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There are two ways to look at MDF: a “tool” for schmoozing prospects or an investment in the future of your company. I may seem a bit biased in how I positioned this, but it’s for a good reason. The difference really is that vast. Yet, despite the chasm between entertainment and strategic investment, a lot of IT solution providers still don’t use their MDF as effectively as they could.

It’s natural to see why IT solution provider sales reps would gravitate toward entertainment. Obviously, it’s fun for them, too, but this isn’t the full reason. Rather, it puts the rep in his comfort zone. Sales professionals are comfortable dealing with people in relaxing environments. It’s easy to form a personal connection and cultivate a relationship that can last a while.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work that way.

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A year ago, the results of this MarketingSherpa survey would have looked a lot different. Nearly half of respondents indicated that “social media is a promising tactic and will eventually produce ROI” and are increasing budget conservatively. This may not seem exciting, but a “cautious” commitment is a commitment nonetheless. Only 17 percent replied that they aren’t going to invest in social media marketing.

Of course, the group of respondents increasing budget “liberally” is small, but that’s to be expected for a relatively new approach to marketing that many are still exploring. For 7 percent to invest fairly heavily in social media marketing is impressive, especially this early in the innovation cycle. The remaining 27 percent is neither increasing nor decreasing, responding, “Social media value is unknown and something we do only as time permits. Why invest more?”

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The only thing better than getting a great deal is paying nothing at all! Of course, giving solutions away makes it difficult to stay in business, so this is where IT solution providers need to get creative. If you can find a way to deliver a solution at no incremental cost to your client, you’re delivering a profound value, increasing revenue and saving your client money relative to its current budget. With backup and restore solutions, you have a shot at accomplishing this.

The balancing act comes down to cost versus return, as it does with any IT investment. The nature of backup and restore solutions is such that you can find waste easily and deliver a solution that cuts excess spending while providing value.

Here are four ways to make a backup and restore solution pay for itself:

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The penetration of virtualization technologies is still low, but that only means it has room to grow. By 2014, according to a new report from Citrix, virtualization will dominate IT enterprise savings — and thus the agendas of CIOs. Citrix surveyed more than 700 CIOs from around the world and found that virtualization has led to IT cost savings of 16 percent, and they expect it to hit 27 percent in 2014.

While 31percent of CIOs estimate that 5 percent of their IT budgets or less are dedicated to virtualization technologies, 26 percent of them expect virtualization to account for a quarter of their IT budgets in 2014. The UK is leading the adoption of virtualization, with 27 percent of CIOs rolling out desktop virtualization over the next year and 41 percent planning to extend their use of server virtualization. In the United States, server virtualization adoption is currently only 17 percent.

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There is no shortage of IT marketing agencies on the market that would be thrilled to have you as a client. You get calls regularly, have listened to countless pitches and reviewed what feels like a never-ending stack of presentations on demand generation. So, how do you choose? If you have a partner in place, how do you evaluate its effectiveness?

The most important aspect of your relationship, of course, is the result generated. You are looking for a return on your marketing investment, and sluggish demand generation is probably an indicator that you need to take a closer look at your IT marketing agency. And, strong results may be effective now, but you need to think toward the future — is your agency equipped to help you grow and mature?

To help you answer these questions, you’ll find below five characteristics of an
optimal IT marketing partner. Take a look to get a sense of what you are receiving
from your current relationship.

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Budget season is upon us. With last year finally etched in stone, IT marketing departments are looking for the best ways to put their cash to work in 2010. Though companies are beginning to invest more in technology, marketing budgets at IT manufacturers and resellers alike are still being managed cautiously. So, riskier approaches are likely to struggle for a share of this year’s allocation.

With this in mind, attitudes toward social media marketing are shifting, suggesting that this activity is no longer viewed as high risk and of nebulous value. The latest survey by MarketingSherpa shows that nearly three quarters of respondents have a positive view of social media marketing at budget time, which means we’ll likely see more businesses committing to it this year – and those that have moved in this direction already are probably poised to dive deeper.

Of course, specific perceptions vary.

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Look for more IT companies to invest in social media marketing in 2010. According to a new study by MarketingSherpa, which tracks the space, 55 percent of computer hardware and software companies will be increasing their social media marketing budgets. Only 5 percent are planning reductions.

What does this mean for channel partners?

1. You need to get social – fast: your IT manufacturing partners are clearly headed in this direction. For you to take advantage of some of their brand value, you’ll need to be engaged in social media and in sync with your suppliers.

2. MDF takes on a new meaning: think about new ways in which marketing dollars can be invested. If you’re making a case to a manufacturer, it helps if you’re aligned with its priorities.

3. It’s time to get a plan together: just setting up a Twitter account and a blog won’t get you far. Social media marketing is only effective when the pieces are part of a greater whole … which is designed to maximize impact.

[Via MarketingSherpa]

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Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the nation’s workforce became a lot more productive in the third quarter. People have learned to the live the cliché “do more with less,” as productivity surged 8.1 percent. Yet, unemployment remains at 10 percent, and companies are looking for more ways to bolster results without having to hire.

The economic situation remains tricky. There are signs of a recovery, but businesses are remaining cautious, especially when it comes to assuming the ongoing expenses associated with new employees.

The notion of using technology to increase employee productivity isn’t new. Over the past several decades, we’ve seen the impact of prudently purchased and deployed systems on the efficiency of a workforce and a company’s ability to manage its costs. Today, the situation is more of a priority than ever.

There are three factors converging to make businesses refocus on IT investing: unemployment, productivity per employee and increased competition. When you put all three together, you can see how IT spending is increasing – and should continue to do so – even when executives are approaching economic conditions cautiously.

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Since everything Google does can be used to enhance the delivery of ads against search results (and in other ad venues), it doesn’t need to charge much – or anything, in some cases – for the technology it offers. Unsurprisingly, businesses become pretty interested in low-cost and no-cost solutions. Though the trend is still in its infancy, many IT buyers are opening themselves to the idea of using Google-supplied software-as-a-service solutions in place of their existing systems.

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