Convergence a boon for SMEs

Small businesses more able to compete with big players

Communications reseller Britannic Technologies used its fourth annual Convergence Summit to highlight how the onslaught of convergence is narrowing the technology gap between large and small enterprises.
Between 250 and 300 end users showed up at this year’s summit, held at the Imax theatre in London, with Mitel, Avaya and HP ProCurve among the vendors giving speeches.
Talking to CRN at the event, Jonathan Sharp, sales and marketing director at Britannic Technologies, said: “Before, SMEs struggled to compete, but the cost of implementing new services has fallen creating a level playing field.
“Convergence is bringing many more options to SMEs. It is setting a precedent. They are now in a position to achieve substantial growth in a relatively short space of time. The whole dynamic has changed rapidly because of convergence.”
Scott Dobson, managing director of unified communications distributor Vcomm, agreed. “Large businesses need to be on the lookout,” he said. “SMEs can react to changes in the market a lot quicker and are now providing services with better features and functionality at a lower cost than before.”
However, Sharp warned that SMEs must have a strategy in place that allows them to manage growth.
“Smaller businesses are in a better position now, but they need to ensure their structure is right to secure their long-term future. Short-term growth could in turn lead to long-term losses and they need to ensure the structure is in place to support this,” he said.
Keith Humphreys, managing consultant at analyst firm EuroLAN, said: “Business continuity is important for any firm and small companies must develop along with their business.”
Resellers must wake up to convergence market