INDUSTRY NEWS COMMENT: LONG LIVE THE PABX Neil Moulton
“The problem is that we feel the need to adopt the latest ‘buzz’.”
I HAVE to admit that I’m a Luddite when it comes to the next ‘big thing’. I only got on Facebook because a mate’s kids signed me up, and I’m a Tweeting virgin. Amazingly though, I seem to be getting by OK without having a microchip inserted in my brain. To our collective credit, the comms industry has always harboured some of the brightest lights in technology development and over time we’ve all seen the benefits of being able to deliver real enhancements to our customers’ businesses. This has kept us relatively
protected from the challenging economic climate. The problem is that we feel the need to adopt the latest ‘buzz’ to keep ahead of the adoption curve (and our competitors), and that can be costly if the mass market’s not there yet or the economy’s not buoyant. Just ask the guys who bought in expensive data specialists in the early days of IP and saw their investments wither on the vine. For all the hype over the cloud and hosted voice, the majority of connections are still based on the good old PABX. Maybe more with hybrid or pure IP connectivity, and possibly with more applications to deliver good business services, but a box on the customer’s wall nonetheless. Why? Because the majority of successful volume
resellers sell on lease. Customers like to get the benefits of low monthly payments for updated technology, and the lease providers like stuff they can touch. It’s as simple as that. Rather than tilting at windmills we at 4Com are seeing our partners refocus on the business they already have the resources to manage, and with our support it’s paying dividends for them. We all talk about end user RoI, maybe it’s time to remember our own!
Neil Moulton, Sales Director, 4Com
Comms-care appoints MD
COMMS-CARE has appointed Ben Davies as MD with a remit to drive the firm’s expansion. He was one of the company founders in 2002 and previously operated as Sales Director. Davies said: “To be given the reigns as MD is a great honour and I understand the enormity of this huge challenge.
“The company has ambitious growth plans over the next few years that will test every mem- ber of the team. I am sure they will rise to the challenge.” His appointment sees the role of MD filled for the first time since the sudden loss of the previous MD Scott Yates who died in 2008.
Davies noted: “When Scott and I set up Comms-care we
Ben Davies
could never have envisaged the success it has now become. “It is testament to his vision and drive that Comms-care is where it is today.
“I now have the opportunity to build on all that hard work and with the support of our dedicated people, we will be looking to increase our value proposition to all our partners.”
NEC inner circle news
THE NEC Technical Team have been developing an intuitive new product for the NEC port- folio. “The SL1100 is simple to install, saving resellers valuable time,” stated Product Manager Nigel Witts. “For resellers new to NEC, training to sell the SL1100 is a fast process, help- ing them to get back on the road sooner.” Watch this space...
SHORT CALLS
Computerlinks has formed a strategic partnership in the UK and Ireland with Pillar Data Systems, a developer of application-aware storage systems. The agreement augments Computerlinks’ established networking, security and virtualisation solutions portfolio and will form a key component of its Next Generation Data Centre channel proposition.
Spitfire’s single contact policy backed up by regular updates has paid off with its latest customer satisfaction survey showing impressive results. Marketing & HR Director Susie Ward said: “We fully intend to continue to raise the bar and provide our customers with an excellent level of service.”
Former Capstan Sales Director Scott Elder is returning to his previous position after an absence of nine months. Jim Robertson, Business Development Director, has departed to take up a new role. Capstan’s MD Gordon Smythe said: “Scott is one of the family having worked with myself and Capstan co-founder Geoff Girdler for nearly 15 years. His return is fantastic news for us and our reseller customers.”
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Bigger Margins - Better Service - Happier Customers 8 COMMS DEALER MAY 2011
www.comms-dealer.com
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