Demand for value-added distribution in storage market on the rise

A growing trend in the channel environment today is resellers demanding more value and assistance from distributors providing technology solutions.

This practice often takes the form of securing more favourable credit terms, quick repair and replacement procedures for faulty stock as well as access to highly-skilled product managers that can assist with compiling the best solutions for the resellers` customers. With the complexity of differentiation between solutions in the storage arena escalating annually, the majority of South African storage resellers have been finding it increasingly difficult to provide offerings to their clients that set them apart from their competitors. These offerings not only have to meet their exact business requirements, but also provide piece of mind that backup service, support and maintenance services are just a phone call away.

As one of the most respected storage solution providers in the country, Storgate identified this need some time ago, and utilised its resources to gear up its skills and services base to provide these vital value-adds to the reseller market. It is something that the company believes has been massively influential in it retaining its leadership position in the local market.

Mark Campbell, Storgate managing director, says what started as a simple support service has evolved into a full-service offering that spans the entire value chain.

"Today, our reseller base is made up of firstly, veterans of the storage arena, that have managed to build strong service offerings around the solutions they specialise in delivering to the market. Secondly, the newcomers, that have all of the drive and ambition required to succeed in the storage space, but lack the resources to provide the value-added services their customers require."

"At the same time, we`re seeing how price is playing less a part in the decision-making process how the provision of a full service offering around a world-class set of products is the deal-maker.

"By plugging these proverbial holes in the service offerings of our smaller resellers we`re truly evening the playing fields out and making for a more sustainable market," he says.

Typical services offered by Storgate outside of simple product distribution include working with resellers to identify customer needs, specify and build the correct solutions for those customers, provide the integration skills required to get those solutions working perfectly and then rounding these services out with technical support and maintenance services.

"Customers rank access to their data as one of the most important business drivers for high-end storage solutions today," Campbell continues, "and if we can provide the services required by our resellers to ensure their customers get to that scenario, we`re doing our jobs well."

Campbell says the services offered to resellers by Storgate have been designed to lend themselves to complete flexibility. "The reseller has the freedom to provide any combination of the entire solution from a services perspective themselves. If need be they can draw on Storgate`s expertise to plug the gaps, or provide the full complement of services themselves. At the end of the day, the reseller will always be more familiar with their customers` needs and wants, striving to deliver those to the best of their abilities.

"What is key in this process is having complete confidence in the product sets the resellers provide as part of the solution to their customers. Storgate`s flexible services model enable resellers to promote their tailored solution to their customers with the assistance of our resources where and when appropriate," Campbell adds.

Campbell says Storgate`s approach to providing services such as these, through its resellers, is indirectly empowering the reseller to raise their own game.

"Substantial skills-transfer takes place between our technical team and the technical teams of our resellers. This is then bolstered by formal and accredited training that Storgate provides to resellers as and when required, ultimately leading to a more sustainable channel," he says.

Storgate also offers certified training for numerous of its vendors products, aimed at developing acumen from both a technical and a sales perspective, in all areas of the storage market.

That said, Campbell believes the services being offered by Storgate are long-term and not an interim measure until the channel is skilled-up enough to offer their own consulting, support and maintenance services.

"We must not forget that the storage market is one of the most active in the IT industry, with changes and new approaches to building solutions coming to the fore each day.

"With this rising complexity and rapid rate of change, I firmly believe that a limited number of resellers will be able to keep their fingers on the pulse of what service the market requires. With Storgate at the coalface of these developments and changes, the channel will luckily always have our expertise to draw on," he adds.

"In the coming years, I believe that there will be an even greater demand for Storgate`s services, allowing the reseller to focus on the customers` needs and maintaining a strong relationship with them," he concludes.