The IT world has undergone a tremendous transformation in the last few decades. While companies once started out by buying hardware and software directly, the purchase and usage models have evolved significantly. Today, the trend is increasingly towards pay-per-use models for both hardware and software, driven by the need for flexibility and cost efficiency. This change not only brings new opportunities, but also significant challenges, especially in the areas of supplier management, centralized systems and administrative processes. Not for nothing, this has also had an impact on how we have reinvented ourselves as a distributor. Today, we have evolved from value-added sales to a marketplace where everything can be accessed with one click.

From purchase to subscription

At the beginning of the IT era, companies bought their hardware and software directly. This meant a large initial investment in servers, computers and software licenses. This approach had some clear disadvantages: high upfront investments, the risk of technology obsolescence and a lack of flexibility to respond quickly to changing business needs.

Enter: the licensing model. Instead of buying entire software packages, companies could now purchase licenses to use software for a specific period of time. This reduced initial costs and provided more flexibility in managing software updates and maintenance. However, hardware management remained a challenge due to significant investments and the need to manage the physical IT infrastructure in-house. In addition, companies ended up in a web of licenses where they lacked overview and many companies continued to incur unnecessary costs.

Pay for what you actually use

Today we are seeing a shift towards pay-per-use models, both for hardware and software. Companies only pay for what they actually use, which leads to a much more efficient use of resources. Cloud computing plays a crucial role in this: with services such as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS), companies can flexibly increase or decrease their IT needs.

While pay-per-use models offer many benefits, there are also challenges. Accessing a wide range of vendors can be complex and managing different contracts and payment models can quickly become overwhelming. In addition, there is a need for centralized systems to efficiently manage purchase orders, purchase orders and billing workflows. The risk of IT management fragmentation is real and without the right tools, it can lead to inefficiencies and increased operational costs.

This is where ArrowSphere comes in. Think of it as a kind of Amazon in the truest sense of the word, but tailored to the IT reseller and end customer. The platform helps companies manage their supplier relationships, streamline ordering and billing, and centralize IT management. On the one hand, it ensures that resellers can increasingly focus on advising their customers without spending too much time on administration. On the other hand, such a platform also puts the end customer back in control. It provides insight into the complexity of the modern IT environment and allows you to activate certain services yourself, so that every company gets more value from the IT investments made.

What’s next

The future of IT purchasing models undoubtedly lies in the evolution of pay-per-use systems. With the advent of new technologies such as AI and machine learning, the need for flexible and scalable IT solutions will only increase. Companies must prepare for a world where IT services are completely on-demand and where the efficiency of IT management can provide a competitive advantage. The evolution of IT purchasing models from traditional purchasing to pay-per-use therefore seems to be just a fact. However, we see it as a fundamental shift in the way companies use and manage technology.

This is a guest post by Jerry Baetens, Cloud Director Arrow ECS Belux. Click here to learn more about the company’s solutions.