Small Business Computer Consulting

Computer business Lenovo Group, Ltd. Recently reported it had experienced a net profit increase this past year of 177 percent in the third quarter.  This soaring profit for the computer business is thought to be due to its global demand for particularly laptop computers.  

Computer business Lenovo acquired IBM’s PC business for $1.25 billion a few years ago, but had yet to switch completely to its own Lenovo brand from IBM.  Because of the recent unexpectedly high profits, according to Lenovo’s CEO William Amelio, the computer business will switch entirely to the Lenovo brand two years ahead of time.

Lenovo is China’s Number 1 computer business and ranks third in the world.  Its profit posted was a net profit of $105.26 million in the second quarter ending September 30.  A month earlier, its net profit was $37.89 million.  Experts had predicted just $88 million for the computer business.

Blogged By:  Computer Consulting Kit

Many VARs have been trying to get their businesses back up and running in Southern California after a wave of fires hit the San Diego area this month.  19 fires still continue to burn from northern Los Angeles County and Malibu Beach to Orange and San Diego County.  Most were caused by a long-term dry spell and have downed power lines and disabled transformers, making business for VARs a particular challenge.

These fires are not unlike those that four years ago evacuated one million people and destroyed 2,000 homes.  Bruce Geier, the CEO of Technology Integration Group, a group of VARs based in San Diego stated that his office was untouched, but because his home was nearly lost he has had a hard time keeping his business open.

Many VARs and other business owners have stated that because of high security policies enforced by the National Guard, in large part in order to protect homes and businesses from looting and vandalism they have had a hard time running their companies as usual and keeping their clients well served.

The remarkable savior of much of the property is reported to be the ice plants in the area, which saved Geier’s home and the homes and businesses of many others in the area. 

John Matze, another VAR and vice president of business development at Hifn, a Los Gatos-based company also had his home saved by ice plants.  Because he had a city-mandated grouping of ice plants in his backyard, his home was protected from the fires that destroyed the homes of many neighbors.  He was forced to evacuate early in the morning from his home and came back later to find fires engulfing his neighborhood.  Despite a few fires which he was able to put out with his garden hose in his front yard (where there had been no ice plants), his home was untouched.    

The VARs Hifn office nearby was not touched by the fires, nor were the homes of any of its employees.  Many of them had ice plants.

Many other VARs in the area, including Nth Generation, Iomega and others were evacuated, but many repeated that their sales and shipping were not affected by the fires because there are very few employees that actually work at the headquarters.  Many VARs’ companies have sales and shipping centers at other points in the U.S.

For more information on how the recent California fires have affected VARs in the area, visit the attached link.

Added By:  Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

Though computer business Apple often gets noted for making gadgets like iPods and the iPhone, it still is at the core a computer company.  The computer business is gearing up to release its newest version of the operating system Leopard, which will update the current Tiger.  The release was delayed by half a year due to all the work on the iPhone.  

While in January, Apple dropped “computer” from its name and became simply “Apple, Inc.,” its Macintosh computers still make more money than any other product the computer business offers.  In the U.S., Apple computer sales are growing at 2 ½ times the pace of the PC industry.  Sales by the computer business of just its computers were at $2.53 billion last quarter.

While the release of the new Leopard operating system won’t be as hyped as the iPhone release or the switch to Intel microprocessors, Leopard will continue the computer business’ trend to make user-friendly products, including software.

Some Highlights of Leopard:

1.     300 new features, including Time Machine, a program designed to help users digitize their lives by allowing them to easily retrieve deleted files, applications, photos and other items.  

2.    “Spaces,” a feature that lets users jump between applications with one keystroke.  

3.    Updates to Mail, including to-do lists and notes files.  

4.    30 professionally-designed stationary templates.  

5.    An upgrade to iChat that will allow users to add photo and video backdrops.

6.    A menu bar that floats on the desktop transparently.

While many experts don’t claim this new computer business release is a definite “hit,” it is considered a great upgrade.  For more information about this computer business news, please visit the attached link.

Blogged By:  Joshua Feinberg

VARs will have more options for customer access and security advice when Bell Micro opens its new Security Academy.  This academy is designed for VARs that have no experience with security sales and will open in November.  It will offer free training to enterprise and SME VARs and will be based in Chessington.

Director of Bell’s security division, Duncan Hume states that as the company’s vendor roster increases, many are looking for better access to VARs for partnerships.  The academy will have a dual purpose:  it will help get more VARs involved in the world of security; it will give vendors better ways to reach new customers.  The academy will be free of charge for participants.       

Hume stated that as part of the launch, Bell is looking for 25 VARs to sign up for training at the academy.  The training will consist of an overview course to help participants learn about the security market and its technology along with a course introducing vendor partners to their roles within the industry.  The courses will combine both business elements and technology.

The academy will not interfere with the activities of VARs currently working with security and Bell.  In fact, Hume hopes that existing customers will send new recruits into the program for education.

Also in development at Bell and the Security Academy is a division that will offer sales tools to VARs that participate in the academy and help new recruits launch their security businesses.

Submitted By:  Joshua Feinberg

Perficient, Inc., an IT consulting firm based in Austin, Texas announced on Friday that it had purchased BoldTech Systems, Inc., based in Denver.  The purchase price of the deal was set at $20.8 million in combined cash and stock.

The deal should, according to the IT consulting firm spokespeople increase earnings for Perficient and bring its revenue to around $240 million.  Thomas Financial assessed the company and predicted it would post a 2007 revenue of $214.8 million.

The breakdown of the IT consulting deal is, Perficient will pay $10.4 million in cash and $10.4 million in stock for BoldTech.  This price is based on closing price for the company for 30 days prior to the acquisition.  

Perficient stated that the purchase would not affect third-quarter results; they will still fall within the normal range.  In August, third-quarter services and software revenue was predicted to fall between $51.8 million and $56 million.

Annual sales for the acquired IT consulting firm BoldTech are $20 million.  The company also has a global development center in China.  

For more information on this IT consulting development, visit the attached link.

Blogged By:  Computer Consulting Kit

The Advanced Service Network (ASN) – an association for VARs and solution providers to get free referrals for IT work – recently announced it was opening up membership to all VARs.

The East Hanover, New Jersey-based company recently declared that location would no longer be a factor in membership for VARs to the ASN; now VARs and solution providers across the globe can have access to a new referral service. One of the benefits of ASN is a rule that limits the number of solution providers and VARs that can be members within a given geographic area, meaning that qualified members that join ASN immediately will get priority and weed out some of their competition.  While anyone can join the ASN, the number of total members within a given location is limited so more opportunities can be enjoyed by members. 

VARs that join the ASN can also refer customers globally to other ASN members online.  Information about specific solutions offered by members is available to each member in an online forum, which gives VARs that join the ability to learn as much about other solution providers before making contact.

Benefits of joining ASN for VARs include discounts on hotels, flights, car rentals, office supplies, financial services, insurance and much more. 

For more information on this opportunity for VARs, visit the attached link. 

Added By:  Computer Consulting Kit

VARs recently decided – for the fifth time in the past six years – that Xerox’s workgroup office color printer division was the best out there, according to the reputable VARBusiness Magazine.  The recognition was published and based on results from the magazine’s annual survey of over 5,400 solution providers and VARs.  

The Annual Report Card published by VARBusiness Magazine names great partner programs in 15 product and service categories.  Xerox got its recognition on August 21 at a ceremony that was part of the XChange ’07 Conference in Orlando, Florida.  Xerox earned the highest scores of any color printer vendor in product innovation and support.  

The Annual Report Card has earned a reputation for being the true test of the VARs community and a real representation of how they view and use products.  Because Xerox has received honors for so long, obviously it is a company that has created loyalty and has become a trusted advisor for partners.

Xerox offers many new programs that provide more options and growth opportunities for VARs in their partner programs.  Last September, Xerox introduced PagePack, a cost-per-page pricing program that lets VARs provide flexible, affordable monthly contracts based on the number of pages customers print.  Also new is the IT Advantage Program that lets VARs use higher-end systems and helps increase profit.  

Many experts believe that partnerships have become more important than ever for VARs recently because of new opportunities in color printing and small and mid-sized business markets.  Xerox is poised to continue to provide great opportunities for VARs.

Added By:  Joshua Feinberg

Computer business Apple, Inc. has been experiencing great growth in its computer sales in the past ten years.  The company first re-envisioned its computers in 1998 with the iMac and has been slowly converting people from PCs to Macs ever since. 

Last week the computer business’ iMac line was revamped yet again.  Many Windows users are starting to look seriously at switching to the new computer. 

Features of the New iMacs that Make Them Appealing to Windows/PC Users:

1.     A flat panel screen with built-in components; 

2.    Thin, aluminum casing;

3.    A sleek design (though some Windows users stated they preferred the candy-like appearance of the earlier iMacs);

4.    Lower prices than previously offered by the computer business;

5.    The ability to handle new Microsoft software and products;

6.    A very easy start-up for Internet usage and general computer set-up;

7.    An improved media package, including more exciting versions of iMovie, iTunes, the free iLife suite and other software. 
In general, Windows users testing the computer business’ new iMac noted hardware, software and Web services were tightly integrated and the interface smooth. 

The only problems some PC users experienced were the following issues:  file access from a home PC through a wireless network connected to the iMac; three different modes of computer inactivity that do not have clear distinction between them; small type on the screen display that makes text hard to read. 

Still, PC users have said they are impressed with the new iMacs and that even the complaints for the computer business are pretty minor. 

Blogged By:  Computer Consulting Kit

When looking to target small businesses in the sweet spot, you might wonder which IT certifications you will need.  

No Real IT Manager

With small business computer consulting, rarely will you be selling to a real IT manager.  Therefore, you are usually dealing with a non-technical small business owner that does not really understand IT certifications.  He/she will not know the difference between a CAN and a CNE or a MCT and an MCSE IT certification, so you really will not need to have these certifications to get your foot in the door.

Start with Small IT Certifications

If you think you need IT certifications to move forward, getting one or two entry-level ones should be a good start.  You can then work to get more advanced IT certifications as you establish a specialty.  Just don’t get too caught up in using IT certifications to market your business or you may miss opportunities.  

The Main Idea About IT Certifications

Once you have launched your business, if you are not doing networking, follow-up activities or going on sales calls, you could very well miss out on important opportunities.

Don’t spend a lot of money on classes if you are getting no billable hours and have no business development activities in the works.  Set your priorities when it comes to IT certification.

Added By:  Joshua Feinberg

Solution providers will benefit from two new tools released on August 6th by CMP’s ChannelWeb:  ChannelWeb Mobile and ChennelRecommends.  These two tools will help solution providers stay abreast of channel news and other types of information.  These tools will combine product reviews and tech primers from CRN with research and features of VARBusiness and GovernmentVAR magazines.

ChannelWeb Mobile offers breaking news stories from ChannelWeb delivered to handheld devices.  Channel Recommends offers CMP’s best business and tech information selected by ChannelWeb solution providers from all places on the Internet.  Solution providers get to nominate the information they value most and then others second these nominations to determine what is offered at the top of the page each time.

The CMP Channel is the place customers go in order to meet global sales channel objectives.  Its family includes many resources for solution providers, including VARBusiness, the ChannelWeb network, the Group’s XChange worldwide conferences and the Institute for Partner Education and Development (IPED).  The resources offered for solution providers and vendors help accelerate sales.

For more information on this story for solution providers, visit the attached link.

Added By:  Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit