Where are we going to be in 5 Years in the ACT ICT market?

I was thinking about a couple of things that I saw today, from different clients. One was a new entrant into the Canberra ICT Market, a kid of 18 who blew me away with his matter of fact approach towards solutions. I had my Vendor list with me, I always have one for the new clients and new staff members of existing clients, but this kid (can you tell I delight in being able to call an 18yo a kid?) was so switched on that as we talked about the different vendors, he started to link them together into total solutions. This is how I look at solutions. I take one product, and look at its synergies with the other vendors. The scary thing is, It has taken me several years to come to this solution building style, and this client was seeing the vendors for the first time.

I had a couple of other meetings in the day, one was very closed – the client knew what products he wanted to sell, and we didn’t have anything that he wanted initially. I was patient, and the pathways he resolved suddenly sprang into my product sets, he could see where the solutions were. It took him a lot longer though, than the first client did.

This got me thinking. What will the ICT industry be like in 5 Years in Canberra? will it still have the old guys who know the clients, and their needs, or will it be made up of young guys and girls who can look once at a vendor list and build complex solutions in their heads, before relaying them to their clients in a workable solution? will the older resellers rely on contact knowledge, rather than product knowledge? Will they become dependent on the suppliers for assistance with solutions, reliant on the advice of others?

What will the future hold? I love technology, I am passionate about products and solutions, but I am tempered with a broad understanding of the contact base in all segments of end-user markets. It has taken 17 years to get to this stage. I can visualise solutions, I can visualise synergies, and i know the clients who will be receptive to my ideas. What about the new players? who will teach them? who will instruct them in the finer stages of contact with clients?

For a lot of the new “kids on the block” they will need to cold call, get introduced by their elders, any method to gain a presence in the market. How can I assist them? can I eke out an existence alongside these brilliant minds that are coming into the marketspace? The answer is simple. Yes. Why do I think that this is the case? I am in a unique position, I have industry experience that they cannot gain overnight, and I am willing to assist them achieve their goals set by their masters. I am on their and every client’s side who engages with me. I am not the type of person who is able to favor one client over another, I have been around too long for that. I offer my experience, my responsiveness, my business knowledge and my product knowledge to all who want my help. I am excited when a new client lands a deal with my help. It could be a small deal, under $100, or a massive deal, over $100,000. Either way, I helped them get there and each deal is a stepping stone to a powerful relationship, that most clients remember in later years.

Where will we be in 5 Years in the ACT ICT market?

No Clue.

But i am really enjoying the here and now, and I will see what comes around in the next 5 Years.