Hard Facts: February 11, 2002

Within the security category, several subspecialties offer significant opportunities for solution providers, including antivirus, intrusion detection and firewalls. The same is true in the storage category, which ranks just behind desktops as the top hardware/software spending priority.

Interestingly, small businesses rate storage area networking (SAN) solutions a slightly higher spending priority than network-attached storage systems, which may signal a move by these businesses toward higher-end solutions in this area.

The figures seem to be on the money, solution providers said. "More attractive solution packages and price points will lead to SAN systems becoming more widespread in the upper end of the [small- and midsize-business market in the coming year," said Pete Busam, COO of Decisive Business Systems, a $5 million solution provider based in Pennsauken, N.J.