Comparetheware.com, a new IT search portal that enables businesses to research and compare technologies and find suppliers, has launched at the InfoSecurity conference in London today.
The website aims to help any organisation that needs to make an IT purchase to research the product, compare specifications and prices, ask for quotes and find a “trusted supplier” that will not only supply the product but also install it and provide ongoing support.
Users can filter their search results by criteria such as price, user count, format, OS support and payment model. The search results are then matched with a list of resellers offering the product, and the user can contact that reseller directly through the site.
“The level of depth with which you go into is completely up to you,” said Mike Worby, Business Manager, comparetheware.com. “If you’re looking at anti-virus we will provide you with all the different anti-virus technologies, and if your decision is based around price and format you can very quickly find that.
“But at the same time if you’re an enterprise buyer and you know what technology you want and you want to jump straight through and find a supplier, we enable you to do that too.”
The service is free for end users. Vendors can set up a basic profile for free, but can also pay for an “advanced” profile, which allows them to provide more in-depth information about their products and services, and even upload relevant white papers to help users make informed decisions.
Resellers can also be listed on the site for free, but they pay for opportunities that they are matched against.
“The model has been built to make sure that the end user has a completely free service and can benefit from the maximum spread of vendors.” added Worby.
The new service launches with a focus on IT security and will expand its profiling of solutions and services across a range of business technology sectors including virtualisation, VoIP, networking, storage and cloud services.
The company also has future plans to launch a more advanced vendor and supplier zone, offering webcasts and video feeds as well as white papers. It also intends to launch a five-minute tender builder, allowing companies to tender for larger IT contracts on the site.
Research conducted by Vanson Bourne in July 2011 found that 65 percent of IT professionals have problems finding the information they need when looking to select a technology vendor or solution. In addition, 40 percent of IT decision-makers cite time pressures as a problem when making purchasing decisions.
Infosecurity Europe runs from the 24th – 26th April 2012, in Earls Court, London.
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