Imtech
Imtech ICT is a subsidiary of Imtech , a European technical services provider in the fields of electrical engineering , mechanical engineering and ICT . Imtech , with almost 25,000 employees , achieves an annual turnover of over 4.3 billion euros . As part of the ICT division Imtech ICT Communication Solutions focuses on supplying communication solutions for organisations with 250 to 5000 employees ; mainly government ministries and agencies , educational institutions , utilities , industry and service providers . In the majority of cases Imtech relies on Cisco technology , making Cisco an important partner .
As do many other equipment and software vendors , Cisco has an extensive partner programme with audits on service delivery and product implementation . Pascal Rijs , Alliance Manager with Imtech ICT , describes his experiences with this approach . “ Cisco helps us with new product development , combined marketing , and business development . On the support services side , we prefer the model of joint service delivery : we take care of the first , second and even third line service calls , and in return we get a discount on the service fee .
The partnership with Cisco requires a lot in terms of training , processes and communication , so it should deliver good value for us as well . The most important component is price differentiation . Cisco has a large market share , supported by a strong local presence . The number of opportunities is in line with the number of Cisco partners in the Dutch market ; as such that there is enough profitable business for everyone .
We can receive an extra discount if we are the first to register an opportunity in the Cisco customer relationship system . As this discount is only given to the first , we can use this extra discount for extra margin or to lower our price to secure the deal ( usually a mix of both ). Cisco furthermore has technology migration programmes for the exchange of equipment or discounts for new technologies , and Cisco funds part of our business development programmes .”
Every year Imtech and Cisco make a joint plan with revenue targets , goals , strategies per goal , a communication plan , and a set of „ conditions of satisfaction ‟. These are „ softer ‟ performance indicators like lead sharing , knowledge development , joint marketing and the perceived profitability of the alliance . A Channel Account Manager from Cisco works at the Imtech office two days a week and has a Cisco incentive on revenue with Imtech .
The parties collaborate on long-term opportunities as well . Pascal Rijs : “ Imtech is involved in the development of smart grids : networks for the efficient distribution of energy from for example wind-energy parks to office buildings . Here we work with Accenture , IBM , Cisco , General Electric and ABB . Cisco provides specific network components for substations , for example . Together with them we have enough volume to design a grid for a whole town .
These kinds of collaborations fit within a trend . Instead of products , we will increasingly be selling solutions . Therefore we need others . In this case Accenture comes with the concept , IBM with the software , and together with Cisco we take care of the infrastructure layer .” 65