Discussion on: VirtualNet IronApp expand partnership

By: Colin Steele

Colin Steele — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:43:02 +0000

Vendors will never make their on-premise products so easy to use that the channel gets squeezed out. There will always be advanced, specific IT needs that a general midmarket IT staff can’t handle. The trend towards Software as Service is more of a threat to squeeze out VARs, especially because they’re competing for the same midmarket audience.

By: Donnellymp

Donnellymp — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:37:50 +0000

Agreed. At SearchStorageChannel.com, we did a roundup of best practices for bundling storage and server virtualization services. Hopefully some of those ideas will show you the money a little faster.

By: BKraemer

BKraemer — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:33:38 +0000

Does that mean that as vendors make their products easier to use for customers to use, channel partners are starting to get cut out of the loop? CIOs in the midmarket are likely to have some kind of a staff working for them who could likely handle any issue that crops up down the road with a product. Are NetApp and Virtual Iron tossing scraps from the table to the channel who are increasingly becoming one hit wonders with customers? Or are there still legitimate needs for CIOs to contract with VARs et al?

By: Colin Steele

Colin Steele — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:29:15 +0000

Sure, they sell it through the channel, but just reselling products doesn’t really make much money for partners. Partners rake in the dough with advanced services, and merely filling the “plug” component of a plug-and-play device isn’t likely to demand much of a premium from customers.