The VAR Guy

Sometimes, you’ve got to take short-term hits on the road to long-term success. The VAR Guy wonders if that’s the situation at Websense, which has announced a big earnings shortfall.

Mark Enzweiler, VP of North American Channel Sales at Red Hat, today unveiled the latest addition to the company’s channel strategy.

3Com finished 2006 on a high note, announcing strong quarterly results in December. Now, the company is seeking to accelerate its rebound, launching the Open Network Technology Partner Program.

Symantec caught The VAR Guy’s attention this morning when the company announced plans to acquire Altiris.

As the IT industry continues to consolidate, many VARs are expected to merge with one another this year. Companies such as Agilysys and CDW have announced plans to buy up solutions providers as well.

As the VAR Guy sipped his morning coffee, he couldn’t help but notice Window Vista ads filling the Sunday newspaper.

Apple’s iPhone won’t ship until this summer, but technology pundits continue to debate the smartphone’s merits.

The VAR Guy is about to step onto his soapbox. Regardless of whether you side with Cisco or Apple in the iPhone name debate, it’s clear to The VAR Guy that a Cisco/Apple settlement and partnership would be a huge win for VARs.

After delivering surprisingly strong earnings this week, what can Citrix Systems do for an encore? We’ll find out next week during Citrix Summit 2007, the company’s annual gathering of business partners.

The VAR Guy had to skip this week’s Internet Telephony Conference and Expo in Fort Lauderdale because of some family commitments. But it sounds like there was lots of channel news at the show.