October 06, 2008, 10:21 AM — As I write this, I am watching the Dow drop. It has just dipped below 10,000, after about 30 minutes of market activity, and is headed further south very quickly. This can't be good for anybody, and the time has come to admit that the IT business is going to feel the hit. Resellers, VARs and integrators will be getting less business as their customers either can't get the credit they need to make major purchases, or decide to put off projects until they feel a little more confident about the economy.
Congress passed the $700 billion bailout on Friday, so what happened? The reality of the situation is finally starting to sink in. Those who believed that the bailout would somehow, miraculously fix everything and the markets would return to normal this week were just fooling themselves. Now we must shift into a mindset of surviving during the inevitable recession. Unfortunately for VARs and solution providers, this means cutbacks and less business, and a need to re-invent long-standing business models that served well during more prosperous economic times.
Solution providers are not expecting a "quick fix"--or at least they shouldn't be. Many are instead getting ready for what is being called "continued market uncertainty", driven by a credit crunch that will continue despite the passage of the bailout bill.
