System builders here and abroad are increasingly aware of the uncertain future of the Channel. It all started a couple years ago at the Intel Solutions Summit when Paul Ottelini, President and CEO of Intel, shared his vision for Tomorrow. His vision is of a world in the not-too-distant future where there exists a “billion connected devices”. Hundreds of millions of different, discrete miniature systems connecting and communicating; consumer electronics, embedded devices, handhelds and netbooks. And it’s scary how fast the vision has become an impending reality.
The vision creates uncertainty for today’s channel companies because only a fraction of those billion devices can actually be built by the Channel. In my vision of the future, the Channel will probably be building infrastructure for ‘the cloud’ in the form of servers and storage. Infrastructure projects benefit from vertical expertise, custom designs, and rapid service response; these are all hallmarks of a channel company, so we’ll be building infrastructure for awhile. And we will be providing service for the users of those “billion connected devices”. But we won’t build many desktops, or laptops. Certainly no netbooks or handhelds or anything else that is small. The transition from building systems to NOT building systems will be a sea change for these small Channel businesses. If they are to survive the transition and thrive in the future, they will need to commit to a common [channel] strategy and relentlessly execute their plan.
I believe that the Channel needs to create demand for its products and services. We need to tell the buying public that we’re experts in making ‘the cloud’ work for their businesses and can provide all the services they’ll require. We need to let them know that there are thousands of channel companies all across the country and that “we’re small businesses just like you”. Customers will buy into that idea, but we’ve got to put it in their heads. We need to better market our collective ability to deliver more than servers and storage; our product is Comfort and small businesses need what we’ve got. And we have to learn to sell what we’ve got. We need to put top priority on sales and sharpen our salescraft. We need to build a company culture around Sales in order to find new revenue (cash flow) and create more margin (profit).
Intel’s vision for the future is almost upon us. The relentless truth of Moore’s Law dictates that technology’s new devices will get smaller and smaller until only machines can manufacture them. The business of system building will change dramatically, but there will still be business for system builders. Capturing the business (and securing a future) will rely on our ability to see change and adapt. To learn new things and accept new challenges. To evolve in response to our changing world.
Tags: atypical business, Pat Taylor, sales training, system builder
