Canada consistently gets top marks for its e-government initiatives, which offer broad opportunities for resellers.
But VARs should also consider the opportunites in vertical markets within the public sector that are investing in information technology, and the training and support that goes
along with it.
Dealing with the public sector is not without its headaches: It’s a highly competitive market, with a sensitivity toward the overall price tag. It can also be complicated for those without knowledge of the public sector, and sometimes hard to drum up business without having public-sector experience.
These verticals, including defence, education and health care, allow resellers to build a reputation by specializing.
And, despite the economy and tight government finances these are areas where money is still being spent.
“”At a provincial level, the government’s focus is health care,”” says Michael Quartarone, national director of software solutions with reseller NexInnovations Inc., which provides desktop and server solutions, storage and network management as well as other service offerings to the government market.
“”As a result, this vertical is in investment mode right now and is receiving a lot of attention.””
Health initiative
Ottawa is also emphasizing health care. The Canada Health Infostructure Partnerships Program (CHIPP), for example, is a cost-sharing program supporting collaboration in health-care delivery using information technology, investing primarily in telehealth and electronic health records.
The Health Agreement signed in Sept. 2000 laid the foundation for collaboration between federal, provincial and terroritorial governments in developing the Canadian Health Infostructure — along with an additional $500 million in funding toward IT.
Another market is distance learning — one of the fastest growing areas in the education field right now — being driven by virtual classrooms, online trainers, online testing and online reporting.
According to NexInnovations’ Quartarone, organizations are investing more in education and training, which is why the reseller offers training as a sub-set of all its product offerings.
“”Although products have become more intuitive, there is still a need for proper training,”” he says.
With the right training, he adds, companies can avoid the costs of added support and the possibility of users reverting back to the old systems.
(For more on education possibilities, see Feature Report: ‘Taking a bite out of Education markets’ on page 26).
Within federal government, he says there’s growth in online services and supporting architecture, including systems that allow access to information, guard privacy and enable inter-departmental coordination.
“”Web services allow information to be shared between disparate units, keeping everyone in sync and providing the public with a bird’s eye view of the federal government,”” he says.
“”Government users will need to become more comfortable with evolved Web service tools and the whole concept of serving Canadians through the Web.
“”It will be an entirely different way of interacting with the public, through online help centres and instant messaging.””
He says to stay afloat in this market, it’s important for VARs to provide value through sound consulting and business management practices. While the government market is extremely competitive, providing solution consulting, end-to-end service and training can help resellers differentiate themselves from the pack.
Another area receiving great interest among government customers is security.
Brantz Myers, national manager of enterprise marketing with Cisco Canada, says most government CIOs rank security high on their list of priorities. The idea of productivity or mobility appeals to bureaucrats, he says, “”but it very quickly turns into a security question.””
He recommends resellers develop a security practice; Cisco, for example, requires its resellers to specialize in this area before they can resell its security solutions.
Wireless opportunity
A big opportunity for resellers right now, he says, is to build security into WLANs — in campus environments, for example.
Having a specialization in this area helps resellers outflank competitors, he says, as well as prevent commoditization of their services.
“”Security is big,”” agrees Frank Haid, vice-president of sales with Tech Data Canada, who points to militiary spending.
The federal government’s 2001 security agenda includes spending $7.7 billion over five years in the areas of secure borders, civil security, and military and emergency preparedness. All of these involve substantial investment in information technology.
While dealing with the public sector poses a number of challenges, it has certain advantages over the private sector — particularly for resellers looking to drum up new business.
“”They are willing to talk to each other about what they did and how they benefited,”” says Cisco’s Myers.
“”Rarely do we see profit-oriented private-sector institutions wanting to wave a flag about the great things they’ve done.””
A bank, for example, may not want to advertise the success of its latest technology initiative, as it may be seen as a competitive advantage.
In government, however, there is more willingness to share best practices — which ultimately, for the reseller, can lead to more business.
