The VAR Guy

The VAR Guy made the trip from Long Island into Manhattan to see Cisco’s TelePresence technology in action today. The trip was worth the train ride.

Cisco CEO John Chambers has spent several months hyping
telepresence, which is a combination of data, voice and video technology that makes videoconferencing incredibly lifelike. Now, The VAR Guy hears Cisco will unveil a big telepresence initiative within the next few weeks. If Cisco delivers on the promise of telepresence, partners could profit handsomely.

The VAR Guy has packed his bags for Minnesota, where he’ll attend MuniWireless Minneapolis 2006. The event, scheduled for Oct. 22-24, is primarily for city CIOs and municipal leaders who are planning public broadband networks. But many WiFi solutions providers will also attend.

The VAR Guy woke up this morning with a grand vision that solves all of the current stock option backdating scandals. Instead of torturing investors week by week with new stock option probes, it’s time for corporate boards and CEOs to prepare for “National Stock Option Amnesty Month.”

The VAR Guy has been a little distracted lately but is finally catching up on his email. One tip from a pal on the West Coast mentions Cisco Systems’ growing interest in vertical markets.

Microsoft and Intel are a bit like Mick Jagger and Keith Richards: Past their glory days but still capable of attracting record crowds.

Instead of competing head-on with Microsoft in the PC security market, Symantec is changing the rules of the game.

I was saddened to hear that Ray Noorda, the Father of Network Computing, died October 9.

Symantec CEO John Thompson will be in New York for a private company event on October 10, The VAR Guy has learned. During the gathering, it’s a pretty safe bet Thompson will mention Symantec’s strategy to become a $10 billion company by 2010.

It’s time for 3Com to work a little magic. The VAR Guy, like Wall Street insiders, hears the company may go private. That disappearing act could be a wise move.

The VAR Guy plans to give Windows Vista a test run soon, but he’s hedging his bets. He’s already running Mac OS X as his primary operating system. And he’s telling everyone who will listen that businesses don’t have to make the leap to Windows Vista.

Economic slowdown. Recession. The VAR Guy covers his ears when he hears those words. It’s certainly not time to press the panic button. But the press is spending more and more time trying to predict if IT spending will take a dive in 2007.