By Michael Leeuwen, director of Proudly South African company, PM Tech Holdings The days of the box dropper are over, period. Withering budgets and an increased focus on deriving not only infrastructure but business benefits from ICT investment mean that the IT user isn`t going to jump at whatever technology is the latest trend or next must-have.
In fact, the days of box dropping have been over for a while - a distinct absence of players in this arena is living proof.
ICT companies that traditionally "moved tin" have had to reinvent themselves to stay alive. And with the cutthroat margins offered by new players - simply to sign a deal - the industry is now in turmoil.
The reality is, for these players making a small margin is acceptable, that is until warranty and return issues start creeping up.
OK, so what do ICT providers do to survive? Many of these remodelled players have gone the outsource route, thus having their own staff on site, maintaining equipment and providing critical post-sales service and relationships with their customers.
Software bundling is a good method of increasing revenue and guaranteeing return business. By partnering with software vendors and including software and/or service, the deal just becomes much more appealing. This approach also enables IT players, from vendors to system integrators to VARs to expand their customer-base and breed loyalty.
At PM Tech we`ve also found that managed services, outsourced monitoring and management of systems are sure ways of maintaining a viable and healthy margin. These services and technologies can be bundled with the procurement or sold separately. Again, this improves customer loyalty - rather than trying to save a few rands here and there.
ICT service providers must realise, despite the current industry turmoil, once a company has made a commitment to a supplier and is getting value-add, it will in all likelihood not jump ship.
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