In a word “yes”. At the very least, it reconfirms the market trends in Cloud, Managed Services, BYOD/Mobility and Big Data. It is where the end-customers are headed sooner or later. It is where VARs, MSPs and ITSPs need to be so they can help their clients leverage these technologies.

We saw several companies with bright ideas getting into the game and I am sure most will get even more ideas from seeing other vendor solutions. This will ultimately lead to new exciting products. It seems like “everything as a service” is the prevailing trend.

Of the VARs we spoke to, most said that they found at least a few ideas and suppliers. Many came for just one day and did their best to check out the opportunities that could fit their business. It is not easy to take off work for 5 days to do an event. The #1 positive comment was the FREE Wi-Fi throughout the CeBIT grounds.

There was a lot more than anyone could absorb and digest from a 4-day show, but the goal was not to see everything from every vendor. With some planning any reseller could easily identify some key products and ideas from which to grow their business.

The trends are clear and the three that matters the most to resellers are Cloud, BYOD and Managed Services. They need to align their business model, processes and skills to exploit these huge opportunities. The Resellers who make the transition fastest will come out on top.

There are other areas that Reseller can do well. For example, outsourcing app development for their clients. Many companies are offering great solutions. Although not at CeBIT, Panvista offers an app-builder tool to help companies develop and maintain their app. Like any event, for every one exhibitor there are probably hundreds not present. Resellers really need to do their research to get the right solutions and partners.

We also got great feedback confirming that VAR Office Suite is the ticket for most European Resellers looking to remodel their business to take advantage of these new trends. Resellers need a more efficient business infrastructure and skill-set to meet the demands of the future. With its 30 tools and services, any VAR, MSP or ITSP can help their business make the transition. We look forward to expanding the VAR Office Suite mission across Europe through our exclusive VARTrends events as well as at future CeBIT events.

It’s a wrap of CeBIT and our European journey of VARTrends to help Resellers learn how to build a stronger business. We met a lot of resellers and all had something positive to say about VAR Office Suite. The future looks bright! www.varofficesuite.com   

Here is a pic of the final amount of product brochures we took away.

Literally, it was about 1/6 of the original amount. It is impossible for anyone to take home more. All exhibitors should seriously consider having all of their product information in a virtual GreenRack. With a QR scan, or NFC tap, visitors can walk away with all of their product information and contact details, presentations and videos. They can also instantly share with their colleagues. Most of all, it weighs zero and it will save the environment. It will also cost much less than the printed brochures and it will never get dumped or lost.  Contact us to learn how anyone can have an exclusive GreenRack. Here is an example: http://greenrackservice.cloudapp.net/rack/details/0f005a74-a99b-469c-b4f0-956c4d4f61c8