elliot markowitz

But all that aside, when I then look at Forbes Magazine’s Top 10 of companies that pay their employees the highest, on average, I do scratch my head and start thinking, “if only,” for just a short while.

So yes, Forbes this week released its survey of top companies to work for and within that study, it broke out a top 10 list of those companies that pay their employees the most on average. What’s interesting about the list is that only three industries are represented in the top 10–legal, energy and technology. Now the top four companies are law firms and since no one is terribly fond of lawyers, we will dismiss them right off the bat. (DISCLAIMER: This is the not view of The VAR Guy. I put that in there so my editor wouldn’t have to.)

The remaining six organizations on the top 10 are evenly split between energy and technology. The tech companies ranked are Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO), which pays an average of $135,653 for “technical leader 1”; Hitachi Data Systems, which pays an average of $134,752 for “sales support”; and Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), which pays an average of $129,157 for “software engineers.”

Interestingly enough, these three tech firms all represent different areas of the market—from software as a service (SaaS) and CRM systems to data storage and backup to networking and communications. However, they all have migrated their core technology solutions to a cloud computing environment, positioning themselves for tremendous future growth and putting them at the center of where the tech business is heading.

But they also have something else in common. Just like the old adage says, “Behind every successful man there is a woman,” behind every successful technology vendor there is a loyal channel base. Salesforce, Cisco and Hitachi all have strong channel programs based on a value and managed services model. They are positioning their solution providers for success and in turn, their channel partners are growing their businesses.

Success breeds success. Plain and simple.

So Mr. Technical Leader 1 at Cisco, or Ms. Sales Support at Hitachi and Mrs. Software Engineer at Salesforce, I am sure you have worked hard and earned your metal and deserve every dime and perk you are receiving. However, I would also say you have a solution provider to thank as well.

Knock em Alive!