The VAR Guy

Distribution company SYNNEX has inked a deal with Kerio Technologies to help proliferate Kerio’s security, voice and collaboration solutions into the marketplace in the United States. Read on for the quick details on what exactly Kerio’s solutions can provide for VARs and system integrators…

Cloud storage backup and disaster recovery provider Asigra is turning heads in the service provider space, not only for its technology – which works with an impressive list of cloud service providers – but also for the robustness of its offerings and its MSP-friendly stance.

Working from home has many benefits – spending less time and money on commuting, taking meetings while wearing fuzzy slippers, being able to do housework and work-work simultaneously – but sometimes the experience can be less than seamless. VPNs and remote desktop managers can augment a work-at-home employee’s access to corporate data, but they are hardly the same as being connected directly to the corporate network.

Ah, at last. The caffeine is kicking in. The VAR Guy is awaking from a deep sleep, and he’s finally prepared to start blogging this week. But before he does here are six channel partner blogs The VAR Guy didn’t have a chance to write for the week ending March 18, 2011.

Generally speaking, Cisco Systems isn’t a name that’s synonymous with consumer products. Even dedicated Flip users might not know that the video camera comes from the big, ubiquitous networking company. Nevertheless, Cisco has a growing portfolio of consumer products — including Flip, Umi TelePresence, and the LinkSys/Valet line home networking solutions. But Morningstar, the investment research firm, recently called on Cisco to exit certain consumer electronics niches in order to refocus on the enterprise market. Should Cisco heed Morningstar’s advice?

The VAR Guy  has been seeing more action in the PC space as vendors begin to see tablets and other mobile devices as a threat to their customer base. Laptops are becoming thinner, faster and more feature-laden, while their prices are seemingly dropping like a stone. The latest vendor to join the race is Dell with its newest line of ultraportable laptops aimed at the business market. Here are the quick details on the new machines …

We love gadgets, but we can’t always have them when we want them. Thanks to big box stores, though, we can at least play with them and pretend we own them. I got my hands on an iPad 2 for about 30 seconds and here are some quick impressions about Apple’s currently sold-out device …

The VAR Guy caught up on some sleep this weekend. Now, our resident blogger wants to help you catch up on all the news (and gossip…) from across the IT channel this past week. So what was on his reading list? Here are the 15 most read blogs from across our sites (The VAR Guy, TalkinCloud and MSPmentor) for the week ending March 18, 2011. Take a look…

I consider myself lucky – I love my job. I manage the team that shapes the future of Lenovo’s ThinkPad commercial laptops, and we’re bringing several new innovations to our upcoming 2011 line. We’re focusing on small details that collectively add up and really do make a big difference. We conducted what we call “voice of the customer engagements,” where we speak to, and more importantly, listen to, customers and potential customers. Their feedback went directly into requirements that have resulted in new innovations and improvements.

In February 2011, we offered up details on Symantec Endpoint Protection 12, which protects virtual environments. Now, Symantec has added NetBackup 7 to its list of virtualization-ready protection solutions. Read on for the quick details regarding the software enhancements …

If you’re an iPad-savvy, VMware-using MSP or IT admin, there’s some good news coming around the corner. MacWorld is reporting that the VMware vCenter Management Client for iPad has been sent off for approval to the Apple App Store Gods. Should it be approved, there will be two iPad-specific VMware apps hitting the scene in 2011. Read on for the implications and some details …

Got some old gadgets and gizmos you’re not using anymore? I’m sure everyone in the IT channel has a few. Maybe you’ve considered putting them up for sale on eBay or Craigslist, but you haven’t found the time or wanted to put in the effort. Thanks to Gazelle, you don’t have to. The company will buy your stuff from you. I recently sold my first-generation iPad to the company to get some cash for the iPad 2. Read on for details about my experience and how much I ended up getting …

Few things are more important to ISVs than making sure their software is locked down and protected from piracy. It is, after all, their bread and butter. But what about hacked software, illegal downloads and exploited product keys? The VAR Guy has found an interesting solution in the form of V.i. Labs. Inject the company’s code into your software and suddenly you can track whether your software product is being pirated. What’s more, the company aims to turn piracy into lead generation. Read on for the details …

The Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC 2011) doesn’t start until July 11 in Los Angeles, but the software giant is already putting some key pieces in place to bolster Microsoft Partner Network channel communications. A prime example: Microsoft Channel Chief Jon Roskill‘s team now includes Senior Communications Manager Adam Carroll, who previously helped Microsoft to build its SQL Server and SharePoint businesses in the U.S. and Europe. So, what’s on Carroll’s agenda for channel partners? Here are some quick clues…

Sixnet specializes in machine-to-machine connectivity with rugged enterprise-class networking appliances. Now the company is launching an industrial cellular router product line dubbed IndustrialPro Plus. I spoke to Mahesh Patel, director of Wireless Technology, regarding the release and what VARs and MSPs should know about the new solution …

Intermec, which specializes in rugged mobility solutions, has scooped up Enterprise Mobile, provider of lifecycle services for mobile devices. Seems like a perfect match, right? Apparently, Enterprise Mobile’s services address a number of needed key areas for mobility initiatives. Read on for the details …

Not too long ago, we detailed AMD’s plans for its new Advanced Processing Unit, or APU. We saw it as a counter to Intel’s mobile platform. Now AMD is boasting that its APU is gaining ground and being used in leading ODMs’ (original device manufacturers) designs for high-definition systems. What does that mean for the channel? Check it out …

Amid the horrifying news of the devastation wrought by the recent earthquake and subsequent tsunami in northern Japan, The VAR Guy has been touched by one story in particular. Kevin Rose, founder of Digg.com,  posted on his blog e-mails from an Apple Store Japan employee who explained how Apple stores became bastions of communication and safe havens during the aftermath of the disaster.

The VAR Guy finally found some time to update his ultimate calendar of channel partner events for 2011. The massive list includes channel partner summits, conferences and expos specifically designed for VARs, MSPs, resellers, solutions providers, IT service providers, cloud integrators and cloud service providers. (Um, does that cover just about everybody?).

A few weeks ago, Channel Chief Judson Althoff (pictured) predicted Oracle’s Exadata and Exalogic platforms would emerge as the cloud platforms of the future. Fast forward to the present, and 32 distribution partners say Exadata database appliance sales are “building at a phenomenal rate,” according to a research note from Piper Jaffray. Here’s the update.

What a difference a year makes. At the 2010 HP Americas Partner Conference (APC), then-CEO Mark Hurd spoke mostly about product sales: More server, PC and printer shipments every second through the channel. Fast forward to this year’s HP APC (March 28-30, Las Vegas), and current CEO Leo Apotheker (pictured) will surely deliver a strong cloud computing message to channel partners. But that’s not all. Apotheker is sizing up potential software acquisitions. If HP is serious about succeeding in the cloud, then Apotheker should take a close look at Red Hat for possible acquisition, The VAR Guy believes. Here’s why.

The healthcare press continues to buzz about HIMSS11—the recent Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society conference. Organizers say it was a record-breaker, with more than 31,000 making their way to the Orlando, Fla., convention facility and 1,042 exhibitors showing their stuff. The HIMSS event has always been a big deal for the IT industry, but this year’s conference drove home two key learnings for me: the expanding opportunities in the healthcare vertical for solution providers and the need for specialization to ensure success.

Communications resellers serving the midsize enterprise space now have another arrow in their quiver of UC solutions, thanks to Avaya.