What’s on the minds of VARs and solution providers? Each week, ITBestOfBreed takes a trip through their blogs in search of perspectives that can help broaden your knowledge of current information technology issues.

Here are three recent posts.

NOVACOAST: How software-defined storage took a bite out of costs

Dan Elder tells of how Novacoast, an IT services and solutions provider, used open-source software and hardware of its own choosing to save more than half of what SAN vendors were offering.

CDW: Will the future belong to bots?

For better or for worse, depending on your perspective, businesses have boosted productivity for decades by automating many tasks. That won't end. Organizations are now increasingly turning to rely on software code designed to facilitate automation, also known as bots, Sankar Nair writes.

IT WEAPONS: The 5 questions surrounding infrastructure assessments

Put yourself in a client's position. They're looking at their technology infrastructure to determine how well it can handle future changes and help the company deliver more value. Here are five questions they'll want to ask, and they may need you to help answer them.