Channel does DIY by building their own technology products

COMMENT  |  As much as I like the people in the Australian IT channel, they’re an expensive bunch. Few understand this better than the employers who read CRN. Growing your company requires constant investment in recruitment. But what if there was a way to make greater profits with fewer people and to keep scaling the success? If you’ve heard the buzz around “productising IP”, you know the answer.

Making money out of your own intellectual property might sound like something best left to Silicon Valley whiz-kids, but that’d be selling yourself short. In fact, this issue of CRN is jam-packed with examples of Australian IT companies that have decided to step outside their comfort zones to invest in building their own IP.

These endeavours are not limited to the Atlassians of this world. In this issue of CRN, Brad Howarth investigates IT solution providers who are innovating with their own products. While they come in all shapes and sizes, the group shares a defining characteristic: they all began life reselling IT products and delivering services – then later diversified into IP.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking age is a barrier. Yes, some of the companies listed are youthful, born-in-the-cloud operations, but there are also channel veterans diversifying in this way. Last month I caught up with the team from ASI Solutions at the company’s annual employee conference (check out the photos from their superhero-themed party). The 31-year-old IT service provider is another channel player that has taken the punt with IP. The company’s founders have co-founded a venture called Verso Learning, which develops software for the education sector and is being distributed in the United States. 

IP also came up in conversation during our roundtable lunch on cybersecurity, when VMtech boss Len Findlay mentioned security startup Kasada, in which he and CTO Richard Clark have invested.The synergy between VMtech and its software investment is that when the product is available, there’s a ready-made channel partner to take the IP to market. The same advantage applies to any reseller that wants to start rolling out its own products. 

Steven Kiernan is editor of CRN