Distributors, too, offer services to help partners capitalize on business optimization opportunities. Tech Data’s MyOpportunityTracker and MyLicenseTracker help solution providers identify and close software licensing deals more easily, as well as providing valuable services to customers, says Stacy Nethercoat, TechData’s vice president of software.

Nethercoat says one way for resellers to increase revenue and profits lies in helping their customers ease software licensing issues, making it easier to procure, manage and keep track of those licenses. Since many resellers struggle to develop and maintain their own infrastucture, they often don’t have the systems and personnel to effectively deal with their customer software licensing issues.

MyOpportunityTracker shows resellers the current state of their customers’ infrastructure portfolio, and identifying opportunities for license renewal, including software licenses, hardware warranties and service-level agreements. The tool maintains information from most of Tech Data’s vendors, including current part numbers, software revisions and program changes, letting resellers know if and when a customer’s licenses will expire and prompting them to renew.

“MyOpportunityTracker takes the complexity and the onus off of our resellers to keep track of all this information themselves. It provides them with every piece of information they need to capture that renewal,” Nethercoat says. Of course, the customer also benefits by avoiding expired software licenses, hardware warranties and services agreements, and renewal penalties.

Nethercoat adds that MyOpportunityTracker can open up potential annuity streams with existing customers as resellers track customers’ licenses over time.

“While it’s still important for our solution providers to generate new business, if they have a pipeline that’s already existing, like licenses, they need to make sure they capitalize on that opportunity,” she says.

And, she adds, solution providers have benefited: There have been more than 450,000 opportunities generated through MyOpportunityTracker, including service renewals, software licensing and hardware warranties.

Opportunities are everywhere, and when it comes to your customers’ bottom line, it can pay to look closely at internal business problems as a way to drive new revenues. Focusing on consistent pain points and delivering services that can help customers make their businesses more cost-effective is a winner no matter the economic climate.

“If you’re offering services to customers that can show a direct financial benefit, customers will care,” says Haq.