The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry in Australia has ballooned over the past several years. It is now worth $100 billion annually and is growing continually. ICT accounts for 4.6% of the country’s total GDP. Furthermore, the Telecommunications Industry generates more than 40% of the ICT industry’s revenues. There is no doubt that the business has been booming.
With the change in Australia’s needs comes an increase in the demand for IT products, as well. It is estimated that Australia has $49.2 billion of untapped economic potential. This means, with the current use of IT by many businesses, the full potential has not been reached yet. It is expected that this industry will continue to grow steadily in the next few years.
End users tend to give their business to IT distributors in Australia for various reasons. First, they get the products at a lower cost. Second, distributors usually add value to the products by including services that they can also provide. Third, it saves the end-user a lot of headaches when facing system issues or repair.
Lower Costs
It is a well-known fact that if you cut the middleman and buy directly from a manufacturer, you get your equipment for a lower price. But it’s not always the case. In the IT Industry, distributors usually buy in large quantities from vendors, so they get a bulk discount. What they do is to add a modest markup to the individual product price before passing it to the end-user. In those cases, cutting out the middleman is not a very good idea.
Service Tailored to Your Needs
Another advantage is the personalized service. It is great if you are an IT professional and you already know what you are looking for. However, in most cases, a business owner only knows what his business requires, not the equipment or service he needs. IT distributors can consult with the owner and come up with a solution that is personalized to their needs – no more, no less.
Distributors can also add some services or equipment that are also needed. Most IT distributors usually have a lot of vendors, and not everyone provides hardware. It might be possible that a business needs software as much as hardware. In this case, a distributor can make a package and take out the end-user needs by coordinating with two different vendors.
Avoiding the Headaches of Maintenance
Maintenance and repair are the biggest headaches for end-users. It is not easy to call manufacturers about product maintenance, especially if the company is overseas. Distributors have a unique knowledge of what your systems are. They set up your system, so they have more knowledge of how your system works – more than the manufacturer. In this case, consulting with your IT distributor is a great way to find a feasible solution to your problem. Leave it to them to contact the vendors and formulate a plan, even if they don’t know how to do it already.
IT distributors in Australia have a unique role to play in today’s business environment. They make sure that businesses get the systems they need to succeed. They can continue personalizing their services to make things easier for end-users. Finally, they can make sure that the $49.2 billion of untapped economic potential for businesses will not just be a statistic, but something that can be achieved. If you build it, the money will arrive.
Author Bio: Mary Kate is a freelance writer who offers to ghostwrite, copywriting, and blogging services. She works closely with B2C and B2B businesses providing digital marketing content that gains social media attention and increases their search engine visibility.