Steljes goes north of the border

An education specialist looks at the lessons the Scottish channel can teach the rest of the UK

Dodwell-Bennett: Opportunities exist in Scotland despite the downturn

Having recently been appointed as sales and business development director at distributor Steljes, my first task was to meet as many reseller partners as possible. So what better place to start than Scotland?

As in other parts of the world, the recession has taken its toll on the Scottish channel, with the result that budgets in every sector have been reduced. Despite this, I think it is fair to say the Scottish market is holding up well and resellers there are adapting in readiness for when the economy picks up.

Can we learn from their experience? The education market is still a key sector for the reseller channel. Scotland is undergoing a programme of investment in school buildings under its Private Public Partnerships (PPP) initiative. While the PPP market is fiercely competitive, it is also highly lucrative.

Different sales approach
These are large implementations and require a different sales approach. Resellers doing well in this market have learnt that the key is to provide integrated solutions, rather than being seen just as box shifters.

Unlike in England and Wales, further and higher education is free to Scottish students and is provided by the Scottish Funding Council. This funding is driving the development of new colleges and universities, which are adopting the latest interactive technologies at a faster rate than ever before.

They not only want to be able to offer their lecturers and students access to the best IT in order to improve educational standards, they also want to make themselves more attractive to the valuable foreign student market.

Remember, further education is only free to Scots ­ us non-Scots have to pay! Older universities are taking note of this and upgrading their lecture rooms with smart interactive podiums and response systems in order to compete.

With the interactive whiteboard (IWB) market experiencing a resurgence, schools are also starting to replace their old projectors with the latest ultra short-throw solutions. They are starting to realise the true value of interactive technologies.

The result has been a significant increase in the uptake of peripheral products,
such as audio systems, document cameras and voting systems, as schools start to augment and develop their existing IWB installations.

Niche markets
It’s not all about the education sector. Although Scottish economic growth may have slowed, there are good opportunities in other niche markets, such as fitting out new buildings or office moves with money being spent on installing the very latest AV equipment in boardrooms.

I spoke to Stewart Taylor, managing director of Uddingston reseller Access AV. He has found success in a very unlikely sector ­ church halls ­ where there is a need for wireless public address systems.

I also spoke to Angus Knight, managing director at Glasgow audiovisual systems provider Mediascape. A recent review of his business processes has helped him to win additional business, while at the same time maintaining profitability levels. He said that businesses need to ensure they are well positioned to take advantage of the increased opportunities that will come when the recession ends.

“That is why we decreased our overheads and increased our marketing activity to find new clients and opportunities. We have just been awarded the Advanced Procurement for Universities and Colleges (APUC) accreditation for a three-year period. Non-APUC approved suppliers may not be able to deal with all the universities and further educational establishments throughout Scotland,” he said.

But it is in the public and corporate sectors where the highest-margin opportunities can be found.

All companies want technologies that improve productivity and reduce costs, but they want more than this. They want technology to align to their green aspirations by reducing their carbon footprint.

As well as the brand benefits, having a heavy carbon footprint is also a costly business. Scottish companies are turning to new collaboration solutions to give them an environment where teams can share ideas, participate in discussions and save and distribute their work as if they were in the same room.

Such technologies offer companies the best of all worlds and are helping our friends north of the border refine the ways in which people work.

Martine Dodwell-Bennett is sales and business development director at distributor Steljes