Blog: Scenes From the Capitol
By
Lawrence M. Walsh,
CRN
May 05, 2006
Picture this: I wake up in my Washington hotel room, turn on CNN and hear the headline about an allegedly intoxicated Kennedy involved in an accident. For a minute, I think it is one of those flashback specials. Alas, poor Patrick "Patches" Kennedy, the congressman from Rhode Island (Is it even a state?), finally lived up to his family's legacy.
The latest Kennedy fiasco isn't news to me. What is news is all the great stuff happening at XChange Government Integrator, the conference of GovernmentVAR magazine.
While we often crow about how different and unique the government channel is compared to the commercial and enterprise markets the attendees talked a lot about the similarities. Check out these tidbits:
Competition: Competition in the channel isn't about trying to beat the big guys--like IBM Global Services, EDS and SAIC--but rather like-size VARs, said Frank Lancione, senior vice president of NCI Information Systems, a solution provider in Reston, Va. As he put it, "It's David vs. David," and said that all solution providers should focus on providing the best systems and services to their customers.
Money To Go Around: The federal government will spend more than $63 billion on IT goods and services this year, according to figures from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB); the commercial market is valued somewhere north of $350 billion. While VARs worry about competition with their peers, many delegates talked about the size of these markets and how there's plenty of work for everyone.
People Skills: "I'm selling people skills and services," said Bob Sommerfeld, president of Adesta, a systems integrator based in Omaha. It's the truth. At the end of the day, VARs are trusted advisers, but it's more than that. You sell your personality, your expertise and your confidence. Regardless of whether you're selling to government or commercial customers, you always have to sell yourself first, then your products and services.
There's more great insight and business information from the XChange Government Integrator conference on our newly redesigned GovernmentVAR.com Web site. Check it out--you won't be disappointed.
