The Next Catapult
When the “dot com” bubble burst some eight years ago, one of the few upsides was the massive amount of pre-owned networking equipment that suddenly became available. As scores of ecommerce and telecom service providers struggled, they turned to the secondary market to offload their extraneous equipment. As a result, the entire market felt a catapult-like effect as the instant spike of refurbished gear filled inventory levels to an all-time high.
One of the lessons learned then, and we’re reliving it again now, is that when the business climate is experiencing a great upheaval, there’s no better time to rethink the ways we are doing business. In particular, today’s turbulent times represent a most opportune moment for companies to revisit their network equipment procurement strategies. From all reports I’ve seen, the aftereffects of the next catapult are likely right around the corner as economic forecasts predict persistent gloom through 2009.
Still, there is a silver lining and savvy companies will prepare themselves to take advantage of it. Simply put, the gloomy economy seeds a buyer’s market where more pre-owned equipment is available than ever before. With supply levels brimming in most secondary market inventories, customers are already benefiting from the combination of increased availability and low prices on equipment ranging from new-in-box switches to end-of-life routers.
There is also good news for companies that must downsize. The secondary market is your best outlet for scoring maximum value on unwanted or surplus gear. Asset recovery programs provide the highest value for remarketable equipment while also offering uninstall, package and shipping services. And with buyers clamoring for more equipment, the push is on to keep inventory on hand.
It’s been repeated a lot lately that the best time to invest in your business is during a recession. When your budget is squeezed to the brink and every move is under major scrutiny, there’s no better time to look for ways to maximize your available dollars. Whether buying or selling equipment, the catapult effect makes the secondary market for network equipment a welcome outlet.
Tags: asset recovery, Budget Strategies, buyer's market, catapult effect, equipment procurement, pre-owned equipment, pre-owned networking equipment, Secondary Market, surplus gear