The VAR Guy

Kaseya, the managed services platform provider, has some strong opinions about Dell’s decision to enter the MSP market by purchasing Silverback Technologies. Here’s Kaseya’s take on the situation, which the company shared via email with The VAR Guy. While downplaying the Dell-Silverback combo, Kaseya also plans to offer Silverback customers a special deal when they migrate to Kaseya’s managed services platform.

The VAR Guy is intrigued by Switchvox. The tiny, 15-person company has big plans to integrate Asterisk-based PBXes with open source CRM software. VARs that specialize in unified communications should check out Switchvox’s strategy.

When everyone zigs, The VAR Guy zags. Here’s a prime example: Most folks at the Cisco Networkers Live conference attended a private concert last night, headlined by KISS. The VAR Guy had his ticket in hand — but suddenly decided to head home instead.

The VAR Guy spoke with Switchvox CEO Joshua Stephens today about his company. But the conversation quickly switched from open source PBX telephony systems to hiring talent. Stephens is swamped with resumes from a growing group of nomads.

Don’t misunderstand The VAR Guy: The Linksys product brand remains alive and well, and Cisco remains committed to the Linksys product line. However, Cisco CEO John Chambers suggested that the Linksys brand “will become a Cisco brand over time” during a question-and-answer session on July 24. Plus, there’s talk of TelePresence gradually moving into the SMB market. Here’s the scoop.

Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers moments ago called on political leaders to develop a national broadband policy, which would help the United States close the digital divide and compete more effectively on a global scale. He also called on the United States to change its definition of broadband to 100Mbps connections.

Here’s the final part of The VAR Guy’s five-part countdown, highlighting 50 trends and takeaways from the Ubuntu Live conference in Portland, Oregon.

Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers sounded particularly bullish today, when he addressed 10,000 partners and customers at the Networkers Live conference in Anaheim, Calif. Here are 10 key takeaways from his keynote.

If you were to track managed services on the traditional technology adoption curve, where would you place them? Hmmm. Let’s ask an MSP platform provider.

Here’s part four of The VAR Guy’s five-part countdown, highlighting 50 trends and takeaways from the Ubuntu Live conference in Portland, Oregon. Items 20-11, with the final chapter of our list to follow soon…