Supplier News

51. What's Next For ECM VARs? 11/16/2007
    Like any mature industry, ECM has seen its share of vendor consolidation recently. OTG/Legato/Captiva and Documentum were gobbled up by EMC, Stellent was acquired by Oracle, and Filenet was merged into the IBM empire. “In some cases, consolidation has pitted many resellers directly against vendors’ direct sales forces that have seemingly unlimited resources,” explains Joel Port, VP of sales for NewWave Technologies. NewWave is a VAD (value-added distributor) serving resellers, integrators, and service bureaus, distributing products and programs to the imaging, storage, and duplication markets. However, vendor consolidation is not the only trend VARs should be aware of. Used with permission from Business Solutions magazine
52. POS & AIDC Prognosis: Sales Opportunities Abound 11/16/2007
    What are the latest trends in POS and/or supply chain technologies that affect VAR sales opportunities? Mike Monocello, Supply Chain and POS Editor at Business Solutions Magazine asks this question and many more as he interviews Mark Morgan of Scan Source. Used with permission from Business Solutions magazine
53. Uncover New Receipt Printing Opportunities 11/16/2007
    While an integral part of any POS (point of sale) system, receipt printers somehow aren’t treated by many VARs and end users as such. Indeed, it’s often the receipt printer, keyboard, and cash drawer that are neglected when designing and choosing a POS system. Savvy VARs will tell you that downplaying the importance of these peripherals is a grave mistake, often leading to missed sales. How much thought do you give to the sale of receipt printers? Used with permission from Business Solutions magazine
54. Seek Out Convergence Sales Opportunities 11/16/2007
    A 2006 Gartner survey revealed that of all the networking initiatives enterprises have planned for in 2007, VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) and IP telephony ranked highest. That may sound like good news to some VARs. But, selling VoIP alone won’t give you the maximum payoff. According to industry experts from value-added distributors Catalyst Telecom, Ingram Micro, Tech Data, and Voda One, you need to sell convergence solutions, which entail integrating voice and data applications – and sometimes video applications, too – and running those applications over the same IP network. Used with permission from Business Solutions magazine
55. Don't Abandon Scanning Opportunities 11/16/2007
    Production scanning is mature technology. As such, many VARs may think the days of scanning market growth and innovation are in the past. While the significant growth in the distributed scanner market continues to get press, the production scanning market quietly continues to grow. The growth is accompanied by a shift from high-speed scanners to low- to midvolume scanners. Used with permission from Business Solutions magazine
56. Q&A: Discover New Rugged Data Collection Opportunities 11/16/2007
    What is the most significant current trend in rugged data collection you think VARs should know about? Bob Grant, director of product marketing and advanced data capture for Motorola Enterprise Mobility Business: Direct part marking (DPM) is an exciting opportunity for VARs right now. The ability to deploy low-cost handhelds and DPM readers throughout an enterprise enables manufacturers to change the way they use direct part marks in their manufacturing processes. Because previous generations of readers were costly, manufacturers typically deployed just a few DPM readers sporadically throughout the manufacturing floor. New, low-cost readers typically are less than 50% of the cost of early generation units and as a result, represent an excellent opportunity for VARs looking to sell high-margin rugged scanners into the manufacturing space. Used with permission from Business Solutions magazine
57. Q&A: Add Value To Your Storage Sales 11/16/2007
    Most estimates of data storage growth average around 70% per year. That growth leads to increased demand for raw storage capacity. With the cost of spinning disk dropping, it’s tough for pure storage hardware resellers to survive on the hardware margins alone. Magnetic spinning disk isn’t going away anytime soon, so it’s important that VARs find new ways to avoid selling disk based purely on price. There are ways to bundle products and services with storage hardware to alleviate the commoditization of storage products. To get a better understanding of the trends driving the storage market and how to grow sales based on those trends, we engaged five vendor experts to answer our storage questions. Used with permission from Business Solutions magazine
58. Add On To Your Imaging Contract With MFPs 11/16/2007
    Your reputation precedes you. Oftentimes, entrenching yourself with a multibillion-dollar A&D (aerospace and defense) contractor is a matter of reputation. Establishing your reputation early and continually maintaining it are key components to keeping and growing your current portfolio of customers. “We tend to develop preferred status with our customers, meaning that some of our clients will not issue an RFP to anyone but us. We build a reputation first, which prequalifies us internally. This creates growth for our company in terms of labor services, additional technology investments, maintenance support, and consulting,” says Neal Fischer, president of Hershey Technologies, an ECM systems integrator that is now capitalizing on its preferred status relationships. As a result, it anticipates 60% of its projected 15% sales growth in 2008 to come from existing customers. One source of revenue is from an existing A&D customer that Hershey has conducted business with since 1999. Used with permission from Business Solutions magazine
59. Are You Ready To Sell Managed Services? 11/16/2007
    Just what are managed services? Ask five VARs this question, and you will get five different answers, depending upon their business model and role in the IT services ecosystem. Autotask is a company that provides professional services automation (PSA) software for VARs. Bob Godgart, president and CEO of Autotask, defines managed services as “the day-to-day monitoring, operational management, and ongoing maintenance of hardware, software, systems, or a complete network, by an outsourced service provider compensated through a predetermined fee on a recurring basis.” That’s a mouthful, but it very accurately depicts most managed services models. Used with permission from Business Solutions magazine
60. How Can You Cash In On POS Residual Processing Fees? 11/16/2007
    The POS installation is complete. The installation took you only two days, with another day of formal training. Your technician worked out the kinks within a week, and you’re ready for a lump sum payment (i.e. linear income). But, wait. Why focus your efforts entirely on the ‘one-shot’ payday, when you could build your business year after year with residual income from merchant processing service fees? “Our outlook is long-term. We focus on the residual income, not necessarily the initial sale,” explains Andrey Belyayev, president of Super PC Systems. With 150 customers providing residual income after only four years in business, Super PC Systems is ensuring a steady stream of revenue. Used with permission from Business Solutions magazine