In 2007, at the inaugural ARN Awards, Data#3 picked up the award for Integrator of the Year.
Every year since then it has won Enterprise Reseller of the Year. So what does an organisation do to have such a strong presence in a market that it has never come runner up in the award category?
“A lot of it has been consistency and being dependable,” Data#3 group general manager, Laurence Baynham, said.
“Four years in a row means we have a fair amount of consistency, and our peers believe we are providing that consistency.”
That consistency ranges across a number of areas – in terms of the people that Data#3 employs, the investments it makes with its vendor partners, and its ability to steadily grow its market share.
Consistency is something that the channel appreciates, Baynham said, even if it’s not always a winning outcome for a prospective deal. “We are very much open in saying where we will and won’t invest,” he said.
Like any other organisation, Data#3 did feel the pinch through the GFC; however, the organisation is very bullish about the market going forward. “We’ve managed to continue to grow at a faster than market rate, so we’re winning a fair share of the market,” Baynham said.
“I would also say that within Australia we would see little of the GFC compared to Europe and the US. Overall, it appears that all indicators seem to be pointing in the right direction.”
So how does an organisation as prominent as Data#3 look to win a fifth award at the 2011 ARN Awards? Well, there’s always room for further expansion.
“We’ve had the same overall company strategy but we’re looking to expand from a geographic perspective,” Baynham said. “We’re bringing on-board new people in most of our locations, but in particular outside of the Queensland locations.”
But beyond that, 2011 will be a case of continuing to steer a ship that has proven to be steady with a firm hand.
“The investments for the vendors is actually one part of the reason why we’ve been successful,” Baynham said.
“It’s how we implement and work with our vendors, and you don’t win awards through investment or winning business or even having leaders of the business get on well with each other.
“You win awards by having your teams work as an integrator team and work together as a team to get a customer outcome, and our people have been fantastic at doing that and working with our strategic vendors.”
