PCR Tech and IT retail, distribution and vendor news
PCR Boot Camp North is coming.
As most of you already know, PCR Boot Camp North is a sister event for the annual Boot Camp conference and expo, with the most recent one having taken place on May 21st, 2014.
For those who are unfamiliar with the event and want a taster of what’s in store on November 12th, or those who would like to reminisce about our most successful Boot Camp to date, here’s a look at the most memorable moments from this year’s conference, expo, breakout sessions and after party.
The event kicked off with a series of conference talks and panel sessions. Some of the key themes included focusing on providing a quality service, embracing new technology such as connected home devices, looking at how tech is getting smaller, and adding value and an emotional connection to the customer.
GfK’s Carl West discussed the latest products you need to know about. He revealed that super-sized TV screens are doing well as are soundbars and other TV accessories. West also declared that “Britain has gone mad for coffee machines”, urging retailers to start selling them.
Christopher Phin of MacFormat chaired a panel about how to beat Apple on Service.“You mustn’t be afraid to innovate,” said one of the panellists, Context’s Adam Simon.“If Apple is prepared to innovate and challenge itself, it’s a good message for everyone to follow.”
Hypnotist Frank Deer revealed that 70 per cent of our waking day is spent in a trance and retailers can use that to their advantage.“The impulse purchase is controlled by the subconscious. If you can recognise the trance you can sell to the subconscious. If you can relax your customers, they are more likely to buy.”
The second panel, chaired by Scott Bicheno from Strategy Analytics, looked at how the economy will affect the IT industry in the coming years. Panellist Carl West from GfK commented:“The industry faces a threat from the drop of the average selling price of consumer electronics. The service element is very valuable to indies.”
Intel’s Philip van de Mortel talked about how the Internet of Things is changing the retail landscape. “The aggregation of data and use of data as currency is growing as the cost of computing comes down,” he said.
Himanshu Pal of Kantar Retail warned independent retailers that they should be wary of Dixons Retail’s resurgence in the market. ”Our current retailing environment resembles a perfect storm,” Pal told attendees.“What we are witnessing in our retail environment is a convergence. Consumers, categories, channels, customers – they are all undergoing transformation.”
Centerprise’s Rafi Razzak revealed what he has learnt from the past 30 years in the UK IT industry.“Technology is evolving all the time. If we don’t embrace the changes, we’re dead,” he said.
This year’s expo was a busy affair, with Microsoft, Entatech, Northamber, Wasp, M2M, Spire Technology, Hama, Exertis Gem, Avnet Embedded, Hannspree, Philips MMD, AOC, Exertis Micro-P, Caseking, Synaxon, MSI, BullGuard, Turtle Beach, Plantronics, VIP Computers, Synology, Stock In Channel, CompTIA, Brigantia, Network Group, Thule, Port Designs and Cyberoam showcasing their latest products.
This year saw a number of freebies up for grabs from various exhibitors, including £1,000 worth of tech goodies from M2M, a Crucial SSD from Northamber, and a subscription to Office 365 from Microsoft. Plantronics also run a competition which saw the person with the fastest lap time on its PC gaming pod win a Rig Multiplatform gaming headset.
There was also a series of Breakout Sessions including Transmentum – Road to recurring Revenue, Edimax – Connect with Edimax, Transcend – Good memories star here, Turtle Beach – Bringing the Turtle beach audio advantage to retail, Microsoft – Life after Windows XP and SBS, and M2M – Why the future is SSD not HDD. All of which were designed to help boost business.
After the conference and expo, it was time for the UK IT and Tech industry to let their hair down at the after party where everyone got to drink some beer, do some more networking, and, if they’re lucky, have a go at being hypnotised by Frank Deer.
PCR Boot Camp North will take place on November 12th at the Royal Armouries in Leeds.
It’s completely free for retailers, resellers and system builders to attend.
Sponsorship packages are available now – to find out about becoming an exhibitor, contact pcr-online-staff@transfer.pcr-online.biz.
For any other enquiries, contact Andrew.Wooden@intentmedia.co.uk.
