FEATURED VIDEO

Sponsored By:


SLIDE SHOWS
Manufacturers brought the industry radical new ways to build PCs in 2008. Here are some of the coolest components we came across in 2008.
From gaming to business, retail to commercial, Wi-Fi to WiMAX, 2008 was the most cutting-edge year ever in the history of mobile computing.
From iPhones to BlackBerrys, 2008 saw the emergence of touch-screen titans, the first LG smartphone to hit the U.S. and the first device based on Google Android. Here are the 10 coolest smartphones that hit the market in 2008.
INSIDE CHANNELWEB
techcareers logo Search Jobs:


  

Post Resume|Employers

Recent Post:


Network Analyst
Hebrew Senior Life seeking Network Analyst in Dedham, MA
spacer

Channel 2.0

What is the future of the channel? VARBusiness launches year-long initiative to map the channel of 2013. The first step: questions and predictions.

VARBusiness logo By Lawrence M. Walsh, ChannelWeb
12:05 AM EST Mon. Jan. 08, 2007
From the January 08, 2007 issue of VARBusiness
Page 1 of 6

Businesses operate quarter to quarter. They measure their progress toward goals and the success of their plans by quarterly performance.

Businesses plan annually. They set strategic objectives on a year-to-year basis and measure the success and growth of their business on year-over-year top- and bottom-line revenue.

Strategic thinking is often limited to 18 months--two years on the outside. Oftentimes, businesses are trapped in a short-term view of the world; they don't look far over the horizon to see what's coming next.

Five years ago, aside from a few visionaries, who could have predicted eroding hardware margins, conflicting software-delivery models and the ubiquity of services in the channel? Who could have predicted the emergence of vertical and technology specialization? Who could have foreseen the conflict between vendors and solution providers in delivering subscription software and managed services? And who would have thought that channel hybrids--distributors taking on solution providers, solution providers starting channel programs and direct marketers/retailers driving up the channels stack? [Click here for a five-year retrospective look at channel demographics.]

Channel 2.0--a yearlong initiative launched by VARBusiness this month--aims to define the channel of the future. A working group of vendors, solution providers, distributors, end users and market analysts will spend the next year divining the form, function and operating environment of the channel in 2013. How will vendors structure their channel programs? How will solution providers structure their businesses? What role will distributors serve? Who will control the relationships with end users? And what will support--presales, postsales, technical and marketing--mean to solution providers and vendors?

Channel 2.0 will answer these and many more questions over the course of its deliberation. VARBusiness will publish progress reports on the group's work and, this time next year, will produce the Channel 2.0 blueprint: a guide to the channel of the future, which will serve as a road map for success for all who touch the channel. To start this project,VARBusiness reached out to channel leaders with two simple questions: What would you want to know about the channel in 2013 and what do you think the channel will look like in five years?

NEXT: Brand and customer ownership


RATE THIS ARTICLE Worse 1 2 3 4 5 Better
CHANNELWEB MARKETSPACE >> (Sponsored Links)
Channelweb : Promofinder
FEATURED PROMOTIONS
Weatherproof LCD Monitor
IP65 Weather/Waterproof/Outdoor LCD Monitor (LCD Display), Auto Power Saving, VESA Mounting, Sunlight Readable, Wide Temperat...
Partnerpedia Free Partner Portal
Partnerpedia is a free online community dedicated to helping companies expand their market reach through partnering. There’...
LATEST NEWS >>
January 07, 2009 10:52 PM
January 07, 2009 08:16 PM
January 07, 2009 06:52 PM
January 07, 2009 05:43 PM
January 07, 2009 05:05 PM
RELATED BLOG >>
Photo
Postings on IBM employee union Website suggest cutbacks are coming later this month.
ADVERTISEMENT




CHANNEL SERVICES >>