Users feel restricted by vendor contracts and tech choices

The word 'simple' is used a lot by vendors to describe their ambitions in channel partner programmes and the technology that they deliver to customers.

The problem is that far too many customers are still finding it difficult to deal with the wide number of choices waved under their noses.

Cogeco Peer 1 has been talking to decision makers to try to work out why so many tech roll outs don't go to plan. Users complained that reliability, not getting the service expected or higher costs were some of the main reasons that they were left dissatisfied.

Choice was a problem for 40% of respondents with vendors providing too many options and life was further complicated by restrictive contracts that those buying and managing tech felt limited their growth options.

Susan Bowen, (current VP & GM, EMEA) and future President of Cogeco Peer 1, said that the channel needed to make sure that the technology they offered provided scalability.

“Agility and flexibility are key tenets of this, so businesses should seek the right partners and services which enable them to scale up and down to match seamlessly with their needs," she said.

“Far from being restrictive, properly scalable solutions can allow businesses to focus on what they do best, rather than being bogged down in their system requirements,” she added.

The survey also threw up indications that some of the areas where customers are looking for help simplifying things is around security and data protection.

Research coming out of Cogeco has consistently indicated that service levels coming from vendors need to improve with many users expressing frustration with the current levels of support being offered. The firm has also shared expressions of concern from customers that acknowledge they have to change because of digital transformation but find the options open to them are not attractive.