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07.01.05
The Four Ps Of Selling Enterprise Infrastructure
 By Tere Bracco
Despite pockets of accelerating growth, enterprises overall
aren't buying as much as infrastructure vendors projected.
They aren't purchasing wireless technology the way vendors had
anticipated. For example, Synergy Research estimates that the
number of WLAN clients sold worldwide in Q1 2005 will be down
nearly 10% over Q4 2004.
Nor are enterprises investing as much as expected in infrastructure
upgrades to make old networks VoIP ready. Synergy notes that
while Enterprise IP telephony port sales are projected to increase
in Q1 2005 by a little over 6% from Q4 2004, overall enterprise
telephony port purchases have fallen steadily for the last year.
Some enterprises are paralyzed by the dilemma of which need
is the greatest: wireless or VoIP or upgrade-to-get-ready-for-the
next-big-thing. And others are simply trying to determine which
investment-if any-won't get the IT director fired. Here are
some guidelines on what to do-and what not to do-to overcome
enterprise doubts and objections and finally loosen those purse
strings.
Enterprises are overwhelmed by the burden of implementing new
infrastructure. Every new technology seems to introduce an exponentially
greater number of management challenges, integration issues,
training and support problems, and security threats and the
consequent drain on resources that results from each. So what
will persuade enterprises to buy new infrastructure? Here are
a few ideas: present a clear multi-year plan that can be implemented
in manageable phases. Develop a plan that commits the enterprise
to an architecture and a strategy and perhaps even a technology
goal, but not necessarily to a vendor. Keep recommendations
targeted and practical. Avoid scare tactics. Above all, use
planning as a sales tool.
In informal discussions over the past several weeks, enterprise
IT infrastructure vendors have been remarkably candid in revealing
their disappointment with enterprise IT purchasing in recent
months. A few published surveys and interviews have borne this
out, although spending finally seems to be picking up. Vendors
have been surprised by slower-than-expected enterprise uptake
of VoIP and wireless LAN technologies, and have been dismayed
at the enterprise market's hesitance even to upgrade its existing
infrastructure. The question-sometimes spoken, sometimes not-is:
"What's wrong with these enterprises? Don't they realize new
investment is crucial?" And, more to the vendors' point: "How
can we get them to shake loose some money?"
What's a vendor to do to overcome enterprise fears and objections
and finally loosen those purse strings? We've listed a few tips
below. These pointers come from discussions with both enterprise
infrastructure vendors and buyers. Some of this may appear to
be "Selling to Enterprise IT 101," but occasionally over time,
the basics are forgotten, so it's worth a refresher.
Planning: The single most important sales tool for an
enterprise infrastructure vendor is a one-, three-, and five-year
technology plan for the enterprise. This plan must be based
on specific knowledge of the enterprise customer's IT architecture,
requirements, and goals. The plan must map out discreet phases
for implementing specific technologies, and include "decision
points" at which the enterprise can re-evaluate its technology
choices and make changes in course. The goal should be to present
a plan for an architecture that is scalable and flexible and
that can be budgeted in phases, without requiring that the enterprise
commit financially and technologically to the whole thing up
front. Developing a plan like this requires that professional
services organizations become a key partner of the sales organization
and an integral part of the sales process. This means that professional
services should no longer be viewed as a high-margin add-on
to the sale. They are the sale.
Plurality: A vendor that devotes itself primarily to
the customer's IT network, rather than to its own equipment,
will find itself entrenched with its customers. Therefore, the
vendor's infrastructure plan for the customer should commit
the enterprise to a technological goal without indenturing it
to a particular vendor's equipment. This approach will actually
deepen and strengthen the bonds between enterprise and vendor.
Attempts to bind enterprises to single-vendor architectures
can cause enterprises to hesitate, and can even backfire by
causing enterprises to insist on splitting purchases evenly
among two or more vendors.
Presence: Vendors need to approach enterprises with realistic
assessments of the infrastructure upgrades that enterprises
need, and avoid scare tactics to urge enterprises to buy more
than they need. After weathering Y2K and the post-9/11 videoconferencing
push, enterprises are burned out on scare tactics. Before making
recommendations, vendors should take into consideration the
current enterprise network, including such things as real and
present security threats, current bandwidth requirements, and
near-term growth rates. For example, vendors should ask themselves
how the enterprise has changed over the past five years. Companies
haven't expanded personnel in the past several years, so the
actual growth in bandwidth requirements is low. And the applications
haven't become that much more bandwidth intensive. Chances are
an enterprise is still trying to justify the last round of infrastructure
upgrades. So what upgrades are truly necessary now?
Read
the Rest of the Article
About the Author:
Tere Bracco is Vice President of Global Services Market
at Current Analysis and can be reached via e-mail at tbracco@currentanalysis.com |
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