Recent reseller poll highlights: Recession-beating vendors and technologies will win with resellers in 2009
Canalys recently carried out a mini-poll into what resellers believe will be the key trends in 2009 in readiness for its Channels Forum in Barcelona on 4 and 5 February 2009.
It found that the success of HP, Apple and Cisco continues to be recognised, with the highest proportion of respondents rating these companies’ performance in 2008 as fantastic. Other vendors have also impressed the channel. Samsung is on the rise with its channel engagement and innovative products. Acer, Toshiba and Nokia are mentioned for their market responsiveness and product strategies. Even Google is highlighted for its channel strategy and brand strength, which should come as a wake-up call to traditional channel vendors.
Specialist vendors also received recognition, with Juniper, Bluecoat, Citrix and VMware all acknowledged for their channel support and important products. In particular, virtualisation is a major talking point for resellers now and will remain so in 2009; security will also continue to be a hot topic.
The end of 2008 saw market conditions deteriorate for the European IT channel as many countries moved toward recession. The biggest worry for resellers is cash flow, followed by spending cuts by existing customers. The strengthening dollar is also leading to price rises from most vendors, according to respondents, adding to concerns over demand. But resellers have said they appreciate openness on price rises that the large vendors, such as HP, have implemented. Resellers also welcome more favourable terms and conditions from vendors to help them through these difficult times, such as extended payment times and lower revenue targets.
Resellers have started taking action to cut their own costs, with pay freezes and headcount reductions of up to 10% being most common. Travel expenses are also being frozen by many. Expect these areas to be targeted further in 2009. More than a quarter of respondents even expect their salary to be cut by 5% or more in 2009. Despite this, there are many positive comments from respondents. Some are taking advantage of current conditions to recruit new staff or capture opportunities in outsourced and managed services. Others are taking a wait-and-see approach, rather than making drastic cuts which could damage them in the longer term.
The Canalys Channels Forum will help resellers identify the right measures to take to survive the recession, as well as highlight technologies and opportunities for future growth. Experts will be on hand, both from Canalys and supporting vendors, to provide invaluable insights and advice to resellers.
If you would be interested in speaking to Canalys’ President and CEO, Steve Brazier, or one of his team to find out more about the mini-poll and other topics that will be discussed at the Canalys Channels Forum, then please let us know and we can set up a briefing on your behalf.
