The Answer Company Recognized in Bob Scott’s VAR Stars 2021 List
Unlike many other lists, companies recognized on the VAR Stars list are not solely chosen based on revenue, but rather on various factors including growth, industry leadership and recognition, and innovation. The 100 firms on Bob Scott’s VAR Stars list represent a wide range of size, and many different software publishers of accounting software.
“Each year, 100 VAR Stars are picked from the best organizations that market financial software. It is always an honor to recognize those who contribute to the development of our business,” Bob Scott of ERP Global Insights said.
In spite of pandemic-induced global challenges, The Answer Company was fortunate to experience steady growth through 2021. We opened a new office in Portland, OR, extending our focus through the Pacific Northwest region, and acquired Constructive Solutions, adding many new members to our team and building our focus on Canadian construction and real estate.
Putting client success and client needs at the forefront, we forged on to tackle unique implementations and develop new integrations for each unique business case. “Our 27 years of technology consulting experience forges our confidence in helping clients, but it doesn’t stop us from learning and trying to do better. Today’s circumstances posed new challenges, and we were glad to be able to help our clients build tech stacks that are truly future-proofed for the world’s most unprecedented challenges,” stated Shawn Ostheimer, Founder and President of The Answer Company.
Our voyage through 2021 was guided by our People-First principle. Our commitment to the community remained a top priority, finding new and old initiatives where we could give back, including Room to Read, Down Syndrome Resource Foundation, The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, and others.
This past year, we’ve been honoured to receive multiple recognitions for our industry performance as a solution reseller, and as a company. Some achievements include our Great Places To Work certification and three ‘Best Workplaces’ awards, CanadianSME Small Business of The Year, and Sage Platinum Elite Winner, among others.
Reselling in the Era of COVID
This year’s VAR Stars Report titled “Reselling in the Era of COVID” focuses on how successful software reseller companies across North America settled back into normalcy with their clients and implementations, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The report highlights how the shift to work-from-home models paired with extra safety precautions across all industries accelerated what was already a growing popularity in cloud applications over on-premise systems.
What many assumed would be a temporary move to work-from-home extended through the entirety of 2021. The prolonged shift to online work was also prevalent among VARs, as read in the VAR Stars 2021 Report:
“Firms that operated in areas in which there is a great distance between cities tended more to move remote work before the pandemic and consulting generally leant itself to the remote work. The Answer Co., an Acumatica and Sage reseller based in [New] Westminster, B.C., says it ‘was lucky to have offices across Canada and have fostered a Work-from-Home culture for many years, meaning we retained almost full functionality with little to no downtime during the shutdown’.”
Another pattern noticed is the increased focus on new micro-verticals and solutions specific to micro-verticals. Niche companies offering a wide range of products and services needed software that catered specifically to their operational model.
Read the full report: Bob Scott’s VAR Stars 2021: Reselling in the Era of COVID.
About Bob Scott
Bob Scott has been informing and entertaining the mid-market financial software community via his email newsletters for 22 years. He has published this information via the Bob Scott’s Insights newsletter—now known as ERP Global Insights—and website since 2009. He has covered this market for nearly 30 years through print and electronic publications, first as technology editor of Accounting Today and then as the Editor of Accounting Technology from 1997 through 2009. He has covered the traditional tax and accounting profession during the same time and has continued to address that market as executive editor of the Progressive Accountant since 2009.
About PMG360, Inc.
Bob Scott’s Insights and the Progressive Accountant are published by PMG360. PMG360 is a leading online media company that provides business-to-business (B2B) marketers and media planners unparalleled access to a highly qualified and engaged audience through their portfolio of lead generation programs, industry-specific websites, email newsletters, web seminars, live events, podcasts, content/reviews, custom publishing and direct marketing databases focusing on the nonprofit, healthcare and accounting professionals.