Partnerships with well-known vendors make the best sense, says Tarsus

Tarsus Technologies, a member of the JSE-listed MB Technologies group, believes that by focusing its distribution efforts on internationally renowned brands such as Compaq, it can not only provide its customers with the latest cutting-edge technology and top-of-the-range solutions, but also reliable and value-added service and support.

As the original supplier of Compaq equipment to SA, Tarsus Technologies boasts the longest relationship with the vendor, which extends to all divisions in the company, including services, marketing, product sales and support.

"Since its establishment in 1982, Compaq has earned the reputation of being a leading global provider of enterprise technology and solutions," says Terence Barter, Compaq product manager at Tarsus Technologies. "Consequently, we enjoy a mutually beneficial long-term relationship with Compaq, the advantages of which can be passed on directly to our customers."

"For example," he continues, "as a Compaq distributor we have access to a large support infrastructure, made up of highly qualified people who are considered experts in their field. Additional support is also available off the Web, whenever it`s needed.

"Our customers benefit directly from this relationship. Should they encounter a problem, we know exactly who to turn to at Compaq, thus ensuring that it is resolved quickly and painlessly."

The fact that Tarsus Technologies has no fewer than five StorageWorks Accredited Systems Engineers (ASE) - which is the highest qualification in the storage sector - places it a significant step ahead of its competitors. "Most resellers in the channel have only one or two (ASEs) on board," says Barter. "Having five enables us to offer our resellers the highest level of consulting assistance and support whenever they need it."

Besides its ASEs, Tarsus`s five, fully trained Compaq support engineers provide full-day telephonic support to customers countrywide. Additionally, product managers are on hand for customer meetings, presentations and demonstrations. "By grouping our sales personnel into various teams, they are always available to answer queries and meet customer demands," Barter adds.

Compaq offers extensive training on all its products and services, including technical training as well as pre-sales and sales training. Tarsus Technologies is able to pass on this expertise to its own resellers, ensuring that their customers invest in a solution that is best suited to their specific needs.

Tarsus Technologies continues to achieve excellent results in the sale of Compaq products which, says Barter, is largely owing to the sales team`s ongoing passion for the product range.

"This passion begins with a five-day sales and marketing training course on the entire Compaq range," he explains. "Sales personnel are given a comprehensive overview of all Compaq products and are also taught how to use the various sales and marketing tools at their disposal. On completion of the course, they are required to write an exam for which the pass mark is 80%."

Barter says Tarsus boasts a high success rate in the course, which provides its sales personnel with everything they need to promote the Compaq range.

Compaq also devotes much of its resources to ongoing research and development and has its ear close to the ground in terms of what the market wants in a solution. "Where they can, Compaq designers incorporate the thoughts and concerns of users into the development of their products, taking care to extend their life and upgradability for as long as possible," says Barter.

"Users who invest in a Compaq product know that it has been thoroughly tested before being released onto the market," he continues. "Because Compaq products are renowned for the reliability and performance, customers soon develop pride and loyalty in the brand.

"By selling the entire range of Compaq products, we can enable large corporate companies and even smaller, medium-sized businesses to standardise across the range on solutions that have already been tested and are guaranteed to work," he concludes.