Don't be an intravert

How many Vars do you know that have successfully installed a corporate intranet? You might well know more that have flown to the moon. It is tempting therefore to overlook evidence that suggests that the intranet market is about to go through the roof, and that when it does it's taking the indirect channel with it. If every Var jumped every time somebody predicted a boom market, there would be regular carnage. You might be surprised to know that the current UK intranet market is worth $80 million.

It's predicted that it will be worth $5.6 billion by the end of 2000.

This represents a growth rate double that of the Internet market.

In case you are wondering why practically none of the existing intranet market seems to be heading the way of the reseller channel, that's because most of the intranets currently being built are DIY, as IT departments have fun dipping their toes in the water. As the intranet environment gradually assumes the status of today's enterprise network, anything DIY will be DOA. A major market will open up for Vars and integrators to bring together existing networks and legacy systems under an intranet umbrella. This in turn will fuel an intranet application market, which will trigger an intranet outsourcing and services market. Even if the most timid intranet predictions turn out to be only half right, we are still talking about a seismic opportunity. Maybe I'm getting carried away, but I reckon that's better than being left behind.

Guy Matthews - Editor