We recently asked four CIOs of midmarket companies to help solution providers and their vendor partners understand the key issues facing today's IT buyers. The venue was Everything Channel's XChange '08 event in Dallas and while you've always heard the words "the customer" mentioned in passing at these expansive events, truth be told there wasn't always enough attention paid to the real issues facing IT buyers—until this year. The following CIOs were on hand to share their collective wisdom with several hundred VARs and their vendor partners: John Perrin of Farner-Bocken Co.; Win Hansen of Wilshire Homes; Tom Dunnigan of South Carolina Student Loan Corp. and Niel Nickolaisen of Headwaters.
 | ROBERT DEMARZO | |
| Can be reached via e-mail at rdemarzo@everythingchannel.com. | ||
What the CIOs said they find most offensive is vendors who decide to take an enterprise product and turn it into some magical midmarket solution by disabling features they believe only enterprise customers will use. That is also the reason these IT decision makers don't like talking to partners about products but, rather, about the overall solution. As Nickolaisen is fond of saying, CIOs of midmarket companies do not have enterprise budgets. They are a cost-conscious bunch who must understand the total cost of ownership when it comes to a solution. How much staffing a solution requires and upkeep beyond initial investment are important criteria.
For the most part, these CIOs were optimistic about the future of their companies and their continued investments in IT. It is not news that they are interested in virtualization, enhancing security or dealing with complex regulatory issues. What is eye-opening, however, is the sheer amount of opportunity that exists in the midmarket. We had four articulate CIOs offer thoughtful inspiration to an audience of several hundred solution providers. Guess what? There are nearly 200,000 such customers out there in the U.S. alone. Any VAR that isn't willing to do his homework and pick up the phone to a midmarket customer is clearly missing an opportunity.
We will have more insight and news on the midmarket as Everything Channel hosts its Midsize Enterprise Summit West Sept. 14-17 in Dallas. Stay tuned and tune in.
What interests you most about the midmarket?
Let me know at rdemarzo@eveythingchannel.com
|
Five Companies That Dropped The Ball This Week For the week ending Feb. 10, CRN looks at five companies that were either asleep at the wheel or just didn't make good decisions. |
|
Five Companies That Came To Win This Week For the week ending Feb. 10, CRN looks at five companies that brought their 'A' game and made moves to beat out competitors |
|
10 Challenges That HP Wants Partners To Tackle Right Now CRN speaks with HP's business unit chiefs to get a sense of where they'd like partners to focus in the coming year, as well as how CEO Meg Whitman is making a difference. |
 More
Slide Shows |
