INDUSTRY VIEWPOINT - Would you buy from Arthur Daley?

Alastair Laidlaw, managing director of IT Network, bemoans the lack of advice available to purchasers in businesses.

The hardware and software market is growing at a rate of eight perk of advice available to purchasers in businesses. cent a year, with more than 200 IT products released every week. And with the lifespan of many products shorter than it has ever been, the old joke 'if it's in stock it must be obsolete' is in danger of becoming a reality.

Decision-makers, faced with a key purchasing decision, don't know which way to turn. They are inundated with information from all directions - vendors, resellers, the press and the Web. It has made their job almost impossible because they face such a huge task when trying to carry out effective research. But how do they know the information is reliable?

The key to finding the right product has always been knowing what to look for. Ask any motor trader about buying a used car and you'll get the same message - check the bodywork for overspray, make sure the identification numbers match the paperwork and look for oily sludge in the radiator or blue smoke in the exhaust.

However, in the murky world of Arthur Daleys there is always the Top Gear's Quentin Wilson, only too happy to offer concise, impartial information to any punter who happens by. Or if Quentin's busy, there are online and printed guides from the likes of Top Gear and Glass' Guide.

So far, though, the industry has no such resource. In a world that is so complex, fast-moving and has so many overlapping areas, there are hundreds of competing sources of advice - but none of them are truly impartial or comprehensive. Everyone who offers information has some sort of axe to grind, whether it's a vendor pushing its products over its rivals' or a reseller running a sales promotion with one particular vendor. Group tests and buyers' guides in the press begin to address the issue but they can only hope to give a snapshot of the situation and quickly become out of date.

But before you make a decision, there are more fundamental issues to consider. For example, before you rush out and buy a consignment of laptops, you need to know what they will be used for - occasional presentations at client sites or full-blooded desktop replacements for a mobile workforce?

Do you need remote access connectivity and will you need the machines to play sound or video files? Only then can you formulate a technical plan - processor, hard drive, multimedia and connectivity must-haves according to specifications.

Any key purchasing decision needs to be based on an analysis of these business requirements. Here, too, there is an overwhelming quantity of information from a wide range of sources, but it is difficult to know where to start looking. Manufacturers publish technology white papers that appear to discuss the issues in an objective way, but naturally, any verdicts fall in favour of the vendor.

Again, the print media is getting there, but with the fast-moving nature of the industry, a three-month-old back issue of a magazine will not cover the most recent developments and answers.

The resources available to help beleaguered executives are getting better all the time, but there is a danger that they will bring us back to square one - there is simply too much information out there. Business support for purchasing decisions - such as persuading the chief finance officer to release funds for a project he or she is unlikely to understand in detail - is difficult. Research by Boston Consulting Group has established that business buyers are looking for a consistent, impartial, reliable resource that is Web-based, easy to use, comprehensive and UK-driven.