The VAR Guy

Novell is starting to connect the dots between SUSE Linux and two recent product acquisitions: PlateSpin and Managed Objects. The VAR Guy isn’t suggesting Novell will dominate tomorrow’s data centers. But during an April 7 seminar in New York, Novell finally delivered a coherent server consolidation strategy for partners, independent software vendors and customers. Here’s the scoop.

If you’re a solutions provider trying to understand how to potentially profit from Google Apps and Amazon Web Services, then please join us for The VAR Guy Live, a webcast scheduled for April 15 at 2:00pm eastern. Here are the details.

Quick: Name the biggest reseller of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The answer very likely is Dell. Now, the PC giant is striving to become the largest reseller of Red Hat’s JBoss open source middleware. Here’s how.

Sometimes, you have to respect someone for sticking to an opinion and a vision. Other times, you have to wonder if a consistent vision becomes a fatal flaw. I’m still undecided about whether Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst has the correct — or flawed — long term vision: In a New York Times article, Whitehurst (pictured, right) once again dismisses speculation that Red Hat will pursue the consumer Linux desktop and smart phone markets. Here’s why.

Forgive The VAR Guy for the lame headline. But our resident blogger’s head is spinning as he tries to keep pace with cloud storage start-ups. From A to Z — um, Axcient to Zetta Inc. — numerous cloud storage start-ups are seeking partnerships with managed service providers and VARs. Here’s the scoop.

Sometimes, investors have the right to attack Novell. But this time around, at least one financial analyst firm seems to be beating up on Novell for a rather foolish reason. Here’s the scoop, from The VAR Guy.

With Ubuntu 9.04, otherwise known as the Jaunty Jackalope, set to be released in less than three weeks, WorksWithU will be publishing some posts about what the latest and greatest version of Ubuntu will mean to different groups of users.  Today, we begin with a look at the new features that Jaunty brings to traditional desktops.

Two days after Symantec officially ushered in a new CEO, rival Trend Micro attempted to get a leg up in the software as a service (SaaS) security market. Here’s the scoop, from The VAR Guy.

The VAR Guy is packing his bags and heading to a Novell event in New York City on April 7. During several hours of briefings, our resident blogger expects to hear plenty about SUSE Linux Enterprise 11, PlateSpin Workload Management and a Mono Extension that allows SUSE Linux to run .Net applications. The obvious question: Will the Empire State embrace Novell’s updated messaging? Plus, here’s the interesting twist that really intrigues our resident blogger.

During the Ingram Micro Venturetech Network conference in Orlando, Ingram CEO Greg Spierkel (pictured) joined TheVARguy.com podcast on April 1 to discuss…

Podcast: Ingram Micro CEO Greg Spierkel [ 10:21 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

It’s not outright praise, but Dell testers call Windows 7 beta code “promising.” The VAR Guy values Dell’s opinion because the PC giant had the nerve — and the confidence — to ship Ubuntu Linux on selected PCs the year Microsoft launched Windows Vista. Fast forward to the present, and here’s what Dell has to say about Windows 7.

Despite the recession, Juniper is pushing ahead with its annual J-Partner Summit — scheduled for May 18-19 in Las Vegas. During the event, Juniper will promote TCO (total cost of ownership) info that channel partners can communicate to customers, according to Frank J. Vitagliano (senior VP, worldwide channels, pictured) and Blaine J. Raddon (VP, channels). Here’s the scoop.

VARs and service pros completed 30 percent more work orders in OnForce‘s online marketplace during 1Q of 2009 vs. 1Q of 2008, according to OnForce CEO Peter Cannone. But that’s not all. During a vodcast at the Autotask Community Live conference, Cannone revealed several other IT trends from 1Q. Take a look.

Hats off to the Ubuntu Podcast team for this video podcast with Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth. Solid conversation about the future of Ubuntu.

I have something to confess. I don’t keep regular backups. If the hard drive in my laptop was to fail I’d have a serious problem. I would be faced with the very real risk of losing weeks, maybe even months worth of work. What I need is a backup solution for my Ubuntu desktop that works with me. Here is how I found that solution and it was much easier than I had first thought.

A friend recently predicted to me that the traditional outside field-based sales rep role would be dead in five years. That’s hard for me to grasp, especially since I have worked with so many talented sales reps over the years. They were the lifeblood of most every major software company. But will they be irrelevant sometime in the near future?

One of the most innovative features to find its way into the Linux kernel recently is support for master mode on several wireless chipsets.  Though there’s been little fanfare surrounding this development, it could soon be giving home users, in particular, another reason to celebrate Ubuntu.

I spent Wednesday afternoon at the Ingram Micro VTN (Venturetech Network) conference in Orlando. Roughly 350 of Ingram Micro’s top VARs and managed service providers are attending the event. Most of the attendees offer a blend of product and solutions expertise, coupled with hosted or managed services. Over the next few hours, we’ll post podcasts and vodcasts featuring Ingram Micro CEO Greg Spierkel and other team members, describing how VTN members are navigating the economy. We’ll be back at Ingram Micro VTN today (Thursday) before spending some time with ConnectWise Friday.

Over the next six months or so, Siemens will work with selected channel partners to test unified communications in Amazon’s cloud, according Paul McMillan (pictured), Siemens’ director of unified communications technical vision and strategy. Here’s the scoop from McMillan, who spoke with The VAR Guy during VoiceCon Orlando 2009.

Unison Communications — which develops unified communications software on Centos, Ubuntu and Red Hat Linux — is preparing to launch a partner program within the next few weeks, The VAR Guy learned during VoiceCon. Here are the early details.

During the Autotask Community Live conference — which attracted roughly 300 managed service providers — Ubuntu Server Edition made a surprise appearance and a surprise encore. Twice during the event, managed service providers (MSPs) told me how they were building their businesses on top of Ubuntu Server Edition. The two prime examples involve Rezitech and Network Depot. Here’s the scoop.

During a keynote speech at  VoiceCon Orlando 2009, Microsoft proclaimed unified communications and soft phones will ultimately kill traditional desktop business phones. Here are The VAR Guy’s top 10 highlights from the keynote, delivered by Gurdeep Singh Pall, corporate VP for Microsoft Unified Communications Group.