The Business Solutions Network

Last week I was at Synnex' (NYSE: SNX) National Partner Conference in Greenville, SC, where I found myself the first morning having a great conversation over breakfast with a network integrator. I asked him what he hoped to get out of the event and he told me he was looking to learn where to expand his business.  Continue Reading..

I'm going to give you a sneak preview of a feature article in next month's issue of Business Solutions because the VAR we highlight is doing some great stuff that's really impacting his business. The VAR is Andrew Strickler and his company is Tampa Bay POS. We featured Andrew in our magazine back in 2007.  Continue Reading..

In the world of physical security, cloud-based surveillance is in its infancy. This, for two primary reasons: First, technology is just coming around to enable cost-effective and high-functioning solutions. Second, traditional security dealers have been slow to adopt IP cameras, let alone the cloud.   Continue Reading..

If you've attended any of the recently-held trade shows and partner conferences, or have been following this blog or our magazine for any length of time, you'll know that the notion of adopting a more services-centric business model is all the rage.  Continue Reading..

One of the challenges I often hear about from retail IT VARs regarding switching to a managed services model is coping with the way money flows into their company. Many of you are used to getting large lump sums of money for your work as opposed to the smaller steady stream associated with recurring revenue models. The large lump sum might help in the short term and actually be a necessity to keep your business afloat, but a steady...  Continue Reading..

During the course of my daily job duties, I speak with VARs about technology trends and opportunities that exist in the marketplace. Additionally, the rest of the Business Solutions team makes lots of outbound calls, first, to make sure you want to receive the magazine, and second, to learn more about trends and what issues you like reading about.  Continue Reading..

If you're a retail IT provider, you've probably heard about the PCI Security Standards Council's (PCISSC) new QIR (Qualified Integrators and Resellers) program, which involves training and certification to ensure you're able to install payment applications "in a manner that facilitates PCI DSS compliance."  Continue Reading..

For a couple years now, we’ve been strongly advising IT VARs to take advantage of the opportunity to sell their clients IP video solutions, which are dropping in price and increasing in capabilities. In a time when the economy still shows signs of weakness, seeing such strong potential for you is exciting.  Continue Reading..

Last week I was at ScanSource's annual partner conference. As opposed to previous years when the value-added distributor had separate events for each of its different business units, this year marked the company's 20th anniversary, calling for an "all divisions" celebration and educational event.  Continue Reading..

Many of the articles appearing on this blog are promoted via various social media channels. The one medium which has been yielding some very insightful responses has been LinkedIn, specifically in our Business Solutions' VAR & MSP group. In response to my recent "The Death Of POS VARs" article, Morgan Moran, Director of Customer Experience at Kheelan Business Technologies, wrote:  Continue Reading..