The VAR Guy

As Oracle prepares to consume Sun Microsystems  (and the open source MySQL database), The VAR Guy wonders: What does the future hold for MySQL’s channel partner strategy? Hmmm. An August 2009 Sun partner conference, called Avnet Compass, could provide some chatter on the topic.

Avnet Compass, scheduled for Aug. 16-18 in Denver, Colo., is an annual gathering of Sun Microsystems channel partners that work closely with Avnet Technology Solutions.

This year’s Avnet Compass (formerly called Avnet New Frontiers) arrives at a critical time. Sun’s shareholders have approved a merger with Oracle, but the deal still faces antitrust scrutiny.

If (er, when?) the merger gets approved plenty of questions remain…

• What will Oracle do with Sun’s hardware business?
• Will Oracle bolster Java?
• What does the future hold for Solaris and OpenSolaris?
• And The VAR Guy’s personal favorite: What does the future hold for MySQL?

First Impressions

Rewind a bit, and you’ll discover that The VAR Guy cheered Sun’s buyout of MySQL in 2008. And MySQL did land near the top of last year’s Open Source 50 — which tracks the most promising open source partner programs.

Fast forward to the present, and The VAR Guy must concede: He hasn’t heard much about the MySQL channel partner program in recent months — though the company does have channel programs for:

• Resellers
• Authorized Training Partners
• Authorized Hosting Partners
• Authorized Remote DBA Providers

Avnet Compass

Now, take a look at Avnet Compass, the gathering for Sun solutions providers. Will there be much chatter about MySQL? Hmmm. The VAR Guy’s best guess: Most of the conference will likely focus on Sun server and storage solutions for VARs.

As of July 20, the Avnet Compass event agenda includes some generic descriptors. And of course, Sun officials at the event can’t talk “hypothetically” about how Oracle will potentially manage Sun’s assets.

But The VAR Guy hopes progressive Sun partners will come armed with questions about MySQL, and the database’s partner program as it stands today.

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