The VAR Guy

No doubt, Hewlett-Packard values channel partners that specialize in such areas as servers, storage and virtualization. But HP appears to have a special place in its heart for VARs that know how to sell ProCurve networking solutions heads-up against Cisco’s networking gear. Here’s the latest on this love fest.

Software as a Service (SaaS) specialists like Azaleos and Intermedia are preparing to offer hosted Exchange 2010 to their customers and channel partners. Plus, virtualization specialists like Parallels are striving to help channel partners speed their SaaS application deployments. The big question: Can third-party hosting companies stay ahead of Microsoft’s own Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) and hosted Exchange 2010 efforts? Here’s the scoop.

Managed services provider and remote support specialist iYogi is pushing the on-demand model into a pre-sales role. The company, which provides computer support for consumers and small businesses, said it will host virtual demos for resellers hoping to sell CA’s Internet Security software to prospects. The company launched a CA Sales Competency Center to offer the remote pre-sales service to resellers.

CompTIA has acquired MSP Partners. The VAR Guy could give you all the details. But he’d rather point you to this extensive blog entry over on MSPmentor.

September was a whirlwind for me: several exciting client projects, bride’s maid (or matron, a term which I hate) in my friend’s wedding, moving my house, and several trips. All good things but just the same, when you’re wrapped up in what’s currently going on, you are not focused on building that pipeline or nurturing relationships or innovating around your current programs. I find the same is true with some channel organizations. How do you keep innovating when you’re busy maintaining your current programs? Here are six suggestions.

Roughly 82 percent of small and midsize businesses are either somewhat to very satisfied with their disaster recovery plan, according to a global survey conducted by Applied Research for Symantec. But The VAR Guy wonders: Are those SMBs suffering from disaster recovery denial? Also, how will online backup and recovery solutions impact those survey results over time. Hmmm… Let’s take a look at the stats.

Novell is shaking up its channel strategy in Europe. The VAR Guy reached out to Novell Chief Marketing Officer (and Channel Chief) John Dragoon for his thoughts. Here’s what Dragoon had to say.

Is Dell serious about cloud computing? Ask Barton George (pictured). He joined the computing giant in August and now serves as Dell’s cloud computing evangelist. And… George also happens to have close relationships with Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu Linux. Here’s the scoop.

The VAR Guy is either a busy dude — or the ultimate slacker. (Perhaps he’s just busy slacking.) Either way, here are six channel blog entries he failed to write for the week ending Sept. 25, and their implications for readers.

The latest word from Digium involves speech recognition for Asterisk, the open source IP PBX. The effort involves a growing relationship with Incendonet, which specializes in — you guessed it — speech recognition. Here’s some analysis from The VAR Guy.

Canonical, keeper of the Ubuntu Linux distribution, is a small company with big friends. The latest example: Dell, IBM and Intel each are taking new steps with Ubuntu. Here’s the scoop.

Microsoft is taking one of its greatest strengths — independent software vendor (ISV) relationships — and applying it to the Web. The software giant has launched the WebsiteSpark Program, which is designed to help business development for Web professionals with 10 employees or less. Microsoft also reinforced close working relationships with three major open source efforts — WordPress, SugarCRM and DotNetNuke. The VAR Guy is intrigued. Here’s why.

Fusepoint Managed Services has joined the ranks of companies offering hosting and managed services around Microsoft’s SharePoint collaboration and content management suite. The big question: Is there room for additional MSPs to differentiate their hosted SharePoint offerings?

Reactions to TelePresence — the next-generation video conferencing technology — typically range from amazement to sticker shock. But Hewlett-Packard is trying to change the rules of the game with SkyRoom, a low-cost video conferencing offering for HP’s PCs. Here’s the scoop.

Our next MSPmentor Live webcast is Wednesday, October 21 at 2:00 p.m. eastern. We’ll cover six tips that help you upsell managed security services. Here’s a bit more about the webcast…

Oracle OpenWorld — a major event for Oracle partners and customers — kicks off October 11 in San Francisco. Sun Microsystems will be in the house. So will Dell, Hewlett-Packard and IBM. And if you look hard enough, there will even be some MySQL content at the event. Here’s the scoop.

Bloggers are buzzing about Microsoft Office Web — the forthcoming SaaS alternative to Office 2010. But software as a service experts and hosting providers say their customers have yet to ask about Office Web and its anticipated capabilities. Here’s the scoop.

Ubuntu Linux is now available on Panasonic Toughbooks — those rugged devices typically found in harsh environments and vertical markets like health care, transportation, real estate and insurance. But this blog entry comes with a twist — care of EmperorLinux, a system reseller in Atlanta, Georgia. Here’s the scoop.

Sure, the Federal Reserve Chairman recently said the recession is likely over.  But is the channel feeling the rebound?  How has the recession impacted channel hiring? Here are some clues from Cisco Systems.

As Microsoft begins previewing Office Web, plenty of pundits are comparing the SaaS productivity suite to Google Apps. But for Microsoft’s channel partners, there’s one big difference between Office Web and Google Apps. Here’s the scoop.

The VAR Guy will be in four places at once the week of Nov. 2. The reason: ConnectWise Partner Summit, the HTG Peer Group meeting and Symantec Partner Engage all are in Orlando, Fla., that week. Three events — right down the road from Walt Disney World. The VAR Guy couldn’t have planned the schedule better himself. Oh, except for one nagging problem…

Rackspace Cloud, one of the fastest-growing cloud providers working with VARs and MSPs, has expanded its talent pool. The latest hire includes a Canonical veteran who was involved in the Ubuntu Linux cloud strategy. Here’s the scoop.

There is considerable talk about virtualization in the PC market right now, especially around servers. Because virtualization is an abstract concept, end customers may be reluctant to realize its benefits. But with a 60 percent return on investment achievable over four years, virtualization should be a new opportunity on the radar of customers and partners. Here’s why.