The VAR Guy

The VAR Guy pays his American Express bill in full every month. Apparently, more small businesses and consumers are struggling to make those full payments, though, according to a warning issued today by American Express. For small business solutions providers, this is yet another signal to proceed with caution into 2008. Here’s what the news means to channel players.

The VAR Guy hates the “R” word. Everybody seems to be talking about an imminent “recession.” A Harvard economist insists there’s more than 50 percent chance of the US heading into a recession. Hmmm. Will IT sales hold up in the small business space? Here are two quick perspectives from thought leaders at Cisco Systems and Autotask (a leading managed service platform provider).

The VAR Guy enjoys a lite beer from time to time. But Lite software? No thanks. Generally speaking, “Lite” versions of software have tanked over the years. Anybody else remember NetWare Lite?

The VAR Guy saw this coming: A new, low-cost MSP platform that could inspire even the cheapest VAR to embrace managed services. Indeed, Autotask has launched a new, low-cost managed services platform called Autotask Go! The hosted MSP platform has a fixed fee of $99 and no start-up costs. Get all the details from our new sister site, MSPmentor.

Few people realize it, but Dell is sending a Trojan Horse into Silicon Valley next week. The big hardware company–which isn’t known for innovation, software or acquisitions–will show off all three traits at a small (but strategic) conference in San Jose on September 24 and 25.

It will be at least another year or two before some MSP platform providers attempt to launch initial public offerings, The VAR Guy predicts. But private investors continue to show strong faith in the MSP model. One prime example: Autotask has quietly received another round of funding, our resident blogger hears.