The VAR Guy

Pardon The VAR Guy for wiping a way a few tears left over from the weekend. Hundreds of folks flamed his tongue-in-cheek suggestion that Microsoft should pay for the $700 Billion Wall Street bailout.

Microsoft has endorsed the $700 billion Wall Street bailout that President Bush signed into law on Oct. 3. But how’s this for some quick math: Microsoft’s annual profits could pay the entire $700 billion sum faster than some US homeowners can pay off their mortgages. Here’s how.

Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd is taking out the hatchet again, this time cutting 7 percent of HP’s workforce — or 24,600 jobs — over the next three years, according to Reuters. The move will reduce costs as HP digests the recent acquisition of Electronic Data Systems (EDS).

This just in: A start-up company, currently working in stealth mode, intends to acquire multiple VARs, integrators and managed service providers. Total combined revenues for the acquired companies will be about $100 million to $120 million.

Lots of IT-focused franchise opportunities are popping up. But experiences will certainly vary from franchise to franchise, and industry to industry. I’ve been in a national franchise for over six years. The franchise isn’t IT oriented, but my lessons learned may help VARs and solutions providers weigh their own franchise options.

It’s difficult to remain upbeat and optimistic amid all the negative talk down on Wall Street. But when things seem bleak and the press writes about declining stock prices, remember this: Everybody isn’t selling. Each time someone puts in a sell order, it has to be matched with a buy order. And high trading volumes mean there are thousands of buyers scooping up stocks at bargain levels (or so the buyers hope). Keep the faith.

I recently got together with a group of executives from a company based here on Long Island to discuss entrepreneurship. A number of them already have side businesses going on and therefore I won’t name the company. These are people really itching to bust out and succeed on their own. I took some notes from our flip-chart sheets that I thought would be interesting for any entrepreneurs in the making. Here they are:

(Note: I wrote the following blog for our sister site, MSPmentor, this morning. It certainly applies to VARs as well.) Pick up today’s paper and you’ll see a stunning contrast between Intel and the broader economy. As economic indicators continue to weaken, Intel has announced record quarterly revenue — providing some welcome news to managed service providers and other IT-centric businesses.

I’m upbeat about the managed services market and the IT channel, but I wonder: Will the mortgage crisis at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and IndyMac Bankcorp (among others) begin to impact small business IT spending, lending to small businesses, and the IT channel as a whole?

Maybe it’s time for The VAR Guy to put his Web site (and his LinkedIn Rolodex) up for sale. After all, the value of his house is plummeting faster than the fuel gage needle in his Hummer. And now there’s talk about a Web 2.0 Bubble. Say it ain’t so! (Then, take a minute to watch this video.)


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