And in the runup to the opening of the RSA Conference in San Francisco next Monday, Launchpad Europe has advised IT vendors not to forget the importance of the sales channel community.

Mike Burkitt, Launchpad Europe's technical director, said that end users may be looking for a particular IT vendor's solution, but paradoxically, they often do not want to communicate with the vendor until they are already prepared to buy.

"End users consult with a broad range of technology influencers these days, including resellers, systems integrators, suppliers and consultants", he said.

"To succeed, vendors must recognise and understand the complex influences that sway end-users' technology decisions. Nurturing strong relationships with channel players and other influencers is the key to virtually every IT vendor's success, whether startups or established players", he added.

According to Burkitt, the results from the Launchpad Europe IT Security Index, which was recently made public, indicated that 75.3% of those surveyed consulted with some kind of technical advisor during 2009.

Consultants were the most popular choice, followed by resellers, suppliers and systems integrators.

A sizeable number of respondents (41.6%) said they thought the biggest benefit of using a technical advisor was that "specialist advice means problems can be solved more quickly, saving valuable company time."

"End users are remarkably savvy when it comes to using the services of technical advisors", said Burkitt.

"Regardless of how innovative your technology may be, vendors, you must befriend the channel community if you are to succeed in new markets."

Burkitt went on say that one of the main reasons Launchpad Europe attends events like RSA is to interact with channel players, which in turn "strengthens our relationships with (and understanding of) vendors, end users, and the channel alike."