The VAR Guy

Attention Ubuntu Linux shoppers: Dell in newspapers today advertised Inspiron Mini 9 netbooks running Ubuntu for the bargain basement starting price of $299. Even The VAR Guy is opening his wallet and buying one. Dell’s actions reinforce Ubuntu’s growing momentum in the consumer and mobile business market. Here’s the scoop, and a look at the Dell advertisement…

Cisco is offering $100,000 in prize money to Linux application developers that help the networking giant defeat Microsoft in the unified communications market. The initiative focuses on network-aware applications written for Cisco’s AXP (Application Extension Platform) and Integrated Services Routers (ISRs). Here’s the scoop, from The VAR guy.

Talk about a market disruption. In some scenarios, GroundWork Open Source says the company’s IT monitoring software costs 82-percent less than Hewlett-Packard Operations Manager and Network Node Manager. Apparently, Hewlett-Packard is fuming mad over the price comparison.

Even as the economy went into a nosedive, Wyse Technology Inc.’s thin client sales continued to climb higher. In fact, Wyse — which increasingly promotes Linux-based solutions through channel partners — says the company generated record revenue in October. How is that possible? Here’s the scoop.

From Best Buy to Wal-Mart, big companies use business intelligence (BI) software to drive new revenue and market opportunities. Now, those high-end market solutions seem to be pushing down — through the IT channel — into small and midsize businesses. Skeptical? Check out this anecdotal information from SAS Institute.

Novell today claimed to have more certified software partners than rival Linux providers. The chest pumping represents Novell’s latest thinly veiled attack against Red Hat. But take a closer look at Novell’s claims and you’ll see why Red Hat may take issue with some of Novell’s statements.

If you want to learn what’s next in the ERP (enterprise resource planning) software market, visit Boston College, Georgetown University or the University of Arizona. All three schools — and plenty of additional colleges — are embracing Kuali, an open source ERP platform. And the deployments frequently involve rSmart, a solutions provider that specializes in open source ERP. Here’s the scoop.

Which open source companies are truly committed to VARs, solutions providers and managed service providers? You’ll find out in December when The VAR Guy unveils The Open Source 50: the top companies — from across the world — building the open source channel. To potentially have your company listed in The Open Source 50 report, fill out this quick survey.

At first glance, IBM has won a massive $873 million outsourcing contract with the State of Georgia. But The VAR Guy took a closer look and discovered Dell Managed Services will also cash in on the engagement. A trusted source says the contract ranks as one of Dell’s largest managed services and Software as a Service (SaaS) deals to date.

During the dot-com implosion, Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers took an unusual step that set the tone for appropriate, responsible executive leadership during bad economic times. Now, the executive leadership at Ford, General Motors and Chrysler should follow the example Chambers set back in  2002. Here’s why.

The VAR Guy’s sister site — MSPmentor — offers non-stop coverage of the managed services market, where more and more VARs are generating recurring monthly revenue from customers. Here’s a look at the top 10 stories making headlines on MSPmentor this week.

Repeat after The VAR Guy: Old software strategies — developed in the 1980s and 1990s — DO work in the emerging IT channel for open source solutions. Skeptical? Here are 250 ways Red Hat successfully pushed beyond Linux to promote open source middleware to customers.

On desktops and Netbooks, it has been a stellar year for Canonical’s Ubuntu Linux distribution. But on the server, Ubuntu continues to face long-term challenges in terms of application and vendor support. Here’s the scoop from The VAR Guy.

Time for a surprising reality check from The VAR Guy. Conventional wisdom says there’s no margin left for VARs in hardware sales. But Pulse Inc. — a $10 million solutions provider that works closely with ADTRAN Inc. — strongly disagrees. Here’s why.

It’s no secret that Digium (the poster child for Asterisk) has multiple employees who previously worked at ADTRAN, a neighboring networking company in Huntsville, Alabama. Are ADTRAN and Digium rivals or partners? The answer: A little of both.

The VAR Guy is impressed with Tom Perry. As the head of IT for the Huntsville (Alabama) airport, Perry made a strategic decision. Instead of launching a paid WiFi service, he built a free WiFi network for travelers. Here’s why.

Quick, describe ADTRAN CEO Tom Stanton (pictured). Chances are you’re silent. The VAR Guy has spent nearly two decades covering the networking industry. He knows quite a bit about ADTRAN and its SMB networking strategy. But our resident blogger must concede: He’s never met Stanton — until today. Here’s the scoop from Stanton, and his vision for ADTRAN partners.

For at least the third time in recent weeks, prominent Dell newspaper advertisements feature the Inspiron Mini 9 Netbook running Canonical’s Ubuntu 8.04 (that’s a small Linux notebook, folks). The VAR Guy hears Microsoft “has gone postal” over the Linux notebook ads. You might even say this is Microsoft’s nightmare before Christmas. Here’s the complete scoop.

Somewhere between Cisco Systems and disruptive startups like Digium, there is a wasteland of networking companies that tried — and failed — to compete against Cisco. Still, a few nimble firms carve out solid networking niches for themselves. The VAR Guy will spend Nov. 17 through 19 with one such company: ADTRAN Inc. Here are four key issues he expects to explore during the visit.

Open source operating systems, applications and middleware continue to disrupt and infiltrate the IT channel. But which open source companies are truly committed to VARs, solutions providers and managed service providers? You’ll find out in December when The VAR Guy unveils The Open 50: the top companies — from across the world — building the open source channel.

CA Inc. (formerly Computer Associates International) is in Las Vegas this week, hosting its CA World partner and customer conference. It’s an opportune time for The VAR Guy to ask: Can partners trust this latest iteration of CA — which includes a new managed services and SaaS (software as a service) push? The VAR Guy sure seems to think so. Here’s why.

Attention bargain bin shoppers: Software as a Service (SaaS) stocks have declined more than 50 percent from January through Nov. 14, 2008, reports MSPmentor — The VAR Guy’s sister site. Our resident blogger doesn’t make buy, sell or hold recommendations. But isn’t SaaS supposed to be the future of software???

Lenovo has an offer for VARs, solutions providers — and small businesses — that want to give the company’s new ThinkServers a try. It involves a 60-day money back guarantee when the servers are purchased through Synnex, The VAR Guy has learned.