On the train back from San Francisco and much of the week at the RSA Show (biggest IT security show). One of the topics that I investigated was the health of channel as measured by investment by suppliers. Well the answer is mixed, I sound like an economist in Time Magazine. For every company increasing their investment in the channel there was another taking the wait and see approach. uggh.
However on the positive side, there were a number of direct companies of the SMB variety who are starting to invest in the channel. This is reflected as upgrades at some, hiring at others. SMB's or start ups are typically the early part of trends, so may be also in this case.
The bad news from the show was the sparse attendance, no obvious signs of a recovery here. Thursday was nearly dead in much of the Expo hall. Back on the good side many of the vendors reported that the quality of attendees was high. Is that due to tight budgets and companies only attended if they are actively in the market for security?
The best booth entertainment was the fellow playing an instrument by disturbing a magnetic field, never touching anything. Not Bruce Springsteen but interesting. Worst entertainment, get your picture with a big guy in a diaper. Not sure the Sumo wrestler was the best idea.
- Posted from my iPhone
rough show, I suspect the channel investment will not recover until late this year. It takes a while for the direct heads to chip in a few dollars.
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