The VAR Guy

Bocada Inc. has partnered with Promark in a distribution agreement. The relationship focuses on data storage and management. Read on for the details…

If you’re a VAR or MSP seeking new recurring revenue strategies then please join us for the MSPmentor Live Webcast is this Wednesday, June 23. Three top MSPs plus ConnectWise CEO Arnie Bellini are prepared to discuss seven ways you can triple your recurring revenue. Also, it sounds to me like the guest MSPs will describe why they are abandoning per-device pricing. Here are some more clues about what we’ll cover.

Ingram Micro apparently is the first tech distributor to hop on board the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s “Climate Leaders” government-industry program. In short, Ingram promises not to pollute so much. Read on for the eco-friendly details…

Software-only cloud storage solution vendor Nexenta Systems says their reseller program gets sign-ups at the rate of one a day. In an effort to keep that momentum going, they’re announcing two new partner plays: the Nexenta Authorized Reseller Partner Program, and the Nexenta Technology Partner Program. I spoke with Nexenta CEO Evan Powell for the scoop on both.

Likewise Software — which promotes Active Directory across Mac, Unix and Linux — says it has generated 100 percent year-over-year revenue growth. Likewise will talk up its apparent momentum at this week’s Red Hat Summit in Boston. Here are the details.

It would be great if all PDF files could be easily manipulated without relying on bloated, proprietary, update-obsessive applications (I’m looking at you, Adobe).  But the fact that that’s not the case doesn’t mean Ubuntu users are out of luck when it comes to editing PDFs.  Here’s a look at some of the PDF editors available for Linux, and how well they work.

Eucalyptus Systems is set to gather reseller partners old and new in San Francisco on June 22. The reason: It’s time for Eucalyptus to lay out where their open-source cloud platform stands, along with potential channel partner opportunities. Here’s what to expect.

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.

Deloitte & Touche has joined the fight against gray market IT solutions and services. Specifically, Deloitte & Touche has joined the AGMA (Alliance for Gray Market and Counterfeit Abatement). The effort strives to battle gray market products and services. Here’s a look at the challenge.

Even with Android 2.2 Froyo is making it big into prime-time, that doesn’t mean Google can rest on its laurels. The search giant is making big moves to refine Android’s user interface and experience as much as possible. Read on about Google’s latest efforts, and six areas on where Android needs some polish…

The VAR Guy saw this coming. On June 10, The VAR Guy was first to report Dell considered Ubuntu Linux safer than Windows. But now, Dell has apparently updated its web site to remove/alter that statement. Linux conspiracy theorists think Microsoft pressured Dell to make the change. Is that really the case?

The VAR Guy sees a disconnect in today’s IT channel. Sure, more than 80,000 VARs continue to do business across North America. But a critical subset of those VARs — perhaps 10,000 to 15,000 of them — also have emerging or thriving managed services business practices. Now, big software companies like Microsoft and Symantec are adjusting their licensing models to embrace those small MSPs. But do the software giants really understand the emerging MSP industry? Really?

If you’ve got a product to sell, but don’t have the where-with-all or time to put up a digital store front, Overstock.com wants to help. It’s called the Main Street Store and it’s available now. Will VARs step into the marketplace? Here are some thoughts.

When it comes to new product launches, the smart phone market is turning into a comedy of errors. Two recent examples: AT&T suffered a meltdown while trying to take iPhone 4 pre-orders this week, and Sprint stumbled badly during the recent HTC Evo 4G launch. It makes us wonder: What can small MSPs and VARs learn from big service providers that manage product launches so poorly? Here are some thoughts.

Microsoft Office 2010 should bear no introduction, especially with the chatter surrounding its official release to the public at large this week. For the first time in a decade or so, we think an Office suite launch is going to face stiff competition — less from traditional desktop applications, and more from the brave new world of the cloud. Here’s the lowdown on the challenges facing Microsoft Office 2010.

Wipro Technologies, the IT services arm of Indian technology titan Wipro Limited, has partnered with Microsoft to provide legal process outsourcing (LPO) for Microsoft’s intellectual property (IP) portfolio. Most interesting is what the partnership means for the relationship between two channel giants. Here’s the scoop.

Ubuntu Linux will ship on roughly 5 million computers this year, according to Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth. And that number could grow further thanks to Jolicloud — an Ubuntu-based operating system designed to blend netbooks with cloud computing. Moreover, Jolicloud recently gained touch-screen support, which could position the OS for mobile Internet devices (MIDs). But is Jolicloud ready for partners? Here are some insights.

Like many of its larger rivals, Digium is launching specializations within the company’s global channel partner program. If the strategy works as advertised, Digium’s open source IP PBX partners will gain deeper expertise in unified communications and VoIP telephony solutions. Here’s a look at Digium’s strategy and the implications for VARs.

When Red Hat Summit starts June 22 in Boston, Red Hat will maintain a careful virtualization balancing act. During one session, Red Hat and Microsoft will discuss how they work together on virtualization. But during a separate session, Red Hat will describe how Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization (RHEV) offers cost advantages over both VMware and Microsoft Hyper-V. Here are the details.

When the Avnet Technology Solutions Partner Summit kicks off July 26, Cisco Systems and Oracle plan to be at the event in full force. In fact, Cisco and Oracle may offer channel partners competing data center views. Why’s that? Here are some clues…

Apple once was a small, niche player in the world at large. But with the advent of the iPod, iPhone, and the surge in popularity, Apple is making some big moves. And apparently triggering some big concerns. A case in point: Apple’s iAd iPhone advertisement platform for the iPhone apparently is raising some eyebrows at the FTC…

You run a small solution provider business, or perhaps you’re an entrepreneur launching a managed services business. What are the 10 errors or mistakes that can kill a business such as yours? Here are some clues.

Apple knows most of the IT channel leverages Windows software and Microsoft Active Directory. But Steve Jobs and Company wants you to know that the Mac can play nice in Active Directory environments. With that goal in mind, Apple has introduced a few online seminars (essentially short videos) describing the ways in which system administrators can integrate the Mac in the workplace. Is this a sign of things to come?