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When buying IT equipment you shouldn't always go for the cheapest deal. This often means you don't get any after-sales support, which could leave you out of pocket according to Stephen Park Brown, managing director of the NVT Group.
Recent research reveals that many small companies complain they receive insufficient after-sales support from their IT supplier. The reason for that is most likely to be the fact that too many SMEs buy their IT products and services online and through telesales operations without having first given due consideration to their proposed applications.
What SMEs should be asking themselves is what exactly it is within their operation they are seeking to improve and what their application requirements are from an IT solution, rather than rushing out and buying IT equipment on the basis of price alone. Lack of after-sales service
Too many SMEs are inclined to purchase their IT equipment online or through telesales operations at heavily discounted prices, only to then complain about a lack of after-sales service, even though they haven’t paid the supplier for an after-sales service.
In this respect, a clear parallel can be drawn with the budget airline sector where travellers purchase seats online at bargain basement prices only to then be offered a range of additional services at cost, such as a charge for luggage, a charge for fast access (no luggage), a charge for priority boarding passes and, of course, a charge for in-flight refreshments.
In just the same way, SMEs have little cause for complaint about after-sales support if they buy IT equipment as a commodity purchase and expect an added value wrapped around it.
Were such SMEs were instead to commission an IT consultant to advise on what applications might improve their operations, prior to buying up the cheapest IT equipment available, then we would soon see a dramatic fall in the number complaining that they don’t receive adequate after-sales support from their IT supplier. Selection of IT adviser
The difficulty, of course, is that SMEs are reluctant to pay for an after-sales service, partly because they don't seem to value their IT services in the same way that they value their accountancy or legal services, for example.
In an ideal world SMEs would give the same consideration to the selection of their IT adviser as they give to the selection of their financial or legal adviser.
The criticism, though, is not all one-sided. IT advisers are unlikely to be regarded on an equal footing with other professions unless and until there is an approved professional accreditation or qualification that would reassure the marketplace that IT advisers have attained an acknowledged standard of expertise.
Such an accreditation would soon identify any incompetent or inexperienced IT advisers content to pay only lip service to professionalism.
We need to get the message through to SMEs that they should appoint IT advisers that have made the time and financial commitment to invest in accreditations and training to ensure a quality standard (such as CITP).
They should do this rather than simply sourcing their own IT equipment and buying the lowest cost option available online or through telesales operations without a clear understanding of their own application requirements. Rely on gut instinct
Meanwhile, it seems likely that the fact that many small companies complain they receive insufficient after-sales support is not wholly unrelated to the fact that SME's tend to rely on their gut instinct when investing in new technology, rather than researching the credentials of the IT suppliers of the product and service.
Any buyer of capital equipment, hardware and software products direct from a vendor should be aware that purchasing IT equipment represents at most only half the equation since, once purchased, that equipment has yet to be installed correctly, after which there is an ongoing requirement for upgrades and overseeing any technical glitches than can arise from time to time. Upgrades
In some respects, buying new IT is analogous to buying a new car insofar as you might finance the purchase over a three year period. Just like a new car, it will need to be serviced throughout that period and will definitely require an MOT at the culmination of that period.
A new computer system might require to be serviced with virus protection, software upgrades and new payroll software to bring it into line with new legislative requirements.
Ultimately, if we are to see a meaningful reduction in the number of SMEs dissatisfied by inadequate after-sales support from their IT supplier, then they must be prepared to make an informed decision and pay for after-sales support.
Companies shouldn't simply plump for the cheapest equipment available, and then complain when it doesn’t add value to their business because it doesn’t provide the solution that they had mistakenly thought it would. This article was originally published on the British Computer Soceity website - www.BCS.org Related links
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