Like some of you reading this I’m surprised to look at the calendar and see we’re heading into a new year already. Back in September I wrote my first blog about been an IT journalist and now four months later I’m lucky enough to be posting the last one for the year.

It’s been a great experience meeting the reseller community and I hope you all manage to get some time off during the silly season.

One common thread that has emerged from interviews this year is that people seem enthusiastic and positive about the local IT industry. This isn’t just coming from the old hands but also the young people I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing for the Hotshots column.
The hotshots all indicated that they would be staying in the industry which bodes well for the future.

It’s also pleasing to see some Australian based companies opting to open local offices for resellers rather than trying to run everything from Sydney or Brisbane.

We’ll be on holiday until January 7 and look forward to another round of stories and events in 2008.

Posted by Hamish Barwick December 21, 2007 9:00 AM | Comments (0)

Back in October, we passed on some expert advice on how to cut through the Christmas clutter and make a real impact for your company. So as the holidays loom it was interesting to see how the tech firms we often deal with would respond.

All the lunches, drinks and office functions were great - they aren't novel but they're a tried and true way to strengthen ties.

It's always nice if there's an activity of some sort built in to make it that bit more memorable.

It seems most companies still can't go past the trusty Christmas card to send greetings either. But a nice touch this year was the donations to charity some had made, with the card used to tell us which one they'd chosen.

Our advice when you're looking to spread Christmas cheer that will last well into the new year is keep up with what you know works, but add a bit of a twist to ensure your company stays top of mind.

Posted by Amanda Sachtleben December 17, 2007 11:57 AM | Comments (0)

Although direct-selling PC-maker Dell is not yet saying when it will implement the channel programme it unveiled in the US this week, it appears it may have started recruiting local resellers already.

At a recent industry event, I heard a credible account that a reseller that was about to end its long-term relationship with one of the larger PC vendors in order to hook up with Dell.

Unfortunately the source would not reveal any names, and Dell isn’t saying anything either.

Its Sydney-based communications manager Paul McKeon says that while Dell has announced a global strategy to expand its reach into retail and to look at value added resellers, to his knowledge, there is no news on that front in New Zealand.

He does confirm that the company has long-standing relationships with local IT systems integrators and with a number of software companies who recommend Dell as the preferred hardware for their offerings, but says these cannot be regarded as resellers in the traditional sense.

So although the account I heard at the event remains unconfirmed, it is still sounds credible.

What is also interesting is that Dell reportedly asked the reseller to supply it with the details of its customer list - apparently a condition of the partnering agreement.

This sounds very worrying. Why would any reseller wish to divulge such sensitive information to a company it has no relationship with and which has no reputation for working with channel partners?

It is a little like sharing your bank card PIN with someone you have just started dating (Never a great idea - trust me!).

The trouble is that Dell is only just testing the channel waters. It has not yet proved to itself and potential partners that it really wants to commit to a channel model or that this would actually suit it.

Cosying up to the channel might make sense to Dell now, but there is no guarantee that it will not return to its direct-selling roots, this time armed with customer lists of its former resellers.

While it is too soon to say what kind of channel partner Dell would make, I would certainly exercise caution when it comes to sharing customer details.

Oh, and if you have been contacted by Dell to become a reseller, we’d love to here from you. Drop us a line here.

Posted by Louis Van Wyk December 7, 2007 5:01 PM | Comments (0)

If you're anything like the Reseller News team at the moment, you'll be in the middle of a haze of pre-Christmas, Christmas, end-of-year, soon-to-be-next-year, just-want-to-party parties.

The channel is renowned for its festivities at this time of year, and we love to eat, drink and be merry as much as the next reseller, distributor or vendor.

But we don't find these occasions to be just frivolity.

As a reseller said to me at a recent event, there were about five people he wanted to catch up with and there they were all in one place.

It's great for morale to get together and have fun with your peers, and some organisations are building more social get-togethers into their calendar throughout the year, not just waiting until Christmas looms.

There's also no substitute for meeting face to face with industry members, to build on the friendships you have and to share information.

It's important to celebrate the achievements of the year and reflect, rather than just plough ahead without a second thought. This is especially true given the hectic nature of working in tech.

If you think back over the year you'll probably realise you've been involved in some very worthwhile projects and deserve to cap them off, and have done some other things you can learn from and improve on next year.

Posted by Amanda Sachtleben December 4, 2007 10:47 AM | Comments (0)

Fairfax Business Media hosted a swanky 1970s styled party for staff and clients last week to celebrate Movember - the month formerly known as November. Everyone partied like it was 1979 and prizes were given to the best mos of the night. See the slideshow below for highlights from the party:

Posted by Louis Van Wyk December 3, 2007 11:41 AM | Comments (0)