By: Ben Selier - VP of Secure Power for Anglophone Africa at Schneider Electric

While businesses tend to turn directly to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) or vendors when embarking on IT projects, the role of the System Integrator (SI) as a key facilitator and partner cannot be overstated.

We are seeing a growing trend of global companies entering the market and seeking to engage directly with vendors, often bypassing system integrators (SIs). Instead of creating friction, this presents a prime opportunity to foster collaboration and clear communication to ensure all parties thrive in this evolving landscape.

SIs should view the direct engagement between vendors and large end-users as a positive situation, rather than a negative. This is because it allows the liability and financial risk associated with large projects to shift to the vendor and away from the SI. It also enables the SIs to focus on their core strengths – integration and on-site installation – without the burden of managing the entire project delivery.

Recognising limitations

It must be acknowledged that the role of SIs remains critical when businesses embark on IT projects, despite the inclination to approach OEMs or vendors directly. Vendors or OEMs recognise their limitations in project execution and delivery and see SIs as essential partners who bring the necessary experience and expertise that the vendor/OEM does not have in-house. The vendor/OEM is dependent on the SIs for successful project delivery.

When the vendor/OEM directly engages with the end customer, it can undermine the long-standing SI partnership, creating a perception of competition. Thus, collaborative models like subcontracting or joint ventures are the best way to maintain the partnership and leverage the strengths of both parties.

For vendors/OEMs to recognise and leverage the value that SIs bring to business operations, they must acknowledge their limitations in project execution and delivery. They simply lack the experience, skills and resources to compete with seasoned SIs in complex project management and on-site installation.

While the vendor can provide the global reach, products and technical skills, the SIs are the true experts in project delivery and when the vendor tries to encroach on the SI’s territory, it can create tension. 

However, both parties should rather leverage the complementary nature of the vendor and SI roles – where the vendor's strengths in global reach and products are combined with the SIs' expertise in project management and on-site execution – for successful project delivery.

Customer satisfaction

It is also important to note that SIs acting as strategic partners to OEMs are key to contributing to enhanced customer service. While for vendors, customer satisfaction comes down to two main factors – delivery time and product quality – for SIs it is quite different.

SIs become trusted advisors to clients, bringing a diverse set of skills and expertise, with SIs possessing knowledge and experience that the vendor could never have on their own. For example, in a typical data centre project, there are multiple specialised vendors involved. However, it is the SI that integrates all these components and has the training on the entire solution. This gives SIs unparalleled experience in project execution and optimisation.

From a customer satisfaction perspective, the SI's role as a trusted advisor to the client, with deep integration skills and intimate customer knowledge are capabilities that are invaluable to the vendor when partnering on complex projects.

Unfortunately, building mutual trust and transparency between vendors and SIs can at times be challenging, yet this is the foundation for successful vendor-SI partnerships. Developing and maintaining trust requires collaborative efforts from both sides, rather than resorting to competition.

Ultimately, clear boundaries for roles and responsibilities between vendors and SIs will ensure they do not overstep into each other's territories but work together effectively. This is crucial for successfully navigating larger projects, as well as the overall partnership.