Five Reasons Businesses Should Buy Technology Right Now

With all the economic doom and gloom we're hearing these days, it's easy to forget that there are still plenty of organizations out there that continue to need new and upgraded IT products and services.

Some technology requirements are just no-brainers, like keeping antivirus software up to date or complying with the regulatory guidelines. Other IT plays are strategic, geared toward cost cutting, gaining an edge on the competition or taking advantage of great prices.

Channelweb.com asked VARs and vendors who make a living selling technology products and solutions to dish on their best sales pitches in the current economic climate. We asked them to answer a very simple question: Why should businesses buy technology right now? Here are the results:

1. Because you should keep dancing with the one that brung you.

One of John Convery's favorite phrases is "Stick to your knitting." The executive vice president of vendor relations and marketing at Denali Advanced Integration in Redmond, Wash., is adamant that his company is going to keep to its basic business practices during the recession -- and Convery recommends that all companies do the same. What that means in terms of IT spend is that companies that have profited from managing technology refresh cycles wisely should keep it up or go belly-up.

Hewlett-Packard's Adrian Jones, general manager of the HP Solution Partners Organization-Americas, sums up the need for spend: "Even though the economy has slowed, the demands on businesses have not. Security, productivity, data storage/backup and regulatory requirements are among the IT needs that continue to increase for most businesses."

2. To get an edge on the competition.

Technology isn't simply a business need, it's a business driver. Better and quicker information exchange, more useful metrics and increased productivity all are made possible by technology, note industry sources like Steve Dallman, vice president of Intel's sales and marketing group and general manager of the chip maker's worldwide reseller channel organization. "Having a competitive edge in today's tough market and having the ability to remain flexible and respond to the market as it undergoes change is more important than ever," he says.

"If the capital is there, spending on technology is a great investment for businesses to make when others cannot," says Paul Shoberg, director of sales at Minneapolis-based Works Computing. "Technology today is what's enabling companies to have a strategic advantage. Technology enables you to better understand sales cycles."

3. To save money in the long run.

Or even in the short run -- as cost-cutting IT practices like virtualization and remote systems management have matured, so too have the rates of their ROI improved. "Companies should buy now if they're looking at a virtualization project," says Jeff Rogers, president of Roseville, Calif.-based Steelhead Data. "It's a very quick ROI, sometimes within months, and you can also justify it by savings in cash flow because you've reduced other expenses in the operation."

The three "Rs" -- return, return, return -- are also key for Nigel Dessau, chief marketing officer at Advanced Micro Devices: "As always, it's a question of ROI. You are probably not installing Oracle or implementing data center consolidation for the fun of it -- you are trying to raise your top line or lower the bottom line. If the business case is sound -- say, investing in IT that delivers strong ROI like virtualization or cloud computing -- then the project should go ahead."

Intel's Dallman thinks the IT channel is especially poised to benefit as stimulus funds start to flow: "As the U.S. stimulus package begins to impact the economy, the channel will be able to respond quickly with solutions and services that were not available in the past and provide operational savings in the future. The channel, which has led in all of [Intel's] last three major process technology transitions, offers a high service value in that they can quickly upgrade their customers' installed technology base for greater efficiency and output and thereby help them to remain competitive."

4. Because prices have never been better.

With vendors desperate to keep inventory turning in an incredibly rough market, it's possible to buy technology for "extremely good prices," says Works Computing's Shoberg. Steelhead Data's Rogers adds that sellers also are ready to make deals: "There are real bargains to be had on pricing right now. We are seeing special pricing requests being approved at substantially discounted rates."

And financing terms are pretty sweet right now too, adds Rahul Sood, chief technology officer of HP's Global Voodoo business unit: "There has never been a time when you can buy technology for next to nothing. I can't remember the last time a company like HP offered zero-percent financing on consumer devices -- and I don't see it lasting forever."

5. To prepare for the eventual recovery.

It seems like only a few weeks ago that "preparing for the turnaround" was being talked about a ton by vendors of high-tech products and services. But as the depth and breadth of the current downturn has become clearer, VARs like Rogers say they're dialing back the recovery talk in favor of focusing squarely on the here and now. "Normally, you would say, 'Let's build up our competitive advantage, let's buy technology while it's relatively inexpensive.' But this is a biggie. It's hard to think about the recovery."

Adds Denali's Convery, "If you've got a company that's in financial trouble, then those conversations don't mean diddly. But if they're liquid, then yes, you can move toward more long-term discussions."

It's true that the conversation isn't going to work for every business in this climate, says HP's Jones, but those that are relatively healthy "should be addressing critical infrastructure problems in order to come out of this challenging time in a much better position to compete." Shoberg has even more plainspoken advice: "I think you get ready for the recovery by not making stupid decisions right now. If you do that, you'll be all set for the recovery."

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