The VAR Guy

Our Talkin’ Cloud 50 global survey — which identifies the top 50 VARs, MSPs and integrators working in the cloud — ends today (Thursday, March 31). The survey is open to all MSPs, VARs, solutions providers, cloud service providers (CSPs) and cloud integrators worldwide. Our goal is to identify the top solutions providers that are (A) working on public and private cloud projects and/or (B) generating recurring revenue from cloud computing, software as a service (SaaS) and more. Here are some more details.

From huge growth at Opengear to new partnerships at Zarafa, this month has been a busy one in the open source channel. And it got busier last week when Liferay, a vendor specializing in open source portal and CMS software, announced expansions of its own. Here’s the scoop …

The VAR Guy is taking an interest as Apple and Microsoft go at it in their latest courtroom battle. Apple is looking to defend its trademark of the term “App Store,” while Microsoft claims it’s a generic term and cannot be protected. But Apple has made moves to ensure its App Store doesn’t become generic by putting the (still-disputed) screws to Amazon’s own app store. So what’s the deal? Here’s what The VAR Guy thinks…

As the resident gadget guru here at The VAR Guy, I enjoy doing the occasional hardware review. Normally I look at laptops or mobile devices, but sometimes I can get my hands on something less “consumery.”  Case in point: the Netgear ReadyNAS Pro 4, which I’ll be running through its performance/usability paces. Here’s a quick roundup of the feature set, and what I’ll be testing out …

D-Link has announced a new and expanded VIP Partner Program to help drive value and increase incentives. The VIP (Value In Partnership) Program focuses on aggressive rebates, upfront discounts and all-important lead referrals. Read on for some highlights …

Life got a little easier last week for organizations looking for fully supported open source software solutions, with the announcement of a partnership between OpenLogic and MuleSoft to deliver the latter’s Tcat product (the server, not the bus system in upstate New York). Here are the details, and what they mean for the open source channel.

VMware has inked a deal with Singapore-based SingTel to launch SingTel’s PowerOn compute enterprise cloud. It’s based on VMware vCloud Datacenter Services and is being billed as a “hybrid” cloud. Read on for the details …

Research firm IDC has made some bold smartphone predictions for the next four years, including Windows Phone 7 domination over iOS and rise to second-highest in market share behind Android. Sound crazy to you? It did to me. IDC’s projections are based entirely on the fact that Microsoft has partnered with Nokia to ditch Symbian and make Windows Phone 7 the mobile OS of choice. But four years is a long time, and IDC’s predictions can be described as hazy at best. Here’s where I think the mobile arena is headed …

The VAR Guy doesn’t just write blogs, he also reads them. And according to Microsoft’s Windows Blog, the company has released the community technology preview (CTP) for Windows Thin PC, its foray into the virtualization space. What implications could this have for the channel? Read on for a few thoughts:

Mere weeks after Intel’s February 2011 release of pro-sumer/professional 510 SATA III SSD drives comes the company’s introduction of the technology into the midmarket with its new SSD 320 series SATA II drives. What’s the scoop on these non-moving drives and how do they fit into the channel? Read on for the quick details …

Are you a top VAR profiting from cloud computing? Prove it — and potentially earn free publicity across our Web sites. Complete the Talkin’ Cloud 50 global survey. Deadline for participation is this Thursday, March 31. Here are the details.

The VAR Guy’s sister site, MSPmentor, is hosting its next Webcast is this Wednesday. Two MSPs — each with more than 10 years of recurring revenue experience — will join us. Register now and pose your questions. Here are the details…

To get in CIOs’ pockets, it’s important to get inside their heads. And trust me, CIOs have a lot on their minds in 2011. By understanding what they’re thinking, channel partners can turn CIO challenges into attractive opportunities. Earlier this year, InformationWeek listed the Top 10 CIO Issues for 2011. Here are a few of the key points, and the opportunities for channel partners.

Call it a long-distance boxing match. Hewlett-Packard has attacked Cisco’s networking business multiple times this week during the HP Americas Partner Conference in Las Vegas. But Cisco is counter-punching, posting some switching market share claims on the Cisco Channels Blog. Here’s a closer look at the networking industry’s ultimate grudge match.

Hewlett-Packard Executive VP Ann Livermore and peer HP executives shared their enterprise and cloud partner vision this morning at the HP Americas Partner Conference in Las Vegas. Listen closely and HP is attempting to crank up the competitive pressure vs. Oracle and Cisco Systems. In Fact, HP claims to have recruited the top 25 channel partners from IBM, Cisco and Sun in the past year. Here’s the update.

The VAR Guy has been seeing the technology sector ‘go green’ for the better part of 10 years. HP certainly has done more than its share of green initiatives, but that’s not stopping the company from resting on its laurels. Now, HP is moving forward with a bevy of new products, services and HP Labs research to help customers (and likely the channel) reduce their energy usage. Read on for The VAR Guy’s quick details on the earth-hugging initiative …

Lenovo is out to prove the PC is not dead through a barrage of new offerings for the business space. Its latest lineup includes the ThinkStation E30 and ThinkCentre M81, designed for business professionals who need fast performance without compromise. These new computers come outfitted with the second generation of Intel Core CPUs (i3, i5, i7), so read on and find out what they can offer Lenovo partners …

PacketMotion is boasting partner growth numbers of 250 percent in the last quarter in light of growing demand for user activity security solutions. Impressive numbers, for sure. So what is PacketMotion’s secret to success with its partners? Read on for a little channel perspective …

Talk about aggressive multitasking. First, HP CEO Leo Apotheker slammed Oracle. Then, Apotheker shifted his attention to cloud computing during the HP Americas Partner Conference today in Las Vegas. The “Everybody On” cloud vision was ambitious, including plans for an HP Cloud, an app marketplace and developer tools that will serve the consumer, SMB and enterprise markets. Here’s a recap.

Hewlett-Packard Channel Chief Stephen DiFranco is huddling this week with 1,000 channel partners. The location: HP Americas Partner Conference in Las Vegas. DiFranco is wrapping up a keynote address now. He says HP is busy “channelizing” recent acquisitions like 3Par. But ultimately his big pitch involved a simplified HP, and emerging opportunities like WebOS and mobility. Here’s a point-by-point recap.

Network monitoring and management is pretty much a must-have technology for the enterprise, especially for those companies that use VoIP and other bandwidth-intensive applications such as video. But for remote sites or branch offices that utilize less than 100Mb of bandwidth, on-site management applications are few and far between. Plus, those that do exist come with a hefty price tag, making the idea of on-site management for smaller offices pretty much a pipe dream.

We’ve had a lot of coverage lately of Centrify and Likewise, two big names in the channel for Unix-Active Directory integration. But we’ve yet to write much about Quest, another major player, though one with a somewhat different focus. Lest we be accused of favoritism — or, worse, of neglecting a big part of the picture — here are some of the highlights of Quest’s offerings in the AD market.

If there’s one thing that really gets The VAR Guy’s juices flowing, its a good rumor.  This one is worth mulling over: Apparently, Apple is revamping its mobile operating system in iOS 5 to focus heavily on the cloud. If that’s the case, such a move could have implications for the channel. Read on for a little speculative perspective …