There's an historical shift taking place in the business world and it is nothing short of a revolution. That revolution is social media but questions remain over how social networking tools can be used in business contexts. With respect to the IT channel, it could come down to helping define a new go-to-market strategy.
The key benefit of social networks is the degree to which they can be leveraged to build, enhance and maintain relationships. Even the most traditional companies recognize the critical ties between relationship building and business. Though many organizations are skeptical about the enduring value of social media tools, it's worthwhile to note that many companies also initially resisted PCs, email, and instant messaging.
"I think it's fair to characterize some of these issues by generation," offered Charles King, principal analyst, Pund-IT Inc. "IBM has noted that its own leveraging of Lotus collaboration tools came, at least partly, in response to the fact that younger employees were communicating in fundamentally different ways than older workers.
"Bottom line: I believe that virtually any means of communication can be leveraged for business purposes by willing and imaginative people."
Axel Schultze, CEO of Xeequa, said by nature a reseller is a follower and not a leader ergo they'll often take the wait-and-see approach. But as it applies to social networks, that's a big mistake.
"VARs would be much better off to engage in social media. The ones that don't are missing an opportunity," he said. "At the end of the day, it's the individual business's responsibility to be closer to and get connected to their customers.”
