'Crowdsourced consultancy' comes to the channel

New website aims to better connect the channel with consultants

A new website aiming to help channel staff learn more about technical products through the help of "crowdsourced consultants" has launched.

WhatMatrix began as a hobby site but over the last six months has developed into a business, which launched this week. The site aims to provide business buyers and channel companies access to free advice from consultants in the form of IT comparisons and evaluation tools.

The site allows users to select certain technology from a range of vendors to compare, with the results displayed in a colour-coded grid format which it claims makes comparing simpler.

The comparison advice is curated by a number of expert consultants, who offer their services for free in return for recognition of their expertise. The company claims it is "doing our bit to democratise consultancy".

Marek Bell, WhatMatrix's chief technology officer, said the channel can benefit from the site by giving sales and tech staff access to free expert advice.

"They're able to use the information as a consumer," he said. "The channel really needs, by necessity, to evolve. There's increasing complexity within those technologies. So when the channel provides that information, they need even more breadth and more depth. They have to cover more technologies and contrast them, and they have to talk confidently about those technologies. We hope to enable those organisations to provide solutions."

He added that consultants stand to benefit too.

"To make a name for yourself as an IT consultant - even with expert knowledge and the desire to share it - is becoming increasingly difficult in today's online world," he said. "At the same time meaningful, free and curated IT product evaluations are hard to come by and vendors look for new ways to reach their core audience.

"We provide validated content to our users, visibly promote and reward our participating community experts and provide vendors with a framework to promote and integrate their products in evaluations and proposals - it's genuinely a win-win-win for all involved."