The VAR Guy

There are two big names when it comes to Active Directory integration: Centrify and Likewise. Both provide similar solutions and target a largely identical piece of the same channel. So what sets them apart? I recently asked representatives of each of these companies that question. Here’s what they had to say:

Here’s a little stat that has carries a lot of weight: 70 percent of iPad 2 users are new, meaning they didn’t own an original iPad. That’s a staggering figure for the post-PC world, especially when you consider that the 70 percent represents not only a huge new base of iPad customers, but also a huge wave of adoption in general. There are implications here that reach into the post-PC world we’ve been so fond of talking about.

The VAR Guy was in attendance at the Intermedia Partner Summit 2011 to hear from partners and Intermedia alike on the future of hosted services. But a hosted service is only as good as the backbone it sits on. So, The VAR Guy got the dirt on just what Intermedia is packing under its hood. Read on for the details …

Avere Systems want to take the cloud and pin it down using its multivendor NAS services with enhanced functionality. The company has introduced global namespace (GNS) functionality across the entire FXT scale-out NAS appliance family, complete with the latest Avere operating system. Read on for the details …

At Intermedia’s 2011 Partner Summit, COO Jonathan McCormick (pictured, left), along with CMO Manlio Carrelli (right), laid out the groundwork for Intermedia‘s 2011 product strategy. The key takeaway: Intermedia, a leading provider of hosted Exchange, saw its channel business more than double in January 2011 vs. January 2010. Now Intermedia is partnering up to promote online backup, encryption and other services to channel partners. Here’s what VARs and MSPs can look forward to as the year rolls on…

Recognizing the inundation of employee-owned devices flooding corporate networks and the need to better manage such devices, Aruba Networks has developed a new wireless architecture that focuses on context-aware management of devices.

An interesting tidbit comes from mobile device management company Mformation. It turns out that CIOs aren’t thrilled about IT consumerization, specifically when it comes to employee-owned mobile devices. Results from the Mformation survey show that 67 percent of businesses are concerned about protecting their corporate data since the the WikiLeaks affair. But there’s a lot more happening on the mobile landscape that’s causing more security concerns …

There’s no doubt about it: We’re living in a post-PC world. And it may not be 100 percent post-PC yet, there’s a good chance that most of us can get our daily work done on devices other than a laptop or desktop computer. With that in mind, a trend is emerging among PC vendors trying to stay relevant by moving away from the Windows OS, and if that does indeed happen, there are some implications to consider. Read on …

After spending a few years as the upstart technology in the channel, unified communications finally seems to be coming into its own. The VAR Guy has always had high hopes for UC as a great add-on technology for communications- and convergence-focused solution providers, which is why his ears perked up over Alteva’s new Unified Communications Certification (UCC) program. Read on for the details …

Software-as-a-service providers know the importance of having a good hosting provider for their applications. Ditto for e-commerce providers – both groups know their hosting provider can literally make or break their company.

In early February, AlgoSec made a promise to be all about the channel. Now, the company is looking to fulfill that promise by enhancing its AlgoSec Suite 6.0, offering VARs and MSPs more in the way of management, security and automated operations. The VAR Guy is all for things that make life easier. Here are the details on the new offering …

In case you missed it, the iPad 2 was made available to the masses at 5 p.m. Eastern March 11th, 2011, and based on the number of people standing in line to get one, the latest version has generated as much buzz as its predecessor. So now that it’s available for general consumption, what should users know about the iPad 2, good, bad or ugly?

Looking to bring a greater breadth of offerings in the virtualization space, Virtual Computer and Lenovo are collaborating on an effort that will enable Virtual Computer to ship its NxTop client virutalization solution on select Lenovo computers. Here are the details …

The VAR Guy is gearing up for more technology conferences. On his radar are the Channel Partner Conference and Expo in Las Vegas and the Intermedia Partner Summit — heavy on cloud discussion — in New York. But before our resident blogger packs his bags for another road trip, here are six channel partner blog entries The VAR Guy didn’t write for the week ending March 11, 2011.

The VAR Guy is looking forward to a relaxing weekend. Heck, he may even take some time to catch up on all the news (and gossip…) from across the IT channel this week. So what’s 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 11, 2011. Take a look…

The advent of email and electronic communication changed the way both B2B and B2C businesses marketed.  Overtime, direct mail postcards and cold calling became a practice of the past while sending out mass emails and invitations to webinars was the new “it” way to reach your target audience.  Today these methods seem passé and are often ignored. While email marketing still has its place and can be effective if done properly, marketing methods have evolved along with technology.  Today, marketers can reach a more targeted audience through social media  But how can VARs who often have limited marketing resources make the most out of these new platforms?

Apple has released iOS version 4.3 to the public with a few much-needed tweaks, along with an iPhone Configuration Utility update that puts the version at 3.3. Here’s a incredibly quick rundown of what you’re missing out on if you haven’t updated your iPhone recently …

The VAR Guy can’t help but notice Lenovo’s and Intel’s combined effort in the education space. The two vendors have come out with the Classmate+ PC, an all-purpose laptop designed specifically for the K-8 space. It’s being hailed as rugged, affordable, ‘child-friendly’ and ‘complete,’ all positives for education-focused technology. So far, The VAR Guy is intrigued. Read on for the specs …

We’re no stranger to Skype here at Nine Lives Media Inc. If you take a look around at any of our sites, you’ll find plenty of Fast Chat videos conducted over Skype. So of course our collective ears perked up when we heard about Skype’s partnership with Citrix to deliver better business collaboration through both web and audio conferencing. Virtualization gurus working with video collaboration gurus? Sounds like a plan …

Microsoft is making itself more known in the desktop virtualization space. Its latest moves include two new updates to Microsoft’s App-V and MED-V that are now part of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Package and new thin client-related goodies. Read on for more information on Redmond’s virtualization offerings …

It’s often been said that there’s no such thing as too much information. But for a company whose data stream has become a river, dealing with the deluge can often feel as overwhelming as trying to drain the ocean with a teaspoon. And with more data being created every minute, it can be easy for a company to stop fighting the undertow.

Ever wonder why Ubuntu Desktop Edition is named such, despite the fact that it runs perfectly well on plenty of non-desktop hardware? I do, at least. Luckily, Canonical has promised to simplify things in the upcoming 11.04 release by amalgamating the different faces of Ubuntu into one flavor to rule them all. Here’s the how, plus the why.

It’s a move that may seem miles behind the curve, but VMware now is offering its VMware View for the iPad. You’re probably either thinking, “Wait, didn’t VMware already have that?” or, “Well, it’s about time!”  The iPad as a thin client is nothing new, but VMware has trailed somewhat in terms of providing its own technology to supplement it. So the question then is, Is VMware View for the iPad worth the wait?