The usual Random Thoughts item is on a brief break because of the impact of the winter ailment season on the writer. It should return on Friday, January 16, as this week looks potentially funnier. How long is a hiatus, anyway? What's half a hiatus? My cousin once took a hiatus and got 30 days for it, but we don't talk about him at family gatherings. If I show you my hiatus, will you show me yours? If it hiatuses or hiati? Never mind, next week.

Jered Cady has retired from Synergy Business Solutions. Cady, founder of the Portland, Ore.-based Dynamics reseller, officially ended his time there on Wednesday, December 31. Cady worked at Synergy starting in 2003 and was its president for his first four years and had been an EVP since April 2007. He continues to operate Jered Cady Marketing for which his Linkedin page says the following:

K3 Retail, a reseller based in the United Kingdom, has named Tony Bryant as strategic business development director. Bryant has served since September 2006 as head of business development for K3 Business and Retail Solutions. The company described his new role on its board as part of its "ambitious and dynamic vision for growth".

Sage's change to its tier structure is coming at the expense of smaller resellers. There's not much revolutionary--there's always a squeeze on smaller VARs. But in this case, the view is coming from a larger VAR, who attributes the recently changed tiers thresholds to some ill-chosen past moves. Requesting not to be quoted by name, this dealer says he believes the present situation grew out of an earlier miscalculation by Sage management.