Technology Reseller v43

01732 759725 30 MSP Financing at your fingertips – the power of APIs David McCoubrie, Head of Technology Finance at Siemens Financial Services, UK The Tech market – robust but still challenging Although the national economy has taken a major hit from the pandemic crisis, many in the Tech Market have noted a resurgence in demand. In fact, the industry overall is looking strong for this year, even though it will be patchy in parts and come in waves. In the words of one commentator, “The UK’s tech industry has remained resilient throughout the pandemic with certain cities continuing to emerge as leading tech hubs 1 .” Nevertheless, Tech Resellers’ customers are experiencing serious business hurdles. They are even more keen than before to go through digital transformation and reduce their operating costs and strengthen their operational resilience, given the challenges posed by the pandemic period. At the same time, Tech Resellers themselves want to support their customers with the best solutions, whilst ensuring they are also financially viable for them. This is where the ability to offer compelling financing options at point of sale really helps Resellers wanting to support their customers. It must be quick, seamless and easy to put those financing options in front of the customer as they are making their buying decisions. Digital capabilities are becoming more and more important to enable sales in a world where much is now done remotely and online. In fact, there is evidence that businesses who have already digitalised their operations and sales processes have coped better than those who had not reached this point 2 . Slick digital-first operations provide convenience and capability that help to close sales and attract the best talent. UK Tech trends As the country moves out of pandemic restrictions, the Tech Nation Report 2021, tells us that for the second year in a row the UK’s capital has secured fourth spot for Venture Capital (VC) investment into tech by city, keeping ahead of Shanghai (5 th ) and Hangzhou (40 th ) in China, which previously outperformed London 3 . Another key indicator can be found in a report supported by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and the Digital Economy Council – which revealed that a tenth of all UK job vacancies are now tech roles 4 . Nevertheless, economics on the customer side have undoubtedly taken a knock. Research from Experian has shown that 21% of respondents had pivoted their business in a meaningful way, 80% of SMEs said their revenues had declined in 2020, and yet one in five Brits now intends to start a new business 5 , and 65% of SMEs are doing more business online. Truly, these are volatile times. One key issue for Tech Resellers is a certain reluctance from customers to invest in capital upgrades, given the uncertain economy. The Office for National Statistics notes that business investment fell by 11.9% in latest available quarterly figures 6 . This includes a modest overall fall in ICT and software investment. So there is still pressure for Tech Resellers to find every way of making it easy for customers to make the investments they want to. Even better would be to make investment in higher spec solutions affordable, so that customers can gain even more competitive advantage. Digital finance – simple and integrated through APIs Simply having flexible financing options available is not enough. The sales process has to be as simple, efficient and as easy as possible for both vendor and customer. Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) are a driving force in making that happen. An API sounds rather technical, but it can be as simple or as sophisticated as you need it and has a real commercial impact. The good news is that it makes it easier and more efficient to provide financing options! So how does it work? Basically, Tech Resellers can provide their customers with financing without ever having to leave their own CRM; there’s no duplication of effort or re-keying of information. With our APIs, for instance, a Reseller’s CRM simply interfaces with our system and returns credit decisions and documents to sign. It’s fast, efficient and digital and gives Resellers a competitive edge to help accelerate and close deals. What about measurable uplift from an API? One of our Reseller partners has reported that they have been able to access a market which they had not been able to reach before, precisely because seamless digital finance was an absolute requirement. The process is automated and fast which is critical because the quickest decision often gets the deal. And their customers need affordable ways to take on the tech they need to differentiate and get ahead in these tough times. Another key question around APIs that we’re often asked about is set-up time. Typically, our Reseller partners, large and small, will have our API implemented and tested within a couple of weeks or so.