Mr. VAR Goes to Washington - CompTIA Holds First Ever VAR Congressional Fly-in

Business Wire, Nov 16, 2007

WASHINGTON -- This week, CompTIA hosted its first ever Congressional "VAR FLY-IN", in which a group of its Value-Added-Reseller (VAR) members came to Washington to meet with key Capitol Hill offices, enabling them to directly express their concerns to lawmakers on IT matters of the day.

What brought these VARs to see their elected officials? Numerous issues, such as small business health plans, the spread of health information technology, the 3% government contract withholding tax, the need to reform the U.S. patent system, and improving contracting opportunities for small firms, to name but a few.

They've also come to Washington to educate policymakers on the integral role VARs occupy in the prosperity of most Americans in general, and nearly all small business in particular.

Each day, 32,000 U.S. VARs go into millions of America's small businesses and homes to install, update, maintain and wire the IT that runs our country. They are the masons of the Internet, representing over $40 billion yearly in IT software and hardware sales. Operating in virtually every Congressional District, VARs have undergone a political transformation of late - with the growing maturity of the IT industry, they, like the largest players, recognize that one ignores Washington at one's own peril.

"Contrary to the popular myth, the IT industry faces immense and growing regulation," noted Roger Cochetti, Group Director of U.S. Public Policy for CompTIA. "VARs get it. They see issues like tax, patent and Internet policies as typical of the challenges they need to surmount. Infirmities within these policies regulate the success of their businesses and that of their customers by limiting the free flow of available products and services."

Added Cochetti, "America has clearly grown more IT-dependent, and policymakers realize this fact. VARs helped forge this landscape. Because of this, though, VARs know that they just can't hide their heads in the sand. Washington's regulatory glare will not soon abate. Thus, more and more VARs have morphed from reluctant participants to activists, banding together to actively command an environment fraught with political landmines and slippery slopes. Tough as that sounds, the alternative - to ignore the regulators and policymakers - no longer passes as a viable option. VAR grassroots activity protects and boosts their bottom line. Policymakers and regulators should expect to see more of them as a result."

CompTIA VARs attending this week's Capitol Hill meetings included:

* Bruce Geier, Technology Integration Group, San Diego, CA

* Jonathan Dankworth, Agil IT, Troy, OH

* Shivakumar Kandaswamy, ZSL, Inc., Edison, NJ

* Michael Faster, Coyote Creek Consulting, Milpitas, CA

* Rob Germain, Hub Technical, Easton, MA

* Lyle Epstein, Kortek Services, Inc., Las Vegas, NV