Compatibility is a VAR that prides itself on providing support for
smaller companies in danger of being overlooked by the big
manufacturers. Report by Roanna Avison
When Crowborough-based reseller Compatibility was set up in 1985,
it found a niche importing cloned PCs from the Far East. But once
the larger players with the ability to import in bulk discovered
the market, founder and director Peter Coward was forced to turn to
more traditional reselling.
In those days, Coward points out, there were very few brands to
sell and they were expensive, so customers were willing to pay for
cheaper, cloned machines. But after two years, Compatibility was
forced to look for alternative sources of income. "By that time,
large importers were bringing in a lot of hardware and had the
volumes to cut down the freight cost," he remembers. "It was a
tough business because you had to pay cash upfront, it would take
three to four weeks for the stuff to get [to the UK], then a month
to sell and a month to get paid."
These days, Compatibility sources its kit from more traditional
routes - distributors Computer 2000, Ingram Micro and Northamber.
Of the three, Coward claims C2000 has the best focus on smaller
resellers, the widest range of product and the better service.
Most of Compatibility's customers are companies with five to 50
users, too small to have their own IT departments and within an
hour's drive of its Crowborough office. "These are the kind of
customers that are interested in covering themselves in the case of
a breakdown. And in most cases, we can convince them that we have a
better chance of supporting their kit if they buy it from us. What
we sell is what we can support. Otherwise support can be a
problem," Coward reveals.
Over the last five years, computers have become crucial for
day-to-day business operations, making support a vital issue,
according to Coward. "If the computer does not work, you cannot do
the job anymore," he says.
Coping with bugbears
Despite the downturn, Coward
claims customers in the south east have not been affected. "Where
we have seen the effects is at manufacturer level. Hardware vendors
have been selling kit very cheaply to reduce stocks and so people's
expectations about the cost of a PC have reduced," explains
Coward.
But he suggests most of Compatibility's customers do not buy on
price because they are looking for value add.
While it sells high profile brands like HP and IBM, Compatibility
also works with local manufacturer Epic. "Some customers know a
brand and want that, but others want specific graphics cards and
processors and Epic will build them for us. It gives us more
flexibility. We are even willing to install Dell equipment that
customers have bought direct themselves," says Coward. But support
from manufacturers leaves a lot to be desired, he claims. "The
wholesalers wash their hands of support for the smaller resellers
and it can waste a lot of our time when something does go wrong
under warranty," he reveals, claiming support calls often go
through a European centre and get screened before there is any
chance of speaking to an engineer.
He points to the Internet as the cause of the biggest changes in
recent years. "The Internet is becoming widely used, but not just
as a means of advertising or having a Web presence. Its supply
systems and order tracking are more useful to our customers," he
says, adding his biggest issue with the Web is broadband and ADSL.
"For a fixed price you get access speeds that would be impossible
with the Web and that is great. But the big downside is
availability. You have to be relatively close to the exchange and
that is holding up the implementation. Customers want it and it's
not in their area. We have no idea when it will be and, apparently,
neither has BT."
Coward lists Compatibility's bugbears as training for new
technology, gaining credit while waiting for payment from small
businesses and virus attacks. On this last point, Coward claims
small companies are more vulnerable, yet are ignored by some
vendors.
The message from Compatibility, then, is that the smaller guys seem
to fall off the manufacturers' radar screens, when perhaps they
ought to be doing more to support those who provide a large
proportion of their revenues.