The VAR Guy

The 3Com Corp. you knew on September 27 is dead. A new 3Com is emerging, effective immediately. The former networking giant has been sold to affiliates of Bain Capital Partners for $2.2 billion in cash. The deal, pending regulatory approval, is long overdue, The VAR Guy believes. Here’s why.

The VAR Guy enjoys a lite beer from time to time. But Lite software? No thanks. Generally speaking, “Lite” versions of software have tanked over the years. Anybody else remember NetWare Lite?

The VAR Guy saw this coming: A new, low-cost MSP platform that could inspire even the cheapest VAR to embrace managed services. Indeed, Autotask has launched a new, low-cost managed services platform called Autotask Go! The hosted MSP platform has a fixed fee of $99 and no start-up costs. Get all the details from our new sister site, MSPmentor.

Sometimes, small acquisitions are big deals. For instance, Cisco Systems today acquired Latigent, a privately held company that sells Web-based software for call centers. The deal was so small that Cisco did not disclose financial details. However, The VAR Guy believes the Latigent deal is a sign of things to come from Cisco.

Take a niche operating system. Put it in the spotlight vs. Microsoft’s disappointing Windows Vista. Hype the niche operating system for a few months. Win a business deal with Dell. And at some point all that wonderful buzz will produce expectations that you can’t meet. Such is the case, apparently, with Ubuntu.

If you’re a Lenovo reseller, membership will soon have its privileges. The PC giant has rolled our Club Lenovo, a new loyalty rewards program for Lenovo SMB resellers in the U.S. and Canada. Beginning in October, the program rewards solutions providers and their sales force for selling Lenovo PCs, monitors, peripherals and services. Hmmm. The VAR Guy is in the market for a Linux-based PC. Is it time for him to get in on the Lenovo action?

You’ve saved a company from near bankruptcy. You’ve eliminated billions of dollars in debt. So what do you do for an encore? In Xerox’s case, you bang on R&D’s door and demand a product that can disrupt the traditional printer market–and you talk about real revenue and profit growth. It all sounds so simple. And the strategy just may work — if a new color printing technology from Xerox lives up to its billing.

Ingram Micro and Best Buy’s Geek Squad are teaming up to offer on-site IT services for select Best Buy business customers. The move calls for the Ingram Micro Services Network to be the “premier” on site service providers for select participants in the Best Buy for Business program in the US.

The VAR Guy landed in San Jose Sunday night. No, not to attend the Justin Timberlake concert. Rather, he’s in town to attend the MSP Alliance Fall Managed Services Conference. The VAR Guy will be blogging throughout the day, and is particularly interest to hear messaging from Dell at the event. Here’s why.

Few people realize it, but Dell is sending a Trojan Horse into Silicon Valley next week. The big hardware company–which isn’t known for innovation, software or acquisitions–will show off all three traits at a small (but strategic) conference in San Jose on September 24 and 25.

I’ve written about Microsoft Small Business Server and other software suites that are marketed to small business owners. But curiosity about Ubuntu as a small business server and desktop seems to be growing. Back in August, Canonical hinted to me that they are working on a small business server software suite. Now mainstream websites are speculating about Ubuntu’s potential for small business systems. Sounds like 2o08 could be a heck of a year for Ubuntu in small business.

Forbes has published a list of the 400 richest Americans. Once again, a hacker (pictured above) who started a software company in New Mexico topped the lineup. It takes a minimum net worth of $1.3 billion to appear on the list, which means The VAR Guy only needs to scrape together about $1,299,500,000 to qualify for next year’s rankings. Bill Gates ($59 billion) and Warren Buffet ($52 billion) topped this year’s Fobes list.

Sometimes The VAR Guy just can’t let go of a hunch. For a few weeks now, he’s been asking MSP platform providers if they would ever open source their software. Most MSP companies told him they haven’t considered such a strategy. That will change next week, when Untangle launches an MSP Partner Program focused on open source network security.

The VAR Guy’s garage is filled with full-size arcade games like Pac Man and Asteroids. His attic is cluttered with the original Atari, Intellivision, Colecovision and other home gaming classics. But now, he’s turning his attention to an online game from Symantec — yes, Symantec. If you’re an old fan of Doom or hip to Halo, Symantec may have an online game just for you. Here’s the scoop.

I have to admit: I love Ubuntu but I’m not ready to recommend it to PC novices. However, Ubuntu is making great progress and moving closer and closer to becoming a mainstream consumer operating system. A case in point: I just noticed this new book, Ubuntu for Non-Geeks, Second Edition. I haven’t read it yet, but I do intend to give it a look soon.

It has been about nine months since The VAR Guy checked in with D-Link. Back in January, Keith Karlsen, executive VP of North America channel operations, expressed bullish optimism about the New Year. But has D-Link managed to maintain its momentum amid fierce competition from Netgear, Linksys and other network hardware providers?

The VAR Guy had mixed emotions today when he heard Yahoo acquired Zimbra, a provider of open source email and collaboration software. Over the past year, Zimbra has been on The VAR Guy’s radar multiple times. Some service providers and universities have aggressively embraced Zimbra as a reliable, cost-effective alternative to Microsoft Exchange in recent years.

So far, so good. That statement sums up Dell’s current desktop Linux strategy, which focuses heavily on the Ubuntu operating system from Canonical. Even so, Dell representatives are careful not to hype the machines. Here’s why.

Apparently, AMD’s PR team has a good feel for Web 2.0 technologies. Instead of using email to blast press releases to journalists and bloggers, the chip maker is asking media members to subscribe to AMD’s Twitter feed. The VAR Guys sees pros and cons with the move.

Here’s an interesting debate: Assume your company employs one of the sharpest Cisco gurus in the region. Would you keep this pro’s credentials a secret — so that rivals don’t try to steal him — or would you promote the guru’s expertise in a bid to win more business?

So far, so good. That statement sums up Dell’s current desktop Linux strategy, which focuses heavily on the Ubuntu operating system from Canonical. Dell insiders tell The VAR Guy that reaction to the company’s Ubuntu PCs, introduced in June, has been good. Even so, Dell representatives are careful not to hype the machines. Here’s why.

Yes, The Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg is an influential guy. He can make-or-break products with his columns and product reviews. And he has taken a look at Ubuntu. Before you slam Walt for pointing out Ubuntu’s potential weak points, I think the Ubuntu community has to take a deep breath and admit the Walt has some valid points.

The VAR Guy has spent considerable time wondering if — or when — Cisco was going to meld its VoIP platforms with Asterisk, the open source IP telephony platform. Turns out small integrators and consulting firms are already doing that heavy lifting. One prime example: NeoPhonetics has launched an Asterisk-based unified messaging platform that works with PBX and IP platforms from Avaya, Cisco, NEC and Nortel.