The multimedia angle can be explained by a maturing of the technology. As systems become more powerful and the software evolves, multimedia becomes more viable, especially on the Internet. You can do an awful lot with a Pentium Pro today that you would have needed a high-end Unix workstation for a few years ago. Cross also sees a lot of new VARs coming out of graphic art schools. Their tools are video cameras and tape-mixing decks and sound studios.
Computer telephony is another market populated by new VARs.
The convergence of voice and data networks is prompting many PBX interconnects to enter the world of data, operating systems and application software-in other words, to become VARs. Distributors, manufacturers and software publishers also are seeing an increase in new VARs. Ingram Micro, for instance, reports a 5 percent increase in VAR customers in the third quarter of 1996 versus 1995. Networking distributor Westcon is adding 100 new VARs a month. And Merisel reports double the number of new VAR accounts in the first eight months of 1996 compared with the previous eight.