A story in today’s issue of sister publication Computerworld is likely to raise a few eyebrows in the channel, as it implies that reseller and distributor margins are inflating local software pricing.

The article dishes the dirt on how much more some software vendors charge for their products in New Zealand than they do in the United States.

It is hard to argue, given the figures provided, that Kiwis are not being charged a premium for some products, especially boxed software that cannot cost that much more to be shipped to our shores than it does to get to the US.

But two of the products mentioned in the article (Microsoft Office and IBM System P servers) would be sold mostly through the channel in the US, as they are here.

This means the US pricing would include the distributor and reseller margins as well. And, local resellers certainly do not enjoy bigger margins than their overseas counterparts.

What cannot be denied however is that the cost of marketing products in New Zealand is generally higher than the US.

A small, geographically dispersed population also poses challenges for vendors to interact with their resellers across the country, which is essential to enable the channel to properly support local customers.

Getting those boxes of Microsoft Office or Symantec Internet Security to the country’s far flung corners where there may be limited potential customers will undoubtedly add to the cost.

Whether this justifies the premiums of around 40 percent on some products quoted in the Computerworld story needs to be addressed.

After all in today’s globally connected world, local users could easily bypass official outlets and buy their software online from overseas.

Posted by Louis Van Wyk January 21, 2008 3:33 PM | Comments (0)

The idea of a paperless society is nothing new but it seems there are moves to encourage people to read more online. The US government recently announced that it is publishing the federal budget (all 2,200 pages) online.

From a conservation point of view this is a good idea. But here’s the downside. Staring at a screen for long periods isn’t very good for your eyes - so I would assume most people would print out the pages they were after anyway.

Industry writers are also predicting books, newspapers and magazines will take a huge leap toward electronic "consumption" this year with reading onscreen touted as number seven out of 10 personal tech predictions for 2008 according to this report.

Newspapers and magazines I can understand but books? Call me old fashioned but it’s very hard to curl up with a notebook and try to read. And after sitting at a computer for most of the day the last thing I want to do is go home and look at another screen (unless it is the telly - of course). I seriously doubt e-books will replace paper ones in the near future.

As for magazines and newspapers, many have gone online-only in recent times. This is risky because not having a physical presence on the stands could mean they get lost in the myriad of news sites. Generating revenue is another issue as trying to get people to pay to read news online doesn’t work. Just ask the New Zealand Herald who tried it back in 2006 with its ‘premium content’.

Feedback I get from the reseller industry suggests many still prefer to read the print edition of Reseller News, as they can read it during their lunch break or on the plane.

With that in mind, I’d be interested to hear your thoughts about reading online.

Posted by Hamish Barwick January 14, 2008 9:12 AM | Comments (0)

Converged devices have been on the rise for many years now, but this could be the year they really hit their straps.

We want to watch video on our cellphones, listen to our playlists in our cars, send an instant message on the road and use GPS so we never get lost while doing so, and in the office we want to print, scan, copy and fax all from the same machine.

We also want easy internet connection regardless of the device.

Until now though, the majority of all-in-one gadgets have had at least one weak point, whether it's a sub-par camera, inadequate sound, clunky navigation, poor graphics, average headphones or a design that can't accommodate multiple uses.

However, several recent success stories show that manufacturers are getting it right more often.

They include the iPhone and iPod Touch, Telecom's Okta Touch (a re-branded HTC phone), Nokia's N95 phone, Palm's Foleo, GPS devices with extras, a host of ultra-mobile PCs, Windows Mobile 6 devices and many more.

Support for HSDPA (high-speed downlink packet access) means we can get emails and browse the internet faster, screen size and clarity are often vastly improved, and touch screen interfaces can enable us to control more functions without crowding a product with too many buttons. Design is also improving aesthetically.

Best of breed products will always have their place, but convergence makes increasing sense for mobile workforces and consumers.

The question in 2008 and beyond could be where the limits of these products lie, and how much we're prepared to pay for them.

Posted by Amanda Sachtleben January 8, 2008 11:30 AM | Comments (0)