopt the concept of social selling through Sales Navigator. This is aligned with GBM’s goal to innovate and change the way we do business as a company. We also expect that this will be the direction which the regional IT industry will head in the near future.”

Liam Halpin, Director of LinkedIn Sales Solutions, EMEA, said “Our tried and tested LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator tool will enable the GBM salesforce to find and connect with prospects more effectively than the traditional sales route. We are delighted that GBM has recognized the benefits of LinkedIn’s social selling concept and is adopting this throughout the region. Success in today’s world relies on sales professionals being able to navigate the often-complex social structures within the companies they want to work with.”

LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator tool makes it easier to build trusted relationships more quickly by shedding light on the key connections salespeople need to make. Through this tool we look to revolutionize the way that the GBM salesforce does business and in turn help them to achieve their business objectives.” Halpin explained.

Through this partnership, the GBM salesforce will have access to the LinkedIn Sales Navigator Team Edition which is designed to cater to groups of salespeople, and includes InMails, TeamLink, CRM integration, central reporting and extended network access. The tool will be used by the GBM sales staff across the GCC, and will assist in their sales operations for both enterprise and SMEs.

-Ends- 

About Gulf Business Machines (GBM)
Founded and operating in the region since 1990, GBM is the number one provider of IT solutions, leveraging industry leading technologies to drive real business results for clients. GBM is the sole distributor for IBM – excluding selected IBM products and services – throughout the GCC, apart from Saudi Arabia. GBM’s momentum was further enhanced in 1999, when the company secured the Cisco portfolio. Most recently GBM was named as the Apple Authorized Systems Integrator for the UAE.

GBM offers an extensive range of IT infrastructure, solutions and services ranging from consulting, resource deployment and integration to after-sales support. The company has offices in the UAE (Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah), Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, and Pakistan.

Continuously recognized by its international partners, this year GBM has been awarded as IBM's Top Business Partner, Cisco's Middle East Partner of the Year, and Channel Customer Satisfaction Excellence, the highest distinction a partner can achieve within the Cisco Channel Partner Program.

For more information, please visit www.gbmme.com

About LinkedIn
LinkedIn connects the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful and transforms the ways companies hire, market and sell. Our vision is to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce through the ongoing development of the world’s first Economic Graph. LinkedIn has more than 467 million members and has offices around the world.

Build your profile on LinkedIn. Join the world’s largest professional network today: https://www.linkedin.com/

Learn a new skill with LinkedIn Learning: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LinkedInMENA/?fref=ts 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LinkedInMENA// 
Website: https://www.linkedin.com/ 
Social Media Hashtags: #LinkedInMENA

For further information, please contact:
Corporate Communications
Gulf Business Machines 
Tel: +971 43435353 Ext.3614 
Email: communications@gbmme.com
Weber Shandwick 
Tel: +971 4 445 2245 
Email: gbm@webershandwick.com  

© Press Release 2017