BT urges IT consolidation
Firms need tighter control over fragmented IT systems, telecoms giant warns
UK companies need to get a grip on their fragmented IT systems, which cause higher costs and inferior efficiency, according to research commissioned by BT.
The research found that 77 per cent of companies have multiple-vendor equipment installed and 61 per cent of senior managers plan to reduce the number of vendors they use.
Rakesh Mahajan, general manager of strategy and business development at BT Indirect Channels (BTIC), is quick to point the finger at system suppliers: “The fault lies with vendors and resellers not looking at the customers as a whole,” he said.
He added that vendors just offering a single-boxed product rather than a complete solution exacerbated the situation. “You need to approach a customer as a whole and offer a complete solution. All resellers have to know their customers,” he said.
Mahajan added that to enable firms to offer complete solutions, resellers need to start charging for pre-sales consulting, giving them the opportunity to work with “serious customers” only. He denies such a move would create an end-user backlash.
Coincidently, BTIC has released details of a project, in partnership with VAR MiTech, to offer Hanson plc, a building materials firm, a consolidated IT solution.
Alistair Mortimore, accounts manager at MiTech, said: “Hanson has four or five networks and it was not reliable, it created a lot of problems. A single network means a faster network that is far more reliable.”
Mortimore said the firm had a prolonged sales period with the end-user. “This allows us to assess all the Hanson sites before the install. We knew as soon as the contract was awarded we could move quickly.”