Sales opportunities ‘hiding’ at the edge of the network

In New Zealand there are thousands of small IT spaces such as remote and branch offices, network closets and server rooms that lie outside of the data center.

These spaces are often overlooked because SMBs lack the time and skills to determine the best strategic solutions.

With today’s move to the cloud and trends such as BYOD, it’s more important than ever that these businesses maintain connectivity and operate efficiently by having the guaranteed physical infrastructure they need.

This means that devices on the edge of the network are now not only business critical but also represent a sizeable sales opportunity for channel partners.

Integrated infrastructure solutions for Small IT spaces offers the same reliable solutions that large data centers count on, but in an adaptable structure that’s suited for any space. Optimising small IT can lead to potential energy savings and that’s important to any business’s bottom line.

It will help ensure that customers have all the elements of a viable power protection plan in place to support their critical infrastructure, and can lead to higher cost savings, improved efficiency, and maximised uptime.

Solutions for this space need to focus on modular scalable physical infrastructure that’s easy to upgrade and fits with the right-sized environments.

SMBs are struggling to identify the business case and are looking for guidance and leadership that will help prove their ROI. The opportunity for the channel is to help them navigate the increasing demands on their IT spaces with strategic solutions that will increase business efficiencies. These can include vendor-neutral racks, modular power and cooling, and software.

There’s also an opportunity to sell management capabilities and services, such as software that allows for easy remote monitoring and management of the network from any location and any wireless device or computer.

Given the emergence of macro trends such as cloud, BYOD and Big Data, there’s now a large opportunity for the channel that lies at the edge of the network. Meeting the growing needs of SMBs with Small IT solutions will help position providers strategically in the market while at the same time drive sizeable revenue and profits.

By Simon Smith, regional manager, New Zealand & South Pacific, Schneider Electric