Two Trends: VAR Satisfaction, Complementary Technologies

One trend that I saw in our Best Channel Vendors survey was a high level of satisfaction from the reseller community. Typically, people are quicker to say 'blank you' instead of 'thank you' (if you know what I mean), but that doesn't apply to our VARs. Of all the anecdotes we collected, two-thirds were positive with only one-third negative. When asked to name their worst vendor experience, several resellers said they didn't have one — all their vendor partners were meeting their needs.

Another trend this survey revealed is that VARs are moving away from reselling just one technology group and are now selling complementary technologies more often. For years, resellers identified themselves solely as a "content management VAR" or a "data collection VAR."

Our survey showed that nearly 40% of VARs are selling complementary technologies. One channel vendor I talked with about this trend wasn't surprised in the least. "In a few years, I bet you that number will be almost 100%," he said. We believe our magazine is playing a key role in that metamorphosis. Our articles showcase resellers who are successfully integrating complementary technologies and penetrating vertical markets.

Those are just two trends our survey uncovered. You can count on seeing more editorial throughout 2009 based on this groundbreaking study.