Interesting study if your a VAR selling inter-related IP Products, the complete solution system is the way?
Internet Study -- Survey Says VARs Are the Best Bet For Bringing SMBs Online
November 27, 1998
VARBUSINESS:
Boston-the majority of small and midsize
businesses in the United States has yet to
embrace the Internet as a strategic business
tool, according to a recent study conducted
by The Yankee Group, a research firm based
here.
Failure to jump on the Internet bandwagon
means thousands of small and midsize
businesses are missing out on potentially
lucrative opportunities to expand their
operations electronically. But it could also
translate into a tremendous opportunity for
systems integrators and VARs specializing in
Internet-based services and products, says
Chris Gwynn, senior analyst at The Yankee
Group.
"With the Internet, people are still trying to
figure out what they need to do, and why
they need to be there," says Gwynn.
"Resellers are better equipped [than direct
sellers] to provide that information."
The major advantage the channel holds over
direct competitors is the ability to offer a
complete solution, says Jason Chee, account
manager at Bert Technologies Inc., a
Seattle-base SMB VAR. "It's not so much
that a VAR has an advantage in providing
customers with information," he says, " but in
providing a turnkey system."
The key to capturing the SMB market for
VARs, Gwynn adds, is to target products and
services at the right level. Efforts to sell
Internet-based solutions to businesses that
range in size from two to 499 employees
have largely sputtered, he says, because
manufacturers and service providers are
going about it the wrong way. Instead of
offering potential customers basic and
entry-level products, such as firewalls and
site-blocking tools, vendors have been
focusing on pitching high-end electronic
commerce solutions, Gwynn claims.
"The SMB market needs basic
Internet-building foundation tools," says
Gwynn. He further says that, as a result of
being battered with a barrage of
sophisticated products that they do not
understand or are not ready to use,
small-business owners have retreated from,
instead of embraced, the Internet.
According to the survey, only 31 percent of
small businesses and 51 percent of midsize
businesses maintain some sort of Web
presence. Even more revealing, says Gwynn,
is that 55 percent of small businesses and 66
percent of midsize businesses currently
without access to the Internet have no plans
to add it.
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