The VAR Guy

Ouch. The VAR Guy spotted some troubling news about tech spending within the retail vertical. ScanSource, which distributes point of sale and barcode technology, released disappointing quarterly estimates this morning. For VARs serving the retail vertical, this could be a major warning sign.

The VAR Guy is resting a little easier today. Weak financial results from Intel earlier this week had our resident blogger wondering if IT spending was heading for a slowdown. But upbeat comments from Juniper’s CFO — following reasonably good comments from Cisco Systems’ CEO — are proving The VAR Guy with some much needed peace of mind about tech spending.

A weak earnings report from Intel depressed The VAR Guy today. But then two pieces of info made him feel a little better. First, Tech Data delivered a cautiously optimistic earnings outlook. Then, Cisco CEO John Chambers offered some comforting words to financial conference attendees.

Paul Nadjarian is suffering — in a good way — from deja vu. As a senior VP at OnForce, Nadjarian can peer into the company’s online marketplace to track key IT trends during these uncertain economic times. This is a familiar role for Nadjarian, who worked at eBay Motors during the bumpy economy in 2002. Nadjarian sees parallels between OnForce’s current marketplace and his time at eBay. Now, for the twist: The current trends reveal some positive signs for solutions providers, Nadjarian asserts.

Extreme Networks isn’t a networking giant. Instead, the company quietly focuses on four core vertical markets: Higher education, government, health care and hospitality. Think about that for a minute… At a time when everybody is concerned about an IT spending slowdown, three of Extreme’s four target markets are somewhat insulated from economic turbulence. That’s a pretty compelling message for partners seeking to maintain healthy revenue pipelines.

Investors and partners are holding their breath as Cisco Systems prepares to announce quarterly results on February 6. Cisco CEO John Chambers (pictured) spooked investors during the company’s previous quarterly earnings call, when he said enterprise sales felt a bit “lumpy.” The VAR Guy spoke with several Cisco partners ahead of the latest earnings release to gather their expectations.

Rising energy prices. Sub-prime lending woes. Slowing consumer spending. Amid all these economic fears, IBM disclosed stronger-than-expected quarterly (though preliminary) financial results today. The VAR Guy is a little bit relieved. But let’s not celebrate too much. It’s great to hear good news from Big Blue–but plenty of question marks continue to surround the IT market in 2008.

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).