The VAR Guy

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.

The IT market is growing — but not as fast as initially expected, according to Forrester Research. That’s a nice way of saying things ain’t so hot in corporate IT right now, according to The VAR Guy.

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).