We're planning a late addition to this year's testing -- tablet-based POS systems. The problem I face today is not knowing all the players in the market. As you probably know, there've been a host of new apps flooding the industry and it's difficult to keep up. I need your help in determining which to review and what you'd find valuable in a review.
CURRENT ISSUE
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Build Your Business On An IP Video FoundationUnlike larger competitors that are entrenched in analog video, this IT solutions provider’s decision to sell and support IP-based solutions is leading to another year of triple-digit revenue growth.
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Salons And Service: Hot Industries For Recurring Revenue
This ISV (independent software vendor) is building a giant business in a crowded market by creating subscription-based software applications for a variety of hospitality and service-based retailers.
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Why MDM Is A Mobile Solution Must-Have
By uncovering a customer’s mobile computing pain points, this VAR won a 55-unit mobile computing install, plus an MDM (mobile device management) upsell.
- Take POS To The Cloud
- Mobile Install Trifecta: Hardware, Software, Recurring Revenue
- POS Evolution Can Boost Receipt-Printer Sales
PRODUCT REVIEWS
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Rugged 4-Inch Mobile Label Printers Product Review - Table Of ContentsA value-added reseller (VAR) evaluates three 4-inch mobile label printers and shares the pros and cons of each.
PREMIUM CONTENT
Getting The Most From Your Payments Partner
If you are in the POS business, offering a bundled solution that includes payment processing is probably not a new idea for you. In fact, it’s probably safe to say that most, if not all, of the dealers reading this article are already realizing the value of residual income from the merchant services component of their business. Regular, recurring monthly income provided by Payments-as-a-Service (PaaS) has influenced many VARs in their efforts to move toward becoming a Managed Services Dealer (MSD).
5 Ways to Convince Retailers To Upgrade Their Analog Cameras To IP
When you compare IP vs. analog, IP video simply offers more. More resolution, functionality, scalability, flexibility – the list goes on. With IP video, retailers and small businesses are not only protecting their property, but also optimizing business efficiencies and reducing costs. Yet many of these additional IP video benefits aren’t discovered until after the system is installed. The best surveillance integrators out there know how to position these benefits as part of the sales cycle to prove that, with IP video, there’s much more value. Here are 5 key benefits to help convince your customers to switch today
3 IP Camera Selection Mistakes You'll Regret
If you're new to the video surveillance game, you should be leaning on your vendor and distributor partners as much as possible for help. Making mistakes is unavoidable, but you can take steps to minimize the severity and frequency of those you do make. In addition to help from your partners, I recently spoke with Thomas McIntyre, National Sales Manager for the US and Canada at Merit Lilin USA who identified three common mistakes you could make when it comes to IP cameras.
3 Reasons IP Cameras Are Better Than Analog
Analog physical security solutions continue to be replaced by more advanced IP solutions. The benefits are clear, and if security dealers arm themselves with the key features of IP solutions, they will be well on their way to migrating their customers over to these productivity-enhancing solutions, while serving as trusted advisors to their customers.
Balancing Service Delivery & Delivering Sales
Resellers are constantly trying to find the right balance of driving higher quality delivery of services and increasing sales. It's a slippery slope and it’s hard to justify investing more time in the selling effort perhaps at the expense of customer service. It’s not that Solution Providers don’t value the role of sales in the overall business process, it’s just not the average resellers sweet spot. Rather, resellers are more typically aligned with the product and technology function and see it being way more constructive to invest their time in development and integration – plus, its just more fun. So, in effect, key partners are looking to reduce the amount to time spent selling and need more time in the day for service delivery.
IP Surveillance and VoIP: Is History Repeating Itself?
As IP-based surveillance systems continue to gain ground, we can’t help but be reminded of the challenges IP telephony – or VoIP – faced 10 years ago.
IP Video For Mom & Pop Retailers
IP video used to only make sense for mid- to large-sized surveillance systems [32 cameras or more]. But today smaller systems – and budgets – can reap big benefits with IP video. This is thanks to the continued decreasing cost of IP technology coupled with different storage and migration options of today. Here are a few ways to make the most of the system.
6 Common Lies About IP Video Surveillance
One of the factors holding backing the adoption rate of IP video surveillance is a lack of understanding by IT integrators. Much has changed in the video surveillance world, so without all the facts, IT integrators will be unable to make sound decisions regarding this technology.
SPECIAL REPORTS
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The go-to resource to help VARs and integrators to successfully sell IP-based access control & video surveillance technologies. |
FEATURED SUPPLIERS
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BlueStar, Inc.We at BlueStar, along with our mobility vendors and ISV partners, believe that offering the right tools, solutions, and education we can build a strong foundation for our partners selling and implementing mobility solutions.
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Pivot3Pivot3 was founded on the idea that virtual servers, shared storage and networks could be radically simplified and unified in order to drive down complexity and cost while increasing scale-out performance. Pivot3 has over 600 customers across the globe deploying Pivot3 vSTAC® virtualized storage and compute appliances.
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N-able Technologies Inc.N-able Technologies is the global leader in remote monitoring and management automation solutions for managed service providers (MSPs) and IT departments. N-able's award-winning N-central software and complementary toolsets are proven to reduce IT support costs, improve network performance and increase productivity through the proactive monitoring, management and optimization of IP-enabled devices and IT infrastructure.
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APC by Schneider ElectricAPC by Schneider Electric, a global leader in critical power and cooling services, provides industry leading hardware, software, and services designed to ensure availability and higher energy efficiency across the residential, business network, data center, and manufacturing environments.
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Autotask CorporationAutotask Corporation provides the world's leading hosted IT Business Management software built specifically for VARs, MSPs, and other technology solution providers to help them run their businesses better.
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Axis CommunicationsAxis is an IT company offering network video solutions for professional installations. The company is the global market leader in network video, driving the ongoing shift from analog to digital video surveillance. Axis products and solutions focus on security surveillance and remote monitoring, and are based on innovative, open technology platforms.
LATEST HEADLINES
- Getting The Most From Your Payments Partner
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- Dortronics Receives Outstanding Customer Service Award From PSA Security Network
RECENT NEWSLETTERS
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FEATURED PRODUCTS
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Managed Hosting Solutions: Colocation We took colocation and made it infinitely better. By better we mean you no longer have to take on everything—including the capital expenses—just to keep control of your OS. -
Zebra HC100 Wristband PrinterZebra’s HC100 printer was developed to maximize ease of use. There’s minimal training required. Just pop the easy-to-load cartridges containing Zebra’s Z-Band® wristbands into the printer—and print individual wristbands.
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Motorola MC75 3G Worldwide Enterprise Digital Assistant (EDA) No matter what your workers need to get the job done, Motorola's MC75 Worldwide Enterprise Digital Assistant delivers by combining an unparalleled number of business capabilities into an easy-to-carry rugged device. 3.5G GSM HSDPA and 3G CDMA-EVDO Rev A support provides high performance voice and data services around the globe. -
KineticCloud Backup For OutlookKineticCloud Backup is an end-to-end data protection solution for small and medium businesses. It doesn't only backup your data automatically and reliably, it also gives you the power to share and access it securely.
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NetPRO® Ethernet Interface For Cash DrawersConnect your iPad or Mobile Device to APG's Ethernet Cash Drawer Need a cash drawer to connect to your mobile application? APG's NetPRO is an ideal solution! In verticals such as gas stations, C-stores, quick service food and more, the Ethernet cash drawer communicates with mobile POS devices for normal drawer operation. This dynamic network device has a time and date stamp with every transaction, improving loss prevention functions by providing security camera activation, mobile alerts to store management for unusual events, remote tech support, asset management and much more.
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LabTech Remote Monitoring And ManagementFrom one-man break-fix shops to established managed service providers (MSPs), any business can benefit from the automation capabilities incorporated into the LabTech RMM (Remote Monitoring and Management) platform.
ABOUT BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
Welcome to BSMinfo, the online presence of Business Solutions magazine. If you are a value-added reseller (VAR), systems integrator, managed services provider (MSP), or independent software vendor (ISV), this is the site for you! Whether here online or in each month's issue of the magazine, we strive to deliver actionable information you can use to add complementary technologies to your portfolio and penetrate thriving vertical markets.
Technologies and topics typically covered include data collection/supply chain, point of sale (POS), payment processing, video surveillance and access control, voice over IP (VoIP), networking, storage, managed services, network security, the cloud, mobile computing, and enterprise content management (ECM). From a market perspective, our articles focus on government, retail, hospitality, healthcare, manufacturing, transportation and logistics, education, legal, banking, and anywhere else solutions providers can find new revenue streams.
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