SPECIAL REPORT
Twickenham Stadium April 1st & 2nd, 2009
www.comms-dealer.com
MARKET OVERVIEW
ICT distribution in focus
Piers Ford examines the key influencing factors
shaping the UK ICT distribution landscape,
highlighting the opportunities, threats and challenges
for distributors in the convergence space.
S
o far, distribution in the acknowledges a slowdown in are more cautious with their
UK ICT sector has been demand from SMEs: “We’re investment. The main challenge
relatively buffered against budgeting cautiously but we’re for distributors remains backing
the looming recession by certainly not pessimistic. From a the right horse as new products
the fulfilment of projects already distributor’s point of view, one of find their place in such a
budgeted for at the enterprise end the things we’ve seen in tough complex market. Meanwhile,
of the market. But most distributors times before is that they can they need to keep nurturing
have acknowledged the chilly present an opportunity. Vendors their legacy customer base.
wind that started blowing through will look at their cost to market
the SME customer base as soon as and see that distributing via the Nimans, for example, reports
the lending crisis began to impact channel represents a more cost- plenty of life in traditional PBX
on small business investment in IT. effective way to drive up market voice infrastructures, despite
share. We’ve already seen that the emergence of UC and IP
Assessing the market’s prospects with Avaya, for example, which technologies. According to Adams,
remains a frustratingly finger-in-the- is more focused now on driving hybrid platforms remain the most
wind business – and ICT distributors
Phil Adams
business through the channel.” viable route for many end-users,
are hardly alone on that front and running IP end-to-end does
– but nobody seriously doubts that
Businesses
Industry structure not represent a universal one-fit
the downturn will impact on sales The downturn has hit the ICT solution. “There can be compelling
as corporate budgets are set for do need to market at an interesting time, reasons either way to run single
2009-10. With Nortel’s future in
be careful with
with technologies converging at or dual infrastructures,” he says.
the balance, the downturn has bewilderingly different rates. The “It really depends on a client’s
claimed its first ‘household’ name their finances integration of the mobile layer circumstances. And while resellers
in the industry, and behind closed into corporate communications have embraced the latest IP
doors single-vendor distributors in widespread fear of a corporate strategies has dominated vendor developments, lots of businesses
particular are surely taking a long, downturn, the telecoms arena marketing campaigns, helping are still ideally serviced by running
hard look at their strategies. And is ideally placed to weather to create a perception – far from separate voice and data networks
with aggressive job and cost cutting the storm clouds,” says Nimans accurate - that voice and data – which is reflected in current sites.”
regimes being implemented by Systems Sales Director, Phil Adams. convergence across IP is now just
mobile players, there is an inevitable “Obviously there are genuine a fact of life. In reality, genuine Greenfield sites offer the prospect
sense that strength of brand alone concerns about the state of the Unified Communications is still of building networks from scratch,
is no guarantee of survival. economy and businesses do have more of an ‘adman’s’ promise of course, but the recession is
to be careful with their finances, than a pervasive technology. bound to have an impact on the
Added value and differentiation but that’s where technology But with most major vendors in scale and volume of innovative
through services will become can help with their practices every sub-sector firmly on the new projects that tend to drive
crucial weapons in the fight to and processes to improve bandwagon, the evolution of the broader adoption of new
shore up reseller channels and efficiency and performance.” the core technologies is unlikely communications technologies.
support dealers through times to be hindered by the state of Specialist mobile distributors claim
that could become very difficult Tim Brooks, Sales and Marketing the economy (to begin with that the ubiquity of the mobile
indeed. “Although there is Director at Westcon Convergence, at any rate), even if customers element in so many projects
30 COMMS DEALER FEBRUARY 2009 www.comms-dealer.com
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