Understanding the market and connecting with customers

Engaging effectively with the market to drive new and sustainable business, while developing profitable longer-term relationships, requires an intimate knowledge of customers and their priorities. We have pulled together materials in this section to help as you look to optimise your go-to-market plans and activities.

Our Content:

What are you doing to ensure your IT suppliers work for you?

Navigating the Complex IT Supplier Landscape in 2024 It is a truism that IT evolves[...]

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Making supplier management work better

68 IT leaders provide their insights

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Optimising your supplier base for 2024

    Other infographics in this series are Making supplier management work better and Getting[...]

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Getting the most from your key suppliers

    Other infographics in this series are Making supplier management work and Optimising your[...]

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Can contributing to open source get you a job?

Could voluntary work on open source projects be a stepping stone to employment?

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What does “Investment in Generative AI” actually mean?

I’ve found myself in a number of conversations recently where the discussion has turned to[...]

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Broadcom swings its axe at VMware

What a difference a week can make. The dust had barely settled on Broadcom’s $69bn acquisition of[...]

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Broadcom finally swallows VMware: what now?

The news that Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware has finally gone through, after more than a[...]

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A CX perspective on the Contact Centre

Automation, AI and the transition to a new era

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CIO perceptions of vendor AI marketing

With all the recent press coverage, it’s not surprising to see IT vendors clamouring to[...]

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Time to sound the alarm as AI hype catches fire

One of the most worrying things that’s coming out of recent research

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It’s time to look again at IT and Software Asset Management

In the realm of IT administration, it’s all too easy to get stuck in familiar[...]

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An AI crash is coming: don’t let it drag you down

All the signs are there that an AI crash is coming: overinflated claims and dodgy[...]

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But is that really Artificial Intelligence?

CIOs speak out on the validity of vendor AI claims

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CIO Priorities and Interests 2023

Reflecting on 2022 and looking ahead to 2023

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Just because it’s innovative, doesn’t make it good!

One of my hobbyhorses at the moment is how words and adjectives that ought to[...]

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Are tech vendors pulling their weight on fixing fragmented IT?

Many organisations have silo’d data and fragmented IT systems, but

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VMware’s breadth and depth impresses, but is it still a safe bet?

At the recent VMware Explore conference in Barcelona

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IT investment reality check

5 things every technology marketing person needs to know about IT budgeting and decision-making

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Engaging for success

It takes more than a good product

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What’s up with Google’s plan to supplant SMS and drive mobile e-commerce?

Ask most people what RCS stands for, and you’ll probably get a blank look.

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HP Inc’s Poly opportunity: look beyond devices and software to a real collaboration strategy

Could its takeover of workspace collaboration specialist Poly

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Got a strong story to tell? Don’t settle for a place in the chorus

Have you lost your voice? Or is the market just not hearing you?

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Is it a Suite, Package, Bundle or Platform?

People have been selling collections of products and tools for centuries, and with the advent[...]

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Where vendors too often go wrong: SMBs need enterprise-grade IT too

For far too long now, many vendors seem to have assumed that the IT requirements[...]

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So many ways to pay for IT

Which best suits your needs?

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EDSFF: a new standard for enterprise SSDs

Bringing NMVe up to date with the needs of the data center

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Remember when cloud was going to kill the IT channel?

Throwback Thursday: taking a regular stroll in the Freeform Dynamics archives. 

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Why I’m uneasy about the Salesforce Slack acquisition

Analyst Opinion: Most coverage on the Salesforce acquisition of Slack has focused on the industry[...]

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Seeking storage flexibility, scalability and automation

Can Software Defined Storage provide some answers?

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It is time to reconsider Server Based Storage

What you thought you knew about storage has changed

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Key factors in the network security buying decision

How – and why – network security professionals select solutions and suppliers

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Lifecycle Management of HCI Systems

Every element of the solution needs attention

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The pain of intermittent problems

Can data centres handle sporadic faults?

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The truth about software reliability

Research results: It's not just about quality

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Optimizing the software supplier and customer relationship

Insights and lessons from the sharp-end

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Content priorities in the IT decision cycle

Optimising your digital asset portfolio for maximum impact

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Operational Feedback and People

The overlooked element of DevOps

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Disrupting workforce stereotypes through digital transformation

The workplace has always been the visible face of change, shifting between evolution and revolution[...]

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How will Apple increase its market relevance in 2018?

Belief systems have a time and place

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Is Hybrid Computing Taking Place?

Research reveals the reality of hybrid computing

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The politics and practicalities of IT procurement

Is cloud becoming a strategic disrupter?

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Socitm 2017 Annual Conference

Public sector IT practitioners snatch a few hours to think, listen and learn

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Storage modernisation

An evaluation and decision guide for IT teams

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Investing in data storage

A guide for business executives

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A Finance Perspective on Storage Investments

Getting past ‘No’ with your CFO

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Six key questions to ask before buying storage

Don’t let a pushy sales rep trap you into an unwise purchase

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How can you discuss storage with business people without losing their attention?

Thankfully, the days when IT was seen simply as an unwelcome but necessary cost are[...]

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The trouble with business executives…

When IT teams and their colleagues within the business get along, life is good for[...]

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IT pros speak about frustration with AFA vendors

As part of a recent survey we asked a panel of IT professionals to give[...]

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IT Decision-Making in the Digital Age

Making the right technology investments in today’s fast moving digital age can mean the difference[...]

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Desktop budget wrangles

Whose device is it anyway?

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A peek behind the AI bandwagon

When an important topic or trend gives rise to a marketing and media bandwagon, any[...]

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Managed Services in the Data Centre

From stability to agility Data centres have been around a long time during which various[...]

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AMZN, AAPL, GOOGL, FB, and MSFT

With a combined market capitalization of $2.3 trillion, Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook, and Microsoft hold[...]

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Timeless principles of selling

When I first moved into software sales about 25 years ago, my then boss gave[...]

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The dangers of digital smokescreens

A recent global study (1,442 senior respondents) revealed that those reporting particularly good returns from[...]

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A higher impact approach to IT investment

In a nutshell You may have doubts about the value for money or level of[...]

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The telecom transformation journey

The services offered by telecom companies provide some of the best examples of digital customer[...]

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If you think DevOps is BS, you may be a victim of bandwagon marketing

I’ve been coming across more DevOps naysayers and sceptics recently. Whether online or face-to-face, I[...]

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Stressed Networks Create a Channel Opportunity

No one needs telling that the pressure on their network infrastructure is growing. In fact[...]

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Justifying end user computing investments

In a nutshell Device proliferation and loss of control over at least some end user[...]

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Industry analysts and the IT decision cycle

By Dale Vile Industry analysts provide information, insights and guidance to help technology buyers and[...]

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Taming the procurement elephant

The cost of supplying IT services inside businesses has never been more visible with considerable[...]

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