Lenovo Leverages Channel to Gain Ground

In terms of selling the range of devices that people want to use to access corporate resources, the channel landscape has never been more complex.

Not only is there a lot of debate concerning the types and classes of devices that customers want, but the method of acquiring those devices has never been more diverse. Some companies still want to buy those devices through traditional solution providers in the channel, some want to buy direct from the vendor while others are buy some devices from either a channel partner, vendors directly and their Internet service provider. Worse yet, many are coping with a bring your own technology (BYOT) phenomenon that results in an end run around the internal IT organization.

While that may currently represent a challenge for solution providers, the good news is that level of complexity should soon push many companies into the arms of solution providers that can simply the acquisition of a complete portfolio of mobile computing devices. From that perspective, it’s the vendor that can provide the broadest range of mobile computing products that will gain share in 2012, which is one reason, says Lenovo channel chief, Chris Frey, that Lenovo this week reported record sales of $8.4 billion and is the number two supplier of PCs worldwide.

Obviously, most solution providers have issues breaking into the smartphone market. But given the fact that tablets are increasingly seen as companion devices to PCs that are still relied on as the primary tools for creating content, the packaging that combines PCs and tablets together creates a compelling offer, especially if the solution provider can also provide a set of ongoing services to manage the whole environment.

There’s no doubt that tablet devices have had a significant impact on the market. But adoption of Windows 7 in corporate environment is just hitting its stride. And with the advent of Windows 8, the PC market could see another spate of growth in the latter half of 2012 and on into 2013.

Obviously, the margins on those devices are not what they use to be. But as a rule, anything that creates disruption in the market is eventually a good thing for the channel.