SYSTEM SUPPORT A STRATEGIC, BUT UNPROFITABLE BUSINESS.System support is still one of the largest IT services market and one of the most strategically important in Europe Europe (y r`əp), 6th largest continent, c.4,000,000 sq mi (10,360,000 sq km) including adjacent islands (1992 est. pop. 512,000,000). , despite being one of
the least profitable, according to according toprep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a new report from International Data Corp. Gross profit margins Gross profit margin Gross profit divided by sales, which is equal to each sales dollar left over after paying for the cost of goods sold. gross profit margin A measure calculated by dividing gross profit by net sales. are continuing to decline in the sector, and IDC says the only way to halt the decline is increased operational efficiencies. Those who enjoy the highest margins are the companies focusing on supporting their own product lines, who can, to some extent, set their own prices. Companies supporting third party products face the tightest squeeze Squeeze 1. In financial terms, a period of time when borrowing is difficult. 2. In general business terms, times when increasing costs cannot be passed onto consumers. The decrease in profits is said to be caused by a "squeeze" on profit margins. , particularly in the desktop space. Subcontracting low margin activities, minimizing stock, automating support processes and generating economies of scale are all cited as a means of increasing efficiency. But high availability Also called "RAS" (reliability, availability, serviceability) or "fault resilient," it refers to a multiprocessing system that can quickly recover from a failure. There may be a minute or two of downtime while one system switches over to another, but processing will continue. support and support centered around internet-based electronic commerce infrastructures will be the keys to success in this market, concludes the report, Operational Efficiency in the System Support Market, Europe. |
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