By Gary Pickford, Managing Director
Over the past decade or so, digital commerce and the rise of the cloud have changed how small and medium businesses (SMBs) buy technology solutions. Sure, there’s still life in the traditional transactional business of selling hardware and software to mid-market enterprises, and there will be for some time to come.
But we’re also seeing business needs and expectations change at an accelerated pace. That leaves resellers and distributors with the challenge of figuring out what exactly the B2B technology customer experience will look like in five years’ time—as well as how to solve customer problems in a repeatable, scalable manner.
"For us and our channel partners, it’s all about embarking on a similar digital transformation journey to the one that businesses are on. An important part of the story is automating processes and using digital platforms to sharpen efficiency, to serve and improve the customer experience."
As importantly, it’s about recasting our role in the wider ecosystem. Value-added resellers and distributors need to ensure that they truly are adding value. To succeed in a changing market, they need to focus on helping their end customers to solve business problems—whether those are or growing their customer base.
How to add value in a world of commoditised technology?
Towards the reseller of the future
Consumption-based pricing and as-a-service offerings are becoming a vital part of what we do. Customers benefit from variable pricing and flexible deployment, while the channel can use these models to drive annuity revenues and grow. But the risk is that such offerings commoditise what we do even further.
As such, it’s key to design service-driven offerings that solve customers’ problems. For the channel players that get it right, this is an opportunity for significant growth. For us, helping businesses to harness digital technologies is one of the keys to creating a globally competitive, inclusive and shared economy for the future.
South Africa’s dynamic SMB sector ranges from mid-sized construction and manufacturing businesses to boutique financial advisors and small marketing agencies. But what they all have in common is that they want technology that delivers great business outcomes.
They care about reducing costs by digitising paper, reaching new markets via ecommerce or obtaining insights that help them retain customers. Where they need help is in making sense of their options. They are looking for partners who understand their business and cut through the jargon.
That’s why we want to support the channel in its evolution into true business partners for SMBs. The reseller of the future is a consulting and service-led company that can share risks and rewards with its customers. Furthermore, it will be able to help them transition to consumption-based billing models that provide them the agility needed to respond to a changing world.
Technology is a powerful enabler for businesses with ambitious growth plans. But the bottom line is that businesses are not alone as they put today’s digital tools and solutions to work. Whether their goal is adding market share, improving collaboration or enhancing efficiencies, Tarsus and our partners are ready to help.
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