Everything Old…

Overall, the types of services solution providers offer has not changed much compared with last year's SOM findings. Hardware and software integration (cited by 82 percent of respondents), customer-needs analysis (79 percent), hardware maintenance and upgrades on equipment sold or recommended (74 percent) and LAN/WAN design (69 percent) were reported by survey respondents as the top four services provided in 2001. Those figures are also consistent among solution providers of different sizes,ranging in revenue from less than $1 million to more than $10 million,all of whom additionally cite upgrades of existing products/solutions as their primary source of incremental revenue.

None of that comes as a surprise to industry executives. "I don't see a lot of new offerings, just a different spin on the old," says Sheldon Arora, CEO of esoftsolutions, a Plano, Texas-based systems integrator and designer. "Companies are doing a better job of taking advantage of what they have to achieve greater ROI on current software and technology investments. This puts integration, enhancements, upgrades and customizations at the top of my list of key service offerings," he says. "Also, because of the increase in mergers and acquisitions, we're seeing an increase of integration and customization work."

In fact, Stamford, Conn.-based market researcher Gartner views top-demand services, such as CRM, disaster recovery/business continuity, security/privacy, Web services and mobile/wireless as practically interrelated.

"We are moving toward an environment that operates in real-time, with zero latency in the supply chain," says Carol Rozwell, a research director at Gartner. "VARs would do well to offer services that help a company succeed in this high-velocity situation. Our strategic-planning assumption is that by 2003, enterprises in most industries that adopt a more virtual, recombinant business model will gain a substantial competitive advantage over those that do not."

But a heavy focus on ROI and efficiency shouldn't be confused with a Wal-Mart-style slashing of service prices, either. "This is not an argument for cut-rate pricing," Hurwitz Group's Ptak says. "It is an argument for documenting and appropriately pricing the ROI opportunity that exists."

For example, experts cite several examples of opportunities, particularly in light of the events of Sept. 11, which have altered the playing field. And many solution providers are actually in a good position to grow now. How so? For one, companies are no longer shelling out for airfare like they used to,which isn't necessarily a bad thing for some service providers.

"Now that many companies are restricting travel, you'll see strong growth in the e-learning service/software area because it allows companies to share knowledge and knowledge resources in such an efficient way," esoftsolutions' Arora says. "In the end, VARs need to show, in no uncertain terms, how their services will allow clients to achieve the maximum ROI. Period."

Collaborative/mobile/wireless services will also be a key trend in 2002, says Wayne Fleming, managing director of the collaborative technologies practice at Optimus Solutions, Norcross, Ga. "This creates not only an efficient and paperless methodology, but also reduces support and equipment costs," he says.

In addition, SOM research finds that more than half of solution providers (57 percent) polled after the September terrorist attacks expect wireless deployments in the next 12 months to exceed those of the past 12 months.

Another area of growth: disaster-recovery services. "Recent events have brought enterprise uptime to the forefront," Fleming says. "While most companies are still unlikely to be the target of radical terrorist activities, disaster recovery is no longer a solution just for companies in flood or hurricane areas."

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