The VAR Guy

Please congratulate The VAR Guy. He’s made it through this entire week without mentioning that new mobile device from Steve Jobs. And while everyone else focuses on that darn device this week, The VAR Guy would prefer to mention Steve’s other big technical achievement…

The VAR Guy visited Avaya’s headquarters in New Jersey earlier this week. Sure, he was tempted to take a detour to the local Six Flags theme park or the Atlantic City casinos. But he’s glad he didn’t. In fact, The VAR Guy learned seven key traits about Avaya during the executive briefing.

The VAR Guy tried to keep his mouth shut. For several days he has known that a distribution deal was brewing between Ingram Micro and Google. He promised not to tell anyone — but Google itself spilled the beans on this one. Here are the details.

For those of you who remember the early days of networking, you’ll recall LANtastic — the peer-to-peer networking system that allowed DOS, Windows and OS/2 PCs to share files without a central server. It was pretty cool for its time. The VAR Guy was immediately reminded of LANtastic when he saw a nifty peer-to-peer IP phone system for small businesses from Avaya.

Forgive The VAR Guy for his silence today. He was on a road trip from New York to New Jersey, visiting Avaya’s channel team. The VAR Guy is still organizing his notes from the two-hour meeting. There’s a hefty amount of info to boil down — but three key words come to mind: Small business software. Surprised? So was The VAR Guy. Check back on June 27 to get a complete recap of the Avaya visit and an update on the networking company’s channel strategy.

Cisco CEO John Chambers is a tough act to follow. Unless — of course — you spit blood, host a reality TV show and wear more makeup than Michael Jackson. In the ultimate sign of unexpected convergence, KISS has signed on to headline Cisco’s Networkers event in late July.

Earlier this year, The VAR Guy spent considerable time blogging about Zimbra’s open source email platform. He suspected that the collaboration suite would gain momentum with colleges. Boy was he right. In recent months, Zimbra deployments have more than doubled in higher education. For Exchange and Lotus Domino/Notes VARs serving higher education, it might be time to give Zimbra a look.

Imagine buying a Porsche and getting a free Harley-Davidson. Here’s a similar offer — though on a much smaller scale — from Apple to college students.

It’s time to put an end to bloated software. You know the kind: Big applications, operating systems and utilities that consume gobs of memory and slow down your PC. In a refreshingly honest statement, Trend Micro — the security software provider — concedes that its software is too fat and needs to slim down.

The VAR Guy finally received his Ubuntu Linux PC from Dell today. He hasn’t had time to test the system yet but it sounds like power users are generally happy with the new systems. Here’s some initial feedback from Len Sandy, lead blogger at All About Ubuntu.

The VAR Guy has been trying to book a flight to Ziff Davis Enterprise’s first-ever Channel Summit, scheduled for October 3. But he’s not sure where his chartered jet should land: Los Angeles, San Francisco or Chicago? Apparently, all three cities were in the running to host the event.

To paraphrase Yogi Berra: “Nobody goes into the managed security market anymore. It’s too crowded.” That’s no joke. Each week, another tech company launches a managed security service for VARs. The choices are becoming overwhelming. How will the market shake out? Here’s an educated guess from The VAR Guy.

The VAR Guy is still waiting for his Ubuntu Linux PC to arrive from Dell. He ordered it back on May 27. Apparently, FedEx couldn’t deliver the system because they believed The VAR Guy’s street address was a vacant building. Here’s what went wrong and how Dell is resolving the issue.

Intel has opened its wallet again for open source, this time pumping money into Centric CRM. Intel’s open source interests reveal five key trends that should worry Microsoft and other closed-source software providers.

Quick, name the most popular Windows utility that customers are willing to pay for. Actually, The VAR Guy isn’t sure if he has the correct answer to that piece of trivia. But here’s an educated guess.

Microsoft has got to be scratching its head in bewilderment. This was supposed to be the year of Vista. But Vista has been a yawn for most PC buyers and some customers are seeking alternatives. In fact, two of Microsft’s closest partners — Dell and Intel — are set to sponsor a major Linux event right in Microsoft’s backyard.

The speculation has started. Now that Microsoft has lined up patent agreements with three Linux companies, some pundits think the software giant will pursue a deal with Canonical — keeper of the Ubuntu flame.

Yet another open source software provider has signed a licensing and patent agreement with Microsoft. The VAR Guy wonders: Is Microsoft moving a few strategic pieces into place before launching a legal showdown against Red Hat? Or is this another case of Microsoft spreading Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD) within the open source community?

This is pure speculation by The VAR Guy. But things are getting a little strange over at Dell. It seems that some people who ordered Dell PCs with Ubuntu Linux preinstalled have been told that ship dates have been delayed a bit.

After using Google applications for about a year, The VAR Guy recently realized he’s reached a tipping point: He now uses seven Google applications far more often than he uses Microsoft Office. Here’s a quick look at each online application, and it’s impact on The VAR Guy’s productivity.

Imagine if Dell erected a bunch of Linux billboards on a major highway at the very time Microsoft was striving to promote Windows Vista. That’s the scenario unfolding on the Dell.com home page, which now features a splashy ad for Ubuntu Linux PCs.

Cisco, Nortel, 3Com and other networking rivals are in a unified communications horse race. Most odds makers favor Cisco to win, with the rest of the field hoping to place or show. But a surprise entrant — one of the tech industry’s oldest names — could benefit most from unified communications.

The VAR Guy is in New York today, but for the second time in recent hours he’s got Canada on his mind. First, he noted that OnForce will soon extend its online marketplace to VARs in Canada. Now, he hears N-able — the MSP platform provider — is among Canada’s fastest-growing companies. But does that mean an IPO is around the corner?