With threats of an impending credit crunch currently weighing heavily on organisations minds, resellers are experiencing a dramatic decline in sales as organisations respond with cutbacks on IT expenditure, with major IT projects being delayed or cancelled indefinitely.
It would be easy for resellers to shrug the situation off as being out of their control and watch as revenue continues to decline. In doing so, they are missing out on valuable opportunities to offer alternative solutions and build on new relationships ensuring that business will return once the storm has passed.
Feeling the pressure
Resellers need to be responsive to the pressures facing organisations in this current economical climate. Factors to contend with are credit crunch fears, pressure to be more green and the WEEE directive which all have a huge impact on businesses today.
A recent survey has found that organisations are facing increasing pressure to adopt environmental policies, such as greening their IT, but the major factor in them responding to this is down to cost rather than being green.
With cost being a major concern for organisations, resellers need to be pro-active in their offerings, to avoid losing out on sales altogether.
With many large corporations putting their larger IT system upgrades on hold, resellers should exploit the opportunity to offer solutions that will improve the look and performance of the machines, even if they are only short-term solutions.
Making small changes to IT
Upgrading memory or hard drives is a cost effective way of improving the performance of an IT system, without having to completely replace it. Whilst a hard drive can cost around 100 and 1 GB of extra memory costs around 30 these are cost effective options to meet tight IT budgets.
Upgrading rather than replacing memory falls in line with the requirements of the WEEE directive, which forbids the wreckless disposal of electrical equipment. In order to avoid financing the disposal of equipment, organisations should think about upgrading memory capacities to improve efficiency, and this should be something that resellers are promoting.
Although budgets are being closely monitored, it doesnt mean IT needs have been completely put on hold. Organisations still require equipment to be at its most efficient, and this provides a revenue opportunity for resellers.
Making small changes such as replacing keyboards and mice are quick solutions that can help improve the look and performance of machines whilst keeping the costs down. Resellers should look to offer these quick fix bundle packages in order to meet the growing needs of cost effective IT upgrades.
What large corporations really need is helpful advice as to how to ride out the storm, whilst maintaining efficient IT. Resellers are in a prime position to offer this, and it may be a perfect opportunity to offer some quick fix solutions, whilst building strong relationships for the future.
Resellers can offer key advice
The channel should be actively advising organisations of the best way to make the most of current IT equipment rather than completely replacing it with newer versions.
If credit crunch predictions are correct then the channel faces a real threat as organisations continue to tighten their purse strings. Resellers must be pro-active and respond to the needs of organisations in order to succeed.
By offering add-ons and memory upgrades, resellers can keep their sales figures healthy, whilst helping organisations to cut their own costs. Avoiding this kind of approach means they could face losing out altogether.
About Hypertec
Hypertec has been manufacturing and marketing Memory products in the UK for 17 years and currently ships over 30,000 units per month to channel partners and resellers across the UK. The company provides competitive memory solutions for PCs, laptops, PDAs, servers, printers and digital cameras. It has pursued a strategy of product diversification, recently adding its Personal Workspace Solutions portfolio, including connectivity, power, accessories, luggage and peripheral products. The recent acquisition of the business formally known as Primary Storage ltd adds a well-rounded storage based solution to its product portfolio.
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