Source www.vnunet.com
By Martin Lynch
vnunet
26-01-2004
Compusys recently attended the Working Together conference in London, and were invited to meet and demonstrate their offerings for leading government IT procurement managers.
Sponsored by Intel, EDS and others, the conference was designed to highlight the issues facing smaller system builders that want to work with the public sector.
Despite government efforts to promote greater SME involvement, system builders are often deterred by the complex tendering process, while public-sector IT managers are often afraid to risk working with smaller, unknown companies.
The event, which included presentations, debates and break-out sessions, also highlighted many of the opportunities and advantages of working with system builders, including better value for money, flexibility and higher levels of service.
"The biggest problem for system integrators is understanding the requirements of dealing with government; there is a lot of paperwork, rules and regulations," said Jackie Parton, Intel's UK and Ireland channel marketing manager.
"They also find they are trying to compete with a lot of big-name suppliers, and a lot of local authorities prefer to go with the bigger name.
"But there are a number of key benefits to working with smaller suppliers because they understand the local market.
"They can pay a lot of attention to all of a customer's requirements and offer a very tailored solution, not just a general, out-of-the-box one."
The event, attended by high-level IT procurement managers at the Inland Revenue (IR), NHS and local authorities, was chaired by Rene Carayol, business guru and non-executive director at the IR.
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