NSC Summit: NSC CEO justifies why a reseller is hosting a business conference

Neil, speaking in front of 200 partners and customers said the company was still hiring staff and had no plans to cut its 150 employees and has 450 plus customers in the mid to high end of the spectrum.

"In the 20 years I have managed NSC this is the toughest yet. We are seeing a lot of people being made redundant changes in business and a  few companies will not survive," he said.

"The discussions we have had this year are different to the ones we had 12 months ago.

"We need to change tactics and deal with things differently and we hope the Summit will address those things. Customers are looking at ways to do more with less at the right price."

Neil said NSC decided to host the event because it 'sees itself as responsible for its customers' relationship.

"If we don't take the lead and an independent view of a lot of things our business won't have the value it really deserves," he said.

"A lot of vendors take an approach that their technology is all that makes the difference but from our point of view it's the services wrapping the technology that makes the difference.

"We like to take the lead and because we don't have a lot of conflicting vendors, we can take an independent view. We see more vendors becoming channel focused and looking for channel partners to own the relationship that they have with them."

Neil said the reason why the reseller could afford to host the summit and justify its costs was because it 'manages its business well enough to afford these types of functions' and had got sponsorship from its vendors who are contributing to half the costs.

"We don't like charging customers for these events because in a way we are trying to promote ourselves," said Neil.

The Business Summit is the first one in Sydney and the third one in the country.

The sessions featured case studies from customers, their views on IT and technology and NSC partners showcasing their latest technology.

The Business Optimisation Summit will be held in Perth on August 19 and Brisbane on September 16.