As 2004 has passed the halfway mark, changes in the networking market, particularly from a channel perspective, are beginning to be evident. There are growing expectations for an economic upswing and a better trading climate.
Channel players are taking careful note of this and moving their strategies to take advantage of the anticipated increase in open chequebooks.
Added-value-for-money positioning seems to be more popular today as companies look to give themselves more visibly and independence.
While there are still companies in this industry that prefer high-volume, low margin so-called "box-dropping" model, more emphasis is today being placed on the return on investment of a correctly integrated, future-proofed solution.
Against this backdrop, the gulf that previously existed between the product prices of the box-droppers and value-added distributors and resellers has shrunk significantly over time in the face of increased competition.
Now, with the hope for boom market in mind, companies are honing and refining their pricing structures. Will the added value of technical support, and pre- and after-sales service be reflected in inflated quotations in the future?
Perhaps not. The ICT industry is maturing - fast - with many distributors and their reseller partners evolving into value-driven, solutions-selling consultants taking acceptable, sensible profit margins.
On the technology front, changes are also evident. Today the complexity of corporate-wide networking systems, telecommunications infrastructures, data storage repositories and security protection is greater than ever.
In fact, the sophistication of the products on offer often exceeds the requirements of the user in the short-term and it takes considerable expertise to design and implement a solution that will optimise the customer`s financial investment.
It is important for dealers to sell products that are most relevant to the customer`s particular application - and for this to occur a considerable amount of customer-related, business-critical information needs to be studied.
Companies have come to realise that there are sizable medium- and long-term savings to be realised from a well-designed, conceptually-sound solution and they are now willing to financially support strategic thinking and service backup.
Share
Editorial contacts