Getting to Know the Numbers

• Respondents deem application-integration software and middleware technologies as the areas most important to their overall businesses in the coming year. Already, two-thirds of the solution providers polled resell or recommend them in customer solutions. And, according to VARBusiness' recent Annual Report Card survey, 70 percent of VARs expect to see an increase in business for application-development and deployment tools in 2003.
• Sixty-three percent of solution providers also place consulting prominently on their deployment lists, followed by hardware platforms (62 percent), networking hardware (62 percent) and networking software (60 percent).
• In keeping with today's emphasis on getting more done in less time, the next generation of wireless technologies is swiftly allowing users to connect and share data more efficiently,from anywhere and at any time. In fact, half the solution providers we polled are currently reselling or recommending wireless technologies, and, of those, nearly 72 percent expect to deploy, service and/or support more in the next 12 months.
• Meanwhile, Intel has a stranglehold on the processor-platform market in terms of VARs recommending its Pentium and Xeon systems. Seventy-seven percent of the solution providers deploying processor technologies recommend Pentium 4, 48 percent recommend Pentium III or lower, and 39 percent recommend Xeon, according to SOT findings. That will continue at the expense of AMD Athlon, Sun SPARC and Compaq Alpha.
• In the area of network storage, VARs are expected to grow their sales of Fibre Channel switches and adapters by 20 percent and 18 percent, respectively, in 2003. Ultimately, IP could challenge those numbers for dominance in the storage area network marketplace, but that's doubtful in the coming year.
• More than half the technology solution providers surveyed for the SOT say they intend to add new product lines in the coming year,whether aimed at industry giants or SMBs. Specific reasons for expansion include VARs' desire to capitalize on state-of-the-art technology seen as a natural extension of a core business (70 percent), to penetrate new markets (54 percent), to take advantage of strategic opportunities (52 percent) and to create synergy in the product/service offerings to their clients (51 percent).
• Training is the single most important element that solution providers seek from their vendor partners, according to our survey. In fact, 35 percent of providers cite training and certification as their No. 1 need from their vendor partners.
• These points all speak to the expansion potential of the IT marketplace, despite today's tough economic conditions. Regardless, your role remains unchanged: to be ready with the right solutions to meet your customers' diverse business needs and goals. n
• Douglas Belt, vice president of client development at ARC Research, contributed to this column.