Geek Squad Rival, Designed for Single Person VARs, Launching In Europe?

The VAR Guy

June 15, 2009

3 Min Read
Geek Squad Rival, Designed for Single Person VARs, Launching In Europe?

The VAR Guy saw some vague news about a European start-up seeking to organize Microsoft, CompTIA and Cisco certified IT professionals who want to start their own computer repair businesses. Details about the effort, called Computer-troopers, are sketchy. But here are some initial observations.

According to a press release that hit news wires today:

If the prospect of starting a computer repair business from scratch does not appeal to you because of the considerable potential of failure and the lack of a sound exit strategy, or if cannot come up with the rather consistent investment that buying into a franchise requires, you are provided with an excellent alternative, namely that of becoming part of this powerful membership community. Membership of Computer-troopers.com™ allows IT professionals to make use of their brand and have access to a wide range of excellent business opportunities and comprehensive solutions for prospective customers.

The company guarantees a reputable business brand and a powerful marketing strategy for all their members. The direct result of this is a constant flow of clients for all company members who use this brand as their own.

Hmmm. The VAR Guy has reached out to Computer-troopers for more details. The effort sounds somewhat similar to OnForce, a North American online marketplace where more than 13,000 service professionals outsource work to one another, and bid on IT service engagements.

Still, OnForce is real, growing and generating profits for North American solutions providers. Plus, OnForce has been actively exploring the European market. In stark contrast, Computer-troopers seems to be in start-up mode. And it’s unclear where exactly Computer-troopers is located — though pricing information seems to indicate the effort focuses on Europe.

The press release goes on to say:

The services that you can resell as part of the Computer-troopers.com™ community include wired or wireless network installation, software installation, hardware installation, virus detection and removal, PC and Mac health check-ups, PC and laptop repair, data transfer service, data recovery, child internet protection, security, VoIP installation, and so forth.

Computer-troopers.com™ is a fast growing community whose focus is to approach and collaborate with major IT vendors. This will translate into another notable advantage for all community members, namely that of having access to thousands of PC components, parts and software at trade price, an opportunity that small businesses or self-employed service providers cannot benefit from.

The VAR Guy has reached out to Computer-troopers for additional  comment.

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