I talk with many CLEC's and ISP's that are looking at the BTOP and BIP programs to see if there is opportunity for them. As I said in the podcast with Occam Networks, most of the funds are earmarked for companies already collecting USF funds. Why do I think that? Because it is a safe bet and politics is about safe bets.
I'm attending Tech Data's Technology Solutions Tour. This morning started with TD SVP Pete Peterson discussing how to translate the stimulus spending into technology opportunity. The ARRA (aka the Stimulus bill) will spend about $787B, of which, according to the counter at Recovery.gov, over $75B has been spent. One percent of the ARRA is the Broadband Stimulus spend at $7.2B spread over 3 agencies and 3 different awards. Did you know that $50-60B of the ARRA is earmarked for IT Spending for Education, Healthcare, Energy and Government? That money will go for smart grid, green IT, virtualization, EMR (electronic medical records), video surveillance, Business Intelligience tools and more. It's a bigger pie than BTOP/BIP.
Did you know that the largest spender right now is Uncle Sam? Or as many people like to say - the taxpayer.
Anyway, Peterson told us that some cities and at least one state (Cali) does not allow the deployment of servers on-premise. It's a Green initiative and they are pushing Hosted servers or virtualization. I haven't heard that but it certainly interesting. (Also of note: No on has said Cloud since I have been here).
Another stat: there are 1 million doctor offices. Only 8% have EMR. The government wants it closer to 90%. There are funds and tax credits for that. Funny story: Nortel was pitching their Healthcare Management Programs yesterday, but didn't want to discuss the Bankruptcy nor the way the company is being sold off in slices. Um, tough to sell a solution that may not be there by the time the deal closes. When a VAR or Agent presents a solution, they are lending their reputation out to that vendor. If that vendor fails to deliver, it's a black eye for the VAR/Agent. (Psst: our most valuable asset is our reputation).
B.I. tools are important. Why? It adds productivity and efficiency to the organization that can correctly deploy and integrate it. (It's challenging).
Education will be spending on Broadband, IT infrastructure, Video surveillance, and digital signage. Go get you some
From Tech Data, of course. They have SME's (subject matter experts), product specialists, marketing funds and other assistance available to help you take advantage of the current ARRA opportunities. (Including Wireless and other communications infrastructure projects).
Peterson concluded with a few insights:
- This is a Call to Action for service providers and VAR's
- (It is unprecedented in my lifetime and we likely won't see this again. It is a magnitude larger than Y2K and closer to what the US spent on NASA going to the Moon in the 60's).
- Recovery.gov is a great resource.
- Great companies are made in tough times.
- The flexible survive.
I'm attending Tech Data's Technology Solutions Tour. This morning started with TD SVP Pete Peterson discussing how to translate the stimulus spending into technology opportunity. The ARRA (aka the Stimulus bill) will spend about $787B, of which, according to the counter at Recovery.gov, over $75B has been spent. One percent of the ARRA is the Broadband Stimulus spend at $7.2B spread over 3 agencies and 3 different awards. Did you know that $50-60B of the ARRA is earmarked for IT Spending for Education, Healthcare, Energy and Government? That money will go for smart grid, green IT, virtualization, EMR (electronic medical records), video surveillance, Business Intelligience tools and more. It's a bigger pie than BTOP/BIP.
Did you know that the largest spender right now is Uncle Sam? Or as many people like to say - the taxpayer.
Anyway, Peterson told us that some cities and at least one state (Cali) does not allow the deployment of servers on-premise. It's a Green initiative and they are pushing Hosted servers or virtualization. I haven't heard that but it certainly interesting. (Also of note: No on has said Cloud since I have been here).
Another stat: there are 1 million doctor offices. Only 8% have EMR. The government wants it closer to 90%. There are funds and tax credits for that. Funny story: Nortel was pitching their Healthcare Management Programs yesterday, but didn't want to discuss the Bankruptcy nor the way the company is being sold off in slices. Um, tough to sell a solution that may not be there by the time the deal closes. When a VAR or Agent presents a solution, they are lending their reputation out to that vendor. If that vendor fails to deliver, it's a black eye for the VAR/Agent. (Psst: our most valuable asset is our reputation).
B.I. tools are important. Why? It adds productivity and efficiency to the organization that can correctly deploy and integrate it. (It's challenging).
Education will be spending on Broadband, IT infrastructure, Video surveillance, and digital signage. Go get you some
From Tech Data, of course. They have SME's (subject matter experts), product specialists, marketing funds and other assistance available to help you take advantage of the current ARRA opportunities. (Including Wireless and other communications infrastructure projects).Peterson concluded with a few insights:
- This is a Call to Action for service providers and VAR's
- (It is unprecedented in my lifetime and we likely won't see this again. It is a magnitude larger than Y2K and closer to what the US spent on NASA going to the Moon in the 60's).
- Recovery.gov is a great resource.
- Great companies are made in tough times.
- The flexible survive.
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