Any VAR worth its weight knows the myriad opportunities that exist in vertical markets. It’s an easier way to target customers, and VARs with vertical-specific expertise can easily become leaders in their field — which translates into more sales. The VAR Guy has seen his share of successful vertical-focused VARs, and he’s also seen his share of VARs undone by the many compliance issues that crop up in these verticals. That’s why a recent survey from Ipswitch piqued his interest. Read on for the details.

Ipswitch, known for its WhatsUp Gold and WhatsConnected IT managing and networking prowess, recently published the results of a survey ranking the most difficult IT compliance issues. The VAR Guy believes knowledge is power, so he views this survey as another opportunity for success for vertical-focused VARs.

Ipswitch surveyed of a sampling of 100,000 end-user customers who regularly deal with compliance issues. Perhaps unsurprisingly, results show the most challenging compliance regulation to follow is HIPAA in the healthcare space. Here’s the full breakdown, from most challenging to least …

The VAR Guy knows the compliance route is tricky to navigate and rife with fines, penalties and likely the loss of credibility to a business if handled incorrectly. Ipswitch’s survey proves there’s room for vertical-focused VARs to help make customers’ compliance process more simple, organized and streamlined. VARs have a unique opportunity to add value to a new sale or to simply help existing customers as a trusted adviser, too. The VAR Guy puts a lot of credence in the trusted adviser concept, and nowhere is this idea more appropriate than in the vertical space.

Any company would rather spend money improving their own infrastructure than spend money apologizing to Uncle Sam. The VAR Guy admits it may all sound easier said than done, but our resident blogger also believes there are likely many organizations not taking advantage of the funding available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, so go forth and strike while the iron is hot!

Sign up for The VAR Guy’s Weekly Newsletter, Webcasts and Resource Center. Follow The VAR Guy via RSS, Facebook and Twitter. Follow experts at VARtweet. Read The VAR Guy’s editorial disclosures here.