When a company faces the need to transform digitally and tries to find ways to implement and partners to help with system integration, it steps to the uncharted territory full of confusing terms. The difference between company types is sometimes so subtle and the partnership model is so complicated even for technical experts. Understanding what a system integrator, value-added reseller, independent software vendor, managed service provider and original equipment manufacturer is may clear the fog of uncertainty and help to choose the system integration partner matching your business needs.
The structure of technology partnership
As a business stakeholder, you know that a company can’t take all the markets and sell to one hundred percent of customers. There are various demands, tastes and environments, and one offering is not capable of satisfying them all, especially when dealing with technology. When a company wants to change business processes through digital solutions, it may call for custom functionality to match industry-specific, business-specific or company-specific requirements. Customer expectations drive the development of the infrastructure of resellers, distributors and partners capable of tailoring custom solutions.
What is a system integrator
System integrators (SI) are companies competent in combining different third-party software and hardware components into enterprise-grade systems and possessing capacities to build complex business solutions. Solutions that may comprise multiple technologies, providing consulting, business and system analysis and maintenance and support services according to customer requirements and business needs. System integrators usually serve large-sized companies, industry leaders and enterprises and are not limited by the exclusive partnership agreement from selected vendors or manufacturers. An integrated system consisting of several ready-made software products provided by multiple vendors, custom-developed software, legacy modules and the latest hardware functioning smoothly together to solve business tasks is what a system integrator does.
What is a value-added reseller
Value-added resellers are resellers of third-party hardware and software of a particular vendor or manufacturer that enhance the products they sell with additional services, software or functionality and make these combinations their key business offerings. VARs work in the field that is overlapping in terms of some operational activities with system integrators as they may offer customers some customization or additional functionality. However, the major difference is that such resellers usually focus on a single third-party vendor or on adding business value to just some selected hardware. Also, value-added resellers may be limited by the vertical they operate in or by vendor’s partnership agreements. And they usually concentrate on providing solutions based on specific products rather than on integrating ad-hoc products and solutions compared to system integrators. Customers of VARs are often small and middle-size businesses.