New CompTIA Whitepaper Outlines Margin Retention Strategies for IT Solution Providers

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Jan 31, 2012, 10:15 ET

Identifies practical, short-term steps to improve fortunes

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., Jan. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Tactical adjustments in business operations can go a long way to reversing declining profit margins for many information technology (IT) solution providers companies, according to a new whitepaper published by CompTIA, the nonprofit association for the IT industry.

The whitepaper, Margin Retention through Operational Efficiency, examines the factors that have caused margins to decline for IT solution providers. More importantly, it offers specific steps IT solution providers can take to improve margin results. Many of those steps involve tactical adjustments to current operations rather than wholesale structural or strategic changes.

The whitepaper was produced in cooperation with Morris Management Partners, a consulting and business development firm serving the IT channel.

"Margin performance can be improved by focusing on internal factors that can be directly affected rather than waiting for market conditions to change," said Jere A. Brown, chief executive officer, Dimension Data Americas, and member of the CompTIA Partner 500 Advisory Council, which includes representatives from the industry's largest solution providers ($25 million-plus in annual sales).

"Certain tactical adjustments in areas like supply chain management, IT systems and productivity tools and other back office operations can produce short-terms margin results as well as long-term, sustainable changes," Brown said.

"Though the trend of reduced margins is impacting many solution providers, some firms are actually increasing their margins," said Annette Taber, vice president, channel strategies, CompTIA. "In this whitepaper we recommend a series of assessments and corrective actions any solution provider can use to plug margin leaks."

The Margin Retention through Operational Efficiency whitepaper is available free of charge on the CompTIA web site. It's an example of the education, certification, advocacy and philanthropy initiatives undertaken by CompTIA to advance the global interests and of IT companies and professionals.

About CompTIA
CompTIA is the voice of the world's information technology (IT) industry. Its members are the companies at the forefront of innovation; and the professionals responsible for maximizing the benefits organizations receive from their investments in technology. CompTIA is dedicated to advancing industry growth through its educational programs, market research, networking events, professional certifications, and public policy advocacy. For more information, visit www.comptia.org or follow CompTIA on Twitter at http://twitter.com/comptia.

SOURCE CompTIA