Retail IT VARs: Change Your Mindset Once And For All

By The Business Solutions Network

Today we began the week-long process of wrapping up our December issue. As part of the issue, we're including a special report on the topic of where retailers plan to focus their IT budgets in 2013. The data came from a survey that our sister publication conducts with its retailer audience each year.

Upon reading the report's initial draft, my immediate thought was that many of the retail VARs I know would look at the information and think, "that's great, but it's not what we do." Such thinking is not only wrong, it's flat our detrimental to the long-term sustainability of those VARs.

As I've written before, to survive and thrive, you need to think beyond the POS and look at the other areas you can help your customers. This might include mobile solutions, offering e-commerce functionality, wireless networking, digital signage, video cameras, and on and on.

This is a plea to not only expand your thinking when it comes to your line card, but to keep an open mind when you receive your copy of the December issue. It's definitely going to challenge the way many think.