A question most distributors have asked themselves time and time again over the years is, "How do we best compete in this new, emerging market?" (Whatever that market might be.)

Right now, one of the new, emerging markets is the data-center market. Construction of data centers, which house network servers for Internet service providers and Web-hosting companies, is booming. In Contributing Editor Ellen Parson's article on how distributors can tap the data-center market (p. 36), Consultant George Brown suggest that distributors focus less on the specific characteristics of the data-center market, focusing instead on what it is that makes them successful with their existing core customers. "It's those same things that are going to work in the future - whether it's multi-point service, fast-to-market capabilities, an ability to customize, or technical support," he says. In other words - strengths.

Of course, it's also important for distributors to take a look at their weaknesses. In the first installment of a five-part series, Scott Benfield and Jane E. Baynard take a look at what they say is one of distributors' biggest weaknesses: pricing. They challenge you all to take their Pricing IQ Test to see how you and your company score when it comes to pricing.

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