The VAR Guy

Apple-related news doesn’t always impact the broader IT channel, but there’s something to be said about recent developments at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) 2010. Indeed, the conference apparently included nothing about Macintosh computers and the ubiquitous Mac OS operating system they run. While Apple’s vision may be a future of iPhones and iPads, the future for the SMB/Enterprise community is actually one without a PC as well. Don’t believe me? Read on…

ADTRAN is launching enablement programs for their channel partners, all designed at one goal: bolstering partners’ bottom lines. As we’ve noted before, ADTRAN’s networking and unified communications business — and therefore, ADTRAN’s channel — held up pretty well during the economic downturn. Here’s a look at the company’s latest move.

When the Maverick Meerkat, better known as Ubuntu 10.10, debuts in October, it will bring with it a new default browser for Kubuntu users in the form of rekonq.  If you’re a KDE user dissatisfied with Konqueror and Firefox, here’s what you can look forward to next fall.

First, a disclaimer: Neither Alteva nor The VAR Guy are promoting e-mailing and texting while driving. But when it does inevitably happen, Alteva has a solution that’s apparently safer and more productive: the integration of voice-powered Microsoft Exchange into their hosted unified communications (UC) package. I had the chance to see — well, hear — a demo, and I came away intrigued. Here’s why.

Call it a preemptive strike. When Red Hat Summit kicks off June 22, the open source company is expected to strongly promote Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization (RHEV) to partners and customers. Instead of sitting back on its heels, Linux rival Novell is building a stronger virtualization partnership with VMware. In short, Novell and VMware are ganging up against Red Hat. Here are the details.

Ingram Micro is knocking down the wall between its internal IT department and external VARs. Mario Leone (pictured), CIO of Ingram Micro, is on the road telling VARs and MSPs how to pitch their services and expertise to CIOs. Here are the details.

It’s no secret that unified communications can enhance productivity and make employees’ jobs somewhat easier by improving communications. And while the majority of UC solutions have been focused on the desktop, RADVision is broadening its horizons to include mobile and embedded devices.

Solution providers selling unified communications solutions often hear the argument that UC slows down the network with its bandwidth-hogging technology. But a new solution from Polycom aims to make that argument moot.

One of the areas in which open-source software has truly come into its own during the last few years is virtualization.  The latest LTS release of Ubuntu, which offers a variety of Free virtualization solutions, makes this abundantly clear.  Below, we take a look at some of those options, with a focus on KVM, and consider their meaning for Ubuntu users.

Cisco is furthering their commitment to the SMB and the channel by introducing Cisco Smart Storage. It’s a family of “affordable” network storage solutions, all integrated with business applications. It’s also designed to be “highly secure” and to share sensitive data. If you’re VAR targeting SMBs with less than 100 employees, read on…

Ingram Micro claims to be the first distributor to support digital signage solutions across both Windows and Apple Mac environments. Ingram’s cross-platform solution involves a distribution agreement with Nanonation, which specializes in enterprise-class digital signage software. Here are the details…

Amazon CloudFront, the content delivery network of Amazon Web Services, has three announcements to make: one, it now supports secure connections via HTTPS; two, CloudFront has dropped the prices on standard connection; and three, the cloud is coming to the city that never sleeps as AWS opens a CloudFront edge location in New York City. Here’s the scoop.

As you begin to evaluate white label SaaS solutions for your customers, VARs and MSPs must also develop a SaaS sales pitch to help articulate your value proposition. To get started, listen and submit your questions during The VAR Guy Live’s webcast at 2:00 p.m. eastern today (Wednesday, June 9). The topic for today’s webcast: How to Sell Initial SaaS Solutions. Here are some more details.

Many small business owners and other end users don’t have a detailed understanding of the products and services that IT consultants and service providers promote. In some cases, IT providers may be dealing with clientele that has very limited technical knowledge. Here’s how to close the communications gap.

As you begin to evaluate white label SaaS solutions for your customers, VARs and MSPs must also develop a SaaS sales pitch to help articulate your value proposition. To get started, listen and submit your questions during The VAR Guy Live’s Wednesday, June 9 webcast. The topic for this week’s webcast: How to Sell Initial SaaS Solutions. Here are some more details.

Hewlett-Packard is starting to pitch cloud computing more aggressively to VARs. But so far, the HP cloud pitch still needs a bit more polish. Here are the details, based on The VAR Guy’s first-hand observations.

SUSE Linux is best-known as a server operating system. But Novell is looking to challenge both Windows and Ubuntu Linux in the netbook market. The effort involves the SUSE MeeGo OS for netbooks. Here are the details.

Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference went off (nearly) without a hitch June 7, and there’s sadly, not much new news to report. Thanks to Gizmodo and the new iPhone leak, this blogger thinks all the surprise and pizzaz has fizzled. Here’s the quick rundown anyway featuring a few highlights and observations.

Virtual Computer, which specialize in virtualization, is announcing a free download of their NxTop software. It’ll be available on June 15th. Read on for the feature set and see if NxTop’s free offering can help you out…

Let’s cut right to the chase: Peter Coffee, Salesforce.com’s director of ecosystem platform research, says the SaaS provider’s Chatter business social platform will go live on June 22nd. Here’s what to expect when it does — and our take on its impact in the IT channel.

Riverbed has announced a new version of their Riverbed Optimization System (RiOS). The update is focused on WAN optimization solutions and more flexibility when building public, private and hybrid cloud environments. Riverbed is putting a particular emphasis Microsoft Exchange and SharePoint acceleration. Read on to find out all the details about version 6.1…

The vast majority of new small businesses have zero IT infrastructure and will never need to purchase a server, asserts Narinder Singh, chief marketing officer at Appirio. Is Singh right or is he a cloud evangelist who’s out of touch with the small business IT channel? Here’s the spin from The VAR Guy.

Who will be the Microsoft of cloud computing? In other words, which single company will emerge to absolutely dominate the cloud the way Microsoft dominated desktop computing? The answer, according to Salesforce.com’s Peter Coffee, is “Absolutely nobody.”