technology
reseller.co.uk
DIGITAL SIGNAGE/STORAGE
15
Content is king
Beta adds to
storage range
Beta Distribution has set up a new business to help dealers capitalise on the convergence
of AV and IT and develop longer-lasting customer relationships
you have a customer with a poster on the
wall, then ask the question, why are they
not communicating that information on
a screen, which will also give them the
flexibility to change the messaging as often
as they wish,” he said.
Beta DMS can also help end users
make better use of their existing digital
displays. “How many times have you
walked into a building and seen a
screen that’s blank or says ‘no network
connection’? Simply supplying the screen
isn’t enough, providing the content is also
key,” explained Morris. “Beta Digital Media
Solutions has a comprehensive content
service that turns your customers’ blank
screens into dynamic, engaging displays.
It’s too good an opportunity to pass up.”
Because screens and content are
provided on a lease, with one monthly fee
to pay, the cost of entry for end users is
low. This, says Morris, makes it an easier
sale for all concerned. “It’s an easy entry
for the reseller and an easy decision for
the end-user to make; they can be up and
running for an outlay of tens of pounds as
opposed to thousands of pounds,” he said.
For dealers already used to selling
solutions and MPS, the Beta DMS
companies will trust us to protect and secure
their data and conform to the latest directives
and regulations. We’re confident that this will be a
very successful partnership.”
Beta’s agreement with G-Technology is a
pan-European one that gives the Western Digital
brand access to high quality distribution in
the UK and mainland Europe through Beta’s
European arm, which operates out of Maastricht,
Germany and provides next day delivery into
Western Europe.
G-Technology UK Channel Director Mark
Billington said: “Beta has a well established
and very successful business model providing
products and services to resellers in the creative
industry and our product range is a logical
extension to their portfolio. Their logistics and
service capabilities are industry leading, and that,
combined with our reputation for premium storage
solutions, makes it a very powerful proposition.”
G-Technology’s range includes high-
performance portable and desktop drives, flexible
transfer/edit solutions and fast RAID systems.
proposition works in a similar way.
Subscription packages are comprehensive,
simple to sell and offer significant margin
opportunity and recurring monthly revenue.
Beta DMS will conduct a customer
survey to determine the customer’s
requirements and give the
dealer a price based on the
solution specified and one
content refresh per month.
“It’s as easy as that. And if
customers require further
content refreshes we will
do those at a competitive
rate, too, presenting an even
greater margin opportunity,”
explained Morris
Nor, he adds, should
resellers worry about having
to protect their customer
base. “We don’t have a direct sales arm;
we are a strictly trade-only distributor.
Three-quarters of the deliveries we make
are direct to our customers’ customers,
which is quite a staggering statistic and
one which, I believe, speaks volumes about
the levels of trust we have engendered in
our reseller customers.”
Headed up by Joel Chimoindes, Beta
Digital Media Solutions (Beta DMS)
provides resellers with a one-stop-
shop for digital content solutions from
vendors such as Smart Technologies,
Sapphire, B Tech, Edis, Philips, Canon,
Signalive, InFocus and Panasonic.
In addition to supplying AV products
that have been part of Beta’s line-up for
many years, Beta DMS provides experts
who can assess customer requirements,
create content, install and network
screens, roll out the deployment and
manage ongoing content changes on a
dealer’s behalf.
Beta Distribution Marketing Director
Nigel Morris says this is one of the new
company’s key selling points. “Supplying
digital signage content packages is a
service-oriented business and dealers
operating in this space need additional
support and that’s just what we are geared
up to provide. Dealers only have to find
the opportunity and we will do the rest,”
he said.
Morris adds that if dealers look around
they will find plenty of scope within their
existing customer base for additional
sales and a recurrent revenue stream. “If
Beta Distribution is not just strengthening
its AV proposition. This autumn, it has also
been expanding its storage business, signing
distribution agreements with iStorage, a
provider of PIN-authenticated, hardware-
encrypted USB Flash drives, hard disk drives
and solid state drives, and with G-Technology,
a supplier of storage solutions for the
creative industries, including audio/video
production, photography and the professional
content creation market.
Commenting on Beta’s appointment as
an authorised iStorage distributor, Business
Manager JonPaul Warren said: “At Beta we’re very
good at creating new business opportunities for
vendors like iStorage. We can take the product
range to a wide and varied customer base, from
large online e-tailers through to solutions-based
Managed Service Providers.”
Melanie Kubasik, iStorage Sales Director,
was equally enthusiastic. She said: “We know
we have a technology leading product range,
and combining that with the reach and sales
and marketing expertise of Beta means more
Nigel Morris,
Marketing Director,
Beta Distribution
