Steven Burke's THE FINAL CUT

C.J. Ezell, president of The ASI Group, a fast-growing VAR that uses the tagline "Powering Digital Healthcare," has given his business a makeover that is a model for solution providers of all stripes. First off, Ezell said bye-bye to his entire break/fix business four years ago in order to specialize solely on the health-care market. That move had his employees thinking he was "nuts." In fact, Ezell's lead technician quit and started his own break/fix business that captured many of the 150 customers that ASI Group was serving.

August 08, 2008

Every solution provider on the planet should be looking at starting a green practice aimed at saving their clients buckets of cash being eaten up by rising energy costs.

July 28, 2008

Microsoft last week did what a lot of partners were hoping it would do: go on the attack against those clever but shameless Mac ads that lampoon Vista.

July 14, 2008

The Macintosh community can do all the trash-talkin' they want about Microsoft and Vista. At the end of the day, there is no more profitable platform for solution providers because of the breadth and depth of applications software for Windows and Vista.

July 07, 2008

Solution providers not filling out their product portfolio with emerging vendors are putting both their clients and themselves at risk. Blindly following a major vendor strategy is a surefire path to a low technology solutions IQ and even lower profits.

June 30, 2008

The virtualization solution phenomenon is not only driving the biggest profits for all stripes of solution providers, it also is helping to fuel a Mac renaissance in businesses. More companies and even more consumers are making the big jump from the PC to the Mac platform. In fact, the virtualization solution wave is Microsoft's biggest nightmare come true. Whether it's a stick-with-XP or a move-to-Macintosh stance, it's all bad news for Microsoft's bid to move the operating system and Office productivity franchise to the next level.

May 26, 2008

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