Stephen White (Meridian IT)
“Organisations chained to worn- out old infrastructures are looking for new ways to stay competitive and innovators are looking for new ways to stay ahead,” White observed. “Both need to sustain their current business model while ramping up to meet the needs of their clients.
“But no matter how fast the market continues to change and evolve, all businesses still have the same basic concerns.”
For White, businesses remain challenged by cost effectiveness and the cost of downtime, alongside security, risk management and risk aversion.
Delving deeper, organisations also struggle when managing change, in the context of technology, business growth and employee retention, remaining hindered when trying to foster innovation through staying agile, delivering quality and performance.
“Meridian helps clients focus on the hard realities through a prism of big ideas,” White said. “For our clients, the results of improving cost effectiveness and security will enable change, growth and innovation within the organisation.”
As explained by White, the business is forward-thinking in a “methodical kind of way”, proving high quality services to customers, in a bid to support end-user goals and challenges.
“Our expertise, approach and options empower clients to operate on dual modalities while transforming their business,” he added. “I know it’s a cliché, but the trusted partner approach to client engagement is still key to our sales success,” White added. “We pride ourselves on being candid, honest, reliable, exceptional, progressive, creative, dynamic, responsive and trustworthy.”
Differentiating
In an increasingly competitive world, White maintains the belief that strong connections with people drive business.
“We’re committed to building deeper relationships both internally and externally based on respect, attentiveness, expert service and collaboration,” he said. “All of the teams in our organisation connect with each other, our business partners and our clients to create extraordinary relationships.
“Our combined strength serves as the foundation for us to foster an internal environment of growth and development for our employees through continued education and certifications.”
Through assessing the changing dynamics of the market, White also acknowledged a shifting of the partner landscape, partners now armed with specific solutions and services.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say increased competition, but more focused competition,” he explained. “We have seen a significant increase in acquisitions over the past three years and therefore a more consolidated and focused approach from these organisations, ensuring they leverage the skills and expertise acquired.
“There has certainly been an increase in start-up organisations that are specialising in only one or two areas, such as artificial intelligence, data analytics, security and cloud.
“From a competitive perspective alone, traditional resellers like ourselves have had to transform to be competitive in the marketplace.”
With the original Tardis business founded in 1994, the local provider has endured more than 20 years of market change, coming out on top to service flagship customers such as Optus, Macquarie Bank and Fuji Xerox across Australia.
“Customers absolutely value longevity,” White said. “We still have a solid client base dating back to the Tardis days that are still loyal to our business, some of these clients represent a 15-year relationship, which is as strong today as it was when we first contracted with them.
“Most of these clients also represent strong references and have contributed to a number of case studies, which have been developed across multiple industries.”
Despite the emergence of new tech buyers — spanning different divisions within an organisation — White believes that the demands of the customer have not changed, more so expectations of what a trusted partner can provide them.
“We need to remember in today’s market, our clients are more empowered, in a lot of ways we the IT industry have enabled them; therefore, we need to be a step ahead,” he added.
“Typically, clients have already commenced their journey on the buying cycle, long before the prospect has been contacted.”
For White, the majority of customer engagements still lie in the traditional technology heartlands, with the CIO, CTO and IT manager.
“That said, there is an increasing engagement with CFOs, CMOs and line of business leaders,” he added.
“This is the new norm that we believe will continue, as clients are more empowered, and look to service providers like Meridian IT to facilitate the collaboration between business and IT, ensuring they stay relevant and profitable in today’s market.”
In looking ahead, White said key priorities during the next 12 months are simple, with the Meridian Group global strategy centred around continuing growth and expansion worldwide organically and/or through acquisition.
“We’re focused on staying committed to our clients and partners, while remaining responsive and flexible in our approach will ensure we continue to grow and succeed,” he added.
