Next Generation VARs: Tuned In

A prosperous new wave of solution providers is making a splash—injecting both vitality and innovation into the VAR community. Some are like traditional VARs, but others are more like new-age advertising agencies than product resellers.

One of the new breed is Alani Kuye, the 28-year-old president and founder of Phantom Data Systems in Norwalk, Conn. A hybrid of sorts, Phantom considers itself a "solutions-based" company that serves its clients' document management, data storage and recovery needs. The firm uses some mainstream vendors—like Intel—but also employs technology from Linux vendors, such as Red Hat, and alternative vendors such as Katharion and Intronis.

"Alternative vendors help us sell innovation. They know we are selling ourselves as a VAR," Kuye said. "They are more open to disclosure of long-term plans. The household names are not."

Slide Show: 7 Young VARs To Watch

When these innovators take on the more traditional role of solution providing, many"but not all—are choosing open-source vendors because they say these vendors are more accessible, more amenable to change and more dedicated to their partners' success.

"For example, Adtran gives you everything you need, from the API to the product spec, business plans, contacts," Kuye said. "They want to know, do we want to deal through distribution? Or direct? That's a value proposition. I don't have to go through distribution. We can tweak the product, and Adtran will still support it."

Make no mistake: These new VARs do not want to sit around and wait for vendor-generated leads to ring their phones. They want to be in the mix, in the know and in the thick of their customers' business plans.

"We help clients in preparing their multiyear IT budgets," said Gary Tonniges, 37, president of TriQuest, another next-generation VAR that focuses exclusively on services. "We prepare information for insurance companies, most disaster-recovery plans, and we sit in with strategic planning sessions with customers. We know the company's strategy before the line troops do because we are part of the planning process. It is like a marriage."

Though TriQuest is a Microsoft-certified partner, the integrator and MSP is largely vendor-agnostic. One reason many large vendors never get to the altar with these new VARs, Tonniges said, is due to the tremendous emphasis on meeting requirements and getting certifications. That can be off-putting, even for companies with deep pockets.

For Phantom Data and other companies like it, that type of investment is not practical, and underscores how much more big vendors need to learn about their much younger partners.

Not all next-gen VARs view certifications and big-name vendors with disdain, however. Altos Technology Group is an Enterprise HP partner, a Citrix Platinum Partner and a certified Microsoft Gold Partner.

"We have every certification in the world," said Brady Flaherty, 35, principal at Altos Technology Group, a Sacramento, Calif.-based IT consultant that provides comprehensive enterprise infrastructure solutions. "The main reason for our success is our IT focus, not a sales focus." And a good way to advertise that focus is by attaining certifications.

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