Integrator Forum wins SB thumbs-up

Delegates at this year's Integrator Forum were to be found playing with their balls in the Monte Carlo sunshine. Yes, it's true - system builders and vendors alike were down by the sea indulging in the popular French pastime of Petanque, which is similar to boule, only played with two balls. The Petanque crew formed only a fraction of the 175 PC assemblers and 54 vendors at the event held at Le Meridien Beach Plaza hotel. This is only the Forum's second year, but those assembled represented over $4 billion of purchasing power in Europe, according to the Forum's MD and founder Dimitri Granovsky. The Forum was started as a way for smaller integrators to meet top vendors, and discuss where the industry was heading. It seems to work in this respect for the PC builders, who swan around the hotel meeting the manufacturers of their choice and chatting about problems in their industry between themselves. But a few vendors were not so happy. Some, like Microsoft, were concerned about not getting value for money. Matti Suokko, Microsoft OEM product manager for Windows, said: "This kind of event is needed, but I would like to see more return on investment to vendors who sponsored the event." Several vendor sessions, specially organised for the two sides of the channel to meet face to face, were not full, including those of Microsoft. But integrators were happy with the event. Many said the most important opportunity was to talk with companies normally seen as rivals and openly discuss difficulties. So, nothing to do with being able to spend a few days in Monte Carlo, slip off the wedding ring and act like you’re 21 again? Sukh Rayat of UK distributor FlashPoint said: "People feel they can talk about their business with people who understand, and discuss problems openly." Jagdish Parekh, representing South African PC builder and distributor Siltek Distribution, said it was useful to have such an open environment to discuss how the channel was evolving. "This is the only forum that gives European system builders the chance to interface with leading suppliers, as well as trying to get to grips with the changing dynamics in the industry." However, some improvements were suggested, such as more open discussions on issues from each of the 25 countries represented. ®