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Current Filter: Storage>>>>>Comment> Crossing the channel Editorial Type: Comment Date: 03-2015 Views: 1354   | |||
| It is sometimes easy to lose track of the fact that, for many IT buyers, there is little or no direct contact with most of the storage vendors who feature in our pages - almost all of their procurement is done through a partner channel that may include distributors and resellers (as well as 'value-added' variants on both of those) as well as systems integrators and consultancies On paper we might surmise that this reliance on the channel would make life harder for vendors - how do they get their unique selling points across to end users, for instance? But in reality the channel has developed over decades to become an invaluable tool for both vendor and buyer alike. It has meant that vendors can 'focus on their knitting' - i.e. developing the best solution for the job - while effectively outsourcing a large part of their commercial operations to partners of one hue or another. In this issue we take a look at two very different companies who are doing very nicely out of this situation: NCE Computer Group and Beta Distribution. Beta are in the process of growing their business 'explosively' (their word) as they shift toward a storage solutions approach that sees them working with best of breed vendors including Seagate, QNAP and HDS as well as innovators such as Falconstor and Exablox. As Enterprise Business Manager Ricky Patel comments: "I'm tasked with bringing in some new and disruptive brands - including Tier 1 vendors and software firms - to our technology solutions division. As a business we see ourselves as very much a Value Added Distributor: we have 3 other divisions, which are important foundations for the whole business. We are almost like a start-up ourselves within an established business." Elsewhere we take an in-depth look at the service business at NCE, who are taking on repairs, service and supply chain work for a growing roster of companies who no longer consider it economic for them to provide such services in-house. From tape libraries and optical drives to ruggedised laptops, no job is too big or too small for NCE's team of experts. With a call centre setup that any insurance giant would envy, NCE are growing a highly successful business for themselves in an area where vendors didn't see any returns. The channel then, seems to be in rude health, riding the waves of IT and economic downturns and coming out leaner, smarter and better able to turn a profit.
David Tyler | |||
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