For those waiting with bated breath - and even for those waiting with unbated breath - the 2013 edition of Bob Scott's VAR Stars will be published on Friday, December 20. We're not superstitious, but why take chances with Friday the 13th? It's always an interesting issue regarding the mid-market VAR community and people will be surprised at its contents. So will I. This year, the always delicate matter of making estimates of revenue for companies that do not disclose it got more difficult with the spread of cloud products having an impact on average revenue.

It's been a good recruiting season for Acumatica. On the heels of signing SWK Technologies, the Kirkland, Wash.-based cloud vendor signed ISM. In the last week, Acumatica says it has also signed Bennett Porter, so it's fair to say that the company has picked up some quality resellers at the same time. ISM has revenue of $7.1 million and SWK, $13.2 million, as listed in their recent VAR Star submissions, which points out what a combination those companies would have made if the merger announced a year ago hadn't fallen apart.

Pro forma software license growth for the second quarter ended November 30 is expected to be 8 percent to 9 percent greater than last year, Infor said this week. The software company made the statement in an SEC filing, reporting that CEO Charles Phillips had issued the guidance in a conference call with banks and financial institutions that are existing or potential lenders. Phillips also said GAAP license revenue for the most recently end period is expected to be 11 percent to 12 percent higher than a year earlier.