OnForce's 'State Of The Industry' Bets On VoIP

OnForce, an online market place for service providers, recently release its State of the Industry report, a wealth of information for service providers and resellers. The company said VoIP and telephony has experienced the most growth in the "most expensive" category from Q1 to Q2.

In the report, the OnForce team used the knowledge it collected through its platform to detail the fastest growing technologies, where the most margins are and the areas to avoid.

The data is measured using an Hourly Rate Index that provides a comparison of the cost per on-site hour. For service providers and resellers, this means that the highest margins can be obtained by working in this area.

"We have data on the average work order value for a provider," said Paul Nadjarian, senior vice president with OnForce. "We evaluate the market, take an average and peg it as 1.0 in the index. VoIP was practically two times the average when it came to hourly rate index. That means in that category, [resellers and service providers] are getting paid more per hour as compared to other categories."

Coming in after VoIP were security services. Wiring and cable -- something of a surprise -- came in second and third respectively in the hourly rate index. Consumer electronics came in fourth and peripherals rounded out the top five categories where partners can expect to earn the most money providing services, according to OnForce.

The reason these particular categories perform well is because of how new a technology is or what the current supply and demand is, said Nadjarian. VoIP continues to perform well because the technology is still relatively new and, as the report states, "where there is mystery, there's margin."

"VoIP is new, it wasn't that prevalent two or three years ago, but now it's becoming more mainstream," said Nadjarian. "Compared to a point of sale system or a desktop, VoIP is still new and because it's new, VARs can earn more money on an hourly basis because it is less commoditized at this point."

The report also discusses where it's best to be in business as a service provider. Making the jump from the number 39 to number 1 was Washington, D.C., with hourly rate index of 1.90. The next best state to work as a service provider? South Dakota, boasting a 1.74 hourly rate index, is second; Arkansas ranks third at 1.66.

While these may seem like unlikely locations for a service provider to go to make the most money, it's all based on supply and demand. There is IT work that needs to be done in South Dakota, and, since the population isn't as dense as New York City, for example, there are fewer resellers who can do the job, creating a high demand with a low supply.

One other interesting note from OnForce's State of the Industry report is which city VARs can expect to make the highest hourly rate. You might assume New York City, Chicago or Houston, but, in actuality, it's Franklin, Tennessee.