The VAR Guy

The VAR Guy is packing his bags and preparing to attend Red Hat Summit. But before our resident blogger gets back on the road, here are six channel partner blog entries The VAR Guy didn’t have time to write for the week ending June 18, 2010.

7. True Believers: System76, a fast-growing provider of Ubuntu PCs, currently participates in Canonical‘s Ubuntu Solutions Provider and Ubuntu OEM partner programs. “Canonical has been a remarkable partner, assisting with software engineering, support, and marketing activities,” asserts System76 President Carl Richell. Next up, System76 plans to introduce new Ubuntu servers, he adds.

6. Open Source or Cloud Acquisition?: Compiere, an ERP provider that landed in our recent Open Source 50 report, has been acquired by Consona. Given all the recent cloud hype, Consona is trying to position Compiere as more of a cloud ERP provider than an open source ERP provider.

5. HP in the Big Apple: Hewlett-Packard Channel Chief Stephen DiFranco will be in New York really soon. The VAR Guy will abandon Long Island’s Gold Coast to catch up with DiFranco in Manhattan. Details in a few days.

4. Symantec And Microsoft Bob – Online Neighbors?: The VAR Guy recently noticed Symantec Channel Chief Randy Cochran’s new personal web site. Our resident blogger respects Cochran and appreciates recent briefings. But Cochran’s virtual crib (in reality, an online lead generation system to gather VAR information) looks like the old Microsoft Bob user interface.

3. Red Hat’s Next Move: Several sources say Red Hat has been poking around Silicon Valley looking at network and systems management companies for potential acquisition. The VAR Guy is working to confirm additional details, and will poke around some more at Red Hat Summit.

2. Billionaire Lets Go: Former Cisco Systems CEO and Chairman John Morgridge apparently will give away at least of half of his fortune — as part of a philanthropy effort led by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.

1. Check the Headline: The VAR Guy still doesn’t play by the rules. This is a top six list. So there is no number one.

Thanks for spending some time with The VAR Guy. He appreciates your readership and the online dialog on this web site.

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