Of all the statistics I'm confronted with on a regular basis, the one that sticks with me the most is one I heard while attending a training session for MSPs (managed services providers) not too long ago. The stat was attributed to CompTIA and stated that only 40% of VARs are currently offering any kind of managed services.  Continue Reading..

Earlier this week, I attended the CompTIA Breakaway event in Las Vegas. If you're a VAR or MSP who's never been to this event, I would highly recommend it. It's a great resource to help educate you on the latest technologies, and they even offer excellent certification programs, which can help you distinguish yourself from your competitors. The really nice thing is that they are a nonprofit organization, so you have the...  Continue Reading..

Historically, the healthcare vertical has been one of the most lucrative, albeit difficult to penetrate, markets for VARs. Back in 2009, I spoke with Mike Cleary, president of Coridian Technologies, who explained that a switch from the manufacturing vertical to healthcare was resulting in a 20% revenue increase for his company. With so much happening since 2009, I was eager to get an update from Cleary and capture any lessons he might have...  Continue Reading..

During yesterday's Industry Vision Panel at RSPA RetailNOW, one message was repeatedly hammered home by panelists: the world of retail technology is changing, and those who don't change with it will be left behind.  Continue Reading..

Some may argue this, but the purpose of a business is to be profitable. Based on a recent survey of retail solutions providers, most POS dealers aren't very profitable, if at all. Surprise! While lack of profitability might be the unfortunate common reality of most in the retail channel, ways of becoming more profitable are lesser known -- or at least, enacted upon. Brett Harward, speaker, consultant, and author, presented at...  Continue Reading..

One of the most popular recurring revenue sources MSPs can offer is RMM (remote monitoring and management). For SMBs with limited IT resources, this is a win-win for both parties. Yet, there is a critical mistake some MSPs make regarding RMM that can seriously hurt their customer’s likelihood of renewing their service contract.  Continue Reading..

I spoke with an MSP recently that shared some insights with me that I wanted to pass along to you today, especially if you find yourself underselling your managed services. Cory Carson, owner of Computer Doctor, was just like some of you: working six or seven days a week, 12-16 hour days, and still barely getting by. After attending CharTec’s sales training academy last year, Carson made the bold decision to stop...  Continue Reading..

As you may have heard, NCR recently announced NCR Silver, an iPad-based retail POS solution targeted at small retailers. Since the announcement, I've been inundated with outraged calls and email from resellers and other channel executives saying that this new product, from one of the industry's largest players, threatens the livelihood of retail solutions providers.  Continue Reading..

If you were reading Business Solutions back in 2009, today's Where Are They Now featured VAR should stand out in your memory. Never before -- and probably never again -- will a VAR and his airplane grace the cover of the magazine.  Continue Reading..

"Cloud Computing" continues to be the top searched term at BSMinfo.com month after month. Yet, after talking with many IT solutions providers, I know that selecting a cloud provider is no easy task. To help you with that decision, I reached out to several industry experts to garner their advice regarding the most important considerations you'll want to heed. Here's one thing they all agreed on:  There is no...  Continue Reading..