ARTICLES BY MIKE MONOCELLO
The Road To Survival Is Challenging, But Profitable
I’ve been writing for a while now about taking the important and necessary action of expanding your line card beyond the core technologies you currently sell. Never has there been a time when this was more important. Evaporating margins are one thing, while increased competition is another. In either case, many reading this article need to change their businesses to survive.
Continue Reading..
Mobile Install Trifecta: Hardware, Software, Recurring Revenue
This integrator/ISV landed a deal with the Miami Beach Police Department that included 200 rugged mobile printers and its own software.
Continue Reading..
Square Stand: A Lion Of A Product, Or A Lamb?
If Square wasn't making waves for you in the past, you might need to buckle up for the future. Today the POS and payments disrupter announced its new Square Stand, which is essentially a fancy mount for an iPad that includes a handsome mag-stripe reader and Square's free Register app.
According to the company's Web site, Square is currently taking pre-orders at $299 a pop. Units are expected to ship on July 8.
Continue Reading..
World-Class Advice For VARs: Inside Ingram Micro's Partner Invitational
Last week I attended the Ingram Micro International Solutions Partner Invitational in Hollywood, FL. During my time at the event, I had the opportunity to listen to a variety of speakers and interview most of the distributor's top brass. Following are some of the best quotes/learnings I jotted down in my notebook...
Continue Reading..
Can't Keep Up? 3 Ways To Future-Proof Your Business
A few weeks ago I attended the Epson partner conference in Palm Springs, CA. The keynote speaker was futurist/forecaster Daniel Burrus (www.burrus.com) who spoke a lot about technology trends shaping the future. He had three great thoughts in his presentation that are applicable to the reseller community.
Continue Reading..
PSA: The Must-Have Tool For Retail VARs Adopting The "As A Service" Model
Retail- and hospitality-focused VARs looking to get into the "as a Service" model, take note. As you transition your business to this model, one of the first things you're going to want to do is implement a PSA (professional services automation) tool for yourself.
Continue Reading..
The Video Surveillance Market Is Going Strong... With Or Without You?
Interesting news for IT integrators this morning out of IMS Research, now part of IHS Inc., the video surveillance industry's leading analyst firm. According to Niall Jenkins, Manager, Video Surveillance & Security Services Research, 45% of surveyed North American companies reported that their budgets for security-related spend had increased in 2012.
Continue Reading..
What's Keeping Retail Dealers Awake At Night?
I don't need to tell you POS folk that you're in the middle of a huge transition. Increased competition, mind-blowing technological shifts, shrinking margins, ever cost-conscious customers, and so on all are creating both a threatening and opportunity-filled environment.
Continue Reading..
Quick Tip For Managed Services Noobs
The following might seem basic, but to those readers who are new to or just getting started with their managed services practice, it could be valuable advice. In our upcoming May issue, we interviewed Dan Wilson, president and CEO of Waypoint Solutions Group, a managed services provider that has 70% of its customers on a flat-fee managed services plan and is projecting 29% revenue growth this year.
Continue Reading..
How Will Epson OmniLink Alter Retail, Hospitality?
I spent last week in Palm Springs, CA for Epson's partner conference where I had the opportunity to rub elbows with the company's top VAR and ISV partners. Both Epson and its partners seemed genuinely excited about Epson's new OmniLink products. As mentioned during one of my NRF recaps back in January, when it comes to OmniLink you can think of an Epson printer combined with an embedded processor and memory (i.e. computer) in a...
Continue Reading..