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. Over at Netscape, John Hahn, vice president of channel programs, confirms the presence of new VARs. Even though they're young, they've been into the Internet forever. They tend to have good database skills and experience with Java and Java Script.
Nobody knows, really, since research firms are playing the same catch-up game as everyone else.
Zona Research, formerly the Xbusiness Group, has put a stake in the ground, and come out with some huge Internet numbers. Connectivity, server software and hardware, and services are key components of this growth. Firmage hopes to cash in by setting up USWeb-franchised VARs around the country for consulting, products and services. Spivak 's new company, sba.net.web in Bellmore, N.Y., targets small businesses for Internet consulting, a fertile territory for most new VARs. And, of course, such firms are VARs' bread and butter because they lack in-house technology experts.