PCR Tech and IT retail, distribution and vendor news
We spoke to Joanne Plummer, Marketing Manager at Synology about NAS Drives, her favourite gadget, and what she’s looking forward to at PCR Boot Camp – taking place on Wednesday May 21st at the Brewery in London.
If you’re a dealer you can sign up free to Boot Camp here.
What do you see being the biggest challenge facing PC retailers at the moment?
Tablets. With the increase in sales of tablets, the development of apps, reduction in prices and the increasing amount of new tablet brands coming to market, I see this as the biggest threat to PC retailers. However I do not think that PCs will become totally redundant. There will always be a need for them, especially in business.
In your opinion, what’s the most important thing for retailers and resellers to bear in mind when dealing with customers?
Personally, I think honesty is very important. Listening to their wants and needs and selling them the right product for them will lead to a trusting relationship and repeat business.
What gadget can’t you live without?
My iPhone 4. I used to argue that Smartphone’s weren’t ‘all that’. Now I can’t live without mine. The big question now is, do I upgrade in April or hold out for the rumored iPhone 6?
What do you think will be the next big thing in tech?
I think the home automation market will continue to grow and grow. There is so much potential for home gadgets and accessories.
If you could wave a magic wand, what would you change about the channel?
Faster and cheaper trains to Paris 😉
What is your proudest moment as a company?
I love it every time we win a major industry award of course.
What products and services will you be promoting at Boot Camp this year?
We will be introducing new models to the 2014 range and more features of DSM, following the DSM5.0 official launch. We always seek to improve our services for tech support and replacement turnaround. With the expansion of our tech team and the new office/warehouse, it’ll only get better for our end users from here.
What distinguishes you from your competitors?
DiskStation Manager. The operating system for Synology NAS sets us way above our competitors and this is something we constantly hear from end users, channel partners and other IT vendors. We employ hundreds of engineers and designers who are constantly working very hard to achieve the best results so we can deliver the best products to our customers.
What are you key brands/lines you carry?
We don’t really have one key product as we target several segments in the market, for example, DS213j is designed for home users, DS214play for multimedia enthusiasts, DS1513+ for SMB, XS+ for enterprise and so forth. The one thing though that they hall have in common, is DiskStation Manager.
What are you most looking forward to at PCR Boot Camp?
To educate more resellers on Synology, how beneficial our product can be to digital life in both home and work environments.
