KEYSTONE, Colo. – Managing a business is much like the balancing act of an acrobat and Canadian solutions providers are taking centre stage, according to GE Access.
New Frontiers Conference 2002 started with an acrobatic performance, providing president and CEO John Paget some inspiration for
his opening remarks. Paget told his audience business management, like gymnastics, requires focus, dedication and vision, as well as the ability to recognize that everything could tumble down unexpectedly.
It’s a reality solution providers are all too aware of, Paget said. “”Everyone in this room is a survivor,”” he said. “”We faced this past year head-on and won.””
But now, he added, it’s time for VARs to refocus, re-energize and rebuild their businesses by tapping into new opportunities.
In an interview with Computer Dealer News, Paget said Canadian VARs provide a premiere example of how to face a tough economy. “”A number of years ago (Canadian solutions providers) began to understand and implement this concept of selling a solution versus selling hardware, software, networks,”” he said.
“”The U.S. is starting to get to that point, but we’ve probably invested more in education and knowledge transfer around building a solution practice in the U.S. than we ever had to in Canada. Canadian solutions providers are much more willing to experiment and much more willing to invest in the training of their engineers.””
Canada’s smaller population and different sales culture are two possible reasons for this contrast, he said. “”Relationships seem to be critically important in Canada between the solutions providers and the end users.””
Paget said he expects to see Canadians pushing the envelope when it comes to wireless and security technologies. “”The networking business in Canada is seeming to grow,”” he said. “”The storage market is starting to take off. Both of those are really positive markets.”” But the fastest growing market has to be security, he said.
“”If I were a solutions provider in Canada, I would be diligently focused on the security marketplace. It fits with what they’re doing from a total solution standpoint. Somebody may have enough storage capacity or they may have a network that they’ve built that’s good enough. But I assure you there is not a single end user out there that is sufficiently secure.””
