TMCS urges clients to shun hardware sales

VAR spreads unusual message as it looks to save its customers money

Looking after the pennies: TMCS hopes to save customers money

Taylor Made Computer Solutions (TMCS) has turned the conventional reseller model on its head by advising its clients not to buy hardware.

Under the ‘maintain IT, don’t buy IT’ banner, the Fareham-based VAR is discouraging end users from shelling out on new systems by working with what they already have.

If customers phone up to make orders, TMCS said it will spend time determining exactly what model they need before selling them anything.

The aim is to ensure systems last for five years without customers having to upgrade and buy hardware.

The reseller insists the move will not harm its top line, and predicts turnover will rise by 14 per cent to £8m for the next financial year.

“This will drive more consultancy-led sales,” said Ian Lockwood, commercial director at the HP, Microsoft and Cisco partner.

“You can see how much the market has changed and how companies are using the current climate to look at their overheads.”

Keith Humphreys, managing consultant at EuroLAN, argued it is a sound strategy.

“A lot of system integrators and network integrators are taking a similar line by increasingly going in and doing an assessment of the customer’s network before selling them anything,” he said.