DEALERS, RESELLERS AND VARS
Thoughts from the market
In this feature we take a look back at some of the most significant questions we asked the Channel over 2019.
We’ve had highs and lows as a nation, but how has that impacted Channel businesses? Find out below.
DO YOU DIP INTO WORK WHILST ON
HOLIDAY?
• Never – 9%
• I will check-in occasionally – 32%
• I will do bits most days – 54%
• It’s like I never left the office – 5%
COMMENT: It’s official, we are an
industry of workaholics! 91 per cent
of the market will dip into work in one
form or another whilst away. This is
staggering but perhaps not surprising.
In a market of entrepreneurs and small
business owners sometimes there is
simply no choice, in order to keep all
your customers up and running you
have to be available 247.
IT HAS NOW BEEN A YEAR SINCE
THE INTRODUCTION OF THE
GDPR SO ARE YOU FINDING THE
SUBJECTS STILL A HOT TOPIC
WITH YOUR CLIENTS?
• Yes – 13% • No Change -27%
• No – 60%
COMMENT: Was GDPR the biggest climax of
the last few years? Although it drove a lot of
activity and investment many businesses
have not adjusted their behaviour in any
meaningful way. As soon as people realised
the large corporates would be the primary
target for fines everyone seemed to take
a collective ‘chill pill’. This pole would
indicate that it has slipped to the back of
peoples minds, hopefully because they are
compliant, not because they don’t think they
will get caught out.
ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS HOLDING BACK SPENDING BECAUSE OF BREXIT?
• Not at all – 0%
• A little - 45%
• Yes – 55%
COMMENT: Although our Brexit journey has progressed since this question was asked in mid-2019
it sums up the situation for many out there. Despite the positive stories pouring into the press,
the ‘business as usual’ stories weren’t enough to stop customers holding back their spend on
technology projects.
HOW WAS 2019 FOR YOUR
BUSINESS?
• Great growth (10% +) - 46%
• Small growth (<10%) - 8 %
• Flat – 8%
• Small decline – 30%
• A car crash – 8%
COMMENT: This is positive for the most part.
62 per cent of businesses we surveyed
experienced either a flat year, small growth
or great growth. Of those, 46 per cent are
experienced 10 percent plus growth over
the last year. Unfortunately, where there
are winners there are also losers. 30 per
cent of the market had a small decline and
8 per cent had what they described as a
‘car crash year’. Does this tell the whole
story? Many partners are going through
a transformation and are battling ever
dwindling revenue streams. We may be
seeing a rocky period for those partners
trying to transition to recurring models.
WHICH DOORS DOES 5G OPEN
FOR YOU?
• Connected tech – 15%
• Faster mobile speeds – 21%
• Fixed-line replacement/ backup – 21%
• None! – 43%
COMMENT: Owch! A rather unexpected result
here which some UK networks would be
baffled by. 5G has been the talk of the town in
2019 and although we have seen the network
slowly spread it is still very limited in terms
of coverage. For now, partners may not see
the potential and I can’t blame them. After
the previous iterations of ‘G’ the performance
didn’t match the claims, 5G will need to prove
itself before the market gets all gooey eyed
over it.
© Monkey Business-stock.adobe.com
32 | Channel Profiles 2019 2020 www.commsbusiness.co.uk
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