var

Comcast and Synnex Equals Added Value

I hear all the time how Agents don't "Add Value". Curiously, they never explain what that "added value" is supposed to be. Agents get paid to sell your stuff, isn't that value enough? Even more curious, carriers think VARs...

Is It Really Cloud or Bust?

In an email about a show, it states you can change or die. Then GCN had this cartoon on its Facebook page today: There are so many business options. VAR, VAD, Master Agents, Telecom Agents, manufacturers, carriers, service providers, even...

The Power of Cable

Agents and VARs want to sell cable - mainly due to demand from small business. The price points and the advertised speeds make cable attractive. However, the cable guys really only want to sell direct. Period. Everything else is...

Convergence is Upon Us

For years we talked about converging voice and data. Now that most voice traffic is VoIP riding on data networks (cellular, broadband, T1, MPLS, etc.), we can say Converged. But there is another convergence happening - the world of telco...

How Many VARs Are There Anyway

This is a LONG post. Kind of rambling. Sorry about that. But it does have some really good nuggets of info. Thanks for reading. Leave feedback. At the CompTIA meeting with the Telecom Advisory Council, the size of the VAR...

Converging At CompTIA

I am in Orlando at the Peabody Hotel (nice hotel) again for ChannelCon, which is CompTIA's annual event (formerly called Breakaway). It's filled with meetings - 9 hours of them tomorrow (ugh!). It is wrapped around a couple of themes...

Different Channel Partners Means Varying Obstacles

Whether I am working with an ITSP (Hosted VoIP provider) or a cloud video conferencing company, the one thing I can count on is that the channel partners will all have different business models. You can put them in buckets...

Channel Sales Enablement: Part 2

Every channel wants a lot of feet on the street. I just saw a master agent in New England with 160 providers in its catalog. It isn't unusual for a master agent (pick any of the big ones) to have...

What's a VAR to do?

Value-added Resellers (VARs) have a business model dependent on hardware sales. The big ticket items bring in cash in a lump sum to allow the business to pay bills (like payroll). The business usually is associated with a major...

The Master Model for Hardware

Microcorp and Tech Data. Ingram Micro and CenturyLink. Ingram and TWC. CDW is the hardware distributor with a full service telecom agency. Tech Data comes close with its long standing deal with XO and its TDMobility that is a cellular...

VAD's Becoming CSB's

I just like using acronyms. A VAD is a value added distributor like Tech Data, SYNNEX, Arrow, Ingram Micro and Insight. Like Dell and Microsoft, these companies have to shift their business model to adjust for a decline in hardware...

Interesting Links for Your Consideration

There have been some interesting articles lately. I can't get to all of them, but here are some good reads. Death of the Telecom VAR in 2013 - How an entire sub-industry will be wiped out in the next 24...

Business is a Thinking Man's Sport

When I heard Mark Sanborn call business a thinking man's spot, it made me smile and then think. Oddly, most of these news items have all fallen in my lap today. It made me re-think how the value added distributors...

Thoughts on the Channel in 2013

There is this article with four opinions about the Channel in 2013. Reading them, I am almost certain that they are not only viewing the channel from differing sides but that they are discussing different channels. I do like the...

Channel Shifts, Moves, Adds and Changes

There is a lot of noise coming out of the channel. Personnel changes left and right and center. Who's leaving, who's joining, who just signed an agreement. Bzzzzzzzz It's just noise for the most part.Funny that one master agent who...

Are You Channel Ready?

I am at Channel Partners Expo in Vegas (speaking tomorrow at 9 AM). It is all about cloud and the channel here. It makes me ask: Are you Channel Ready? Do you have a service offering that is channel ready?...

Everything is Changing, No One is Happy

Belkin is buying Linksys from Cisco, who is exiting the consumer business. What are they doing with the Scientific Atlantic set-top boxes?Logitech is dumping some of its product lines as it re-vamps. Andy says that Yahoo Voice is shutting down....

We Start the Year With Mergers

Two Tampa companies merge "to create a Hybrid SuperVAR" (whatever that is). Vology acquired Bayshore Technologies. Vology is a hardware reseller. Bayshore Tech is systems integrator and will provide professional services for the combined company. AVIS is acquiring ZipCar...

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