Maybe Resellers Need To Think Differently
Like most industries, both locally and globally, the digital age is challenging traditional business operation methods and forcing people to think about the ‘bigger picture of the future’. In the tech environment, this bigger picture is being metaphorically painted by the birth of ‘digital disruptors’ and the latest trend in tech development, the ‘Internet of Things’ or IOT.
Paul Collins, Country Manager for Acer Africa said, “Traditional reseller models in the local tech environment focus on the ‘bricks and mortar’ of technology – the actual machines, projectors, mobile devices, accessories, etc. Although there will most definitely still be a need for these products, they will ultimately form part of a solutions based model and in order for resellers to stay relevant, they’re going to need to adopt this thinking method too.”
The eco-system or environment that is IOT not only focuses on the application usage itself but how this usage becomes a catalyst to fundamental operational and behavioural change. Take Discovery’s Vitality programme as an example – although their innovation is only at the tip of the figurative iceberg, the fact that they are able to use their client’s actual behavioural data to influence their medical premiums is indicative of how the device becomes the vehicle and not necessarily the solution.
Collins, continued, “This is a really exciting time for our industry. Not only are we at the coalface of this dynamic shift in the way people do anything and everything, but because of our legacy, we can be part of the evolution – provided we understand what and how the evolution will influence what we do, and we become innovators in the way we drive this evolution forward.” “The days of simply selling a device are numbered – we will have to start thinking about how the entire solution will integrate with the user and the desired habitual change – in a personal and professional environment,” concluded Collins.
