The VAR Guy

I’ve had an affinity for netbooks since they entered public consciousness sometime in late 2008. Despite the limitations of my Dell Mini 9, I loved it dearly. Now that Atom CPUs are getting more powerful, drives are getting smaller, and components are maturing, ZaReason has decided to pack together a good chunk of that new hardware into its new Teo Pro Netbook, and the company was kind enough to send me a review unit. Here are some first impressions …

Huntsville, Ala.-based ADTRAN continues to be a powerhouse in a small corner of the United States. They company is now capitalizing on the success of its NetVanta UC platform by launching a new virtualized version of the platform. Read on for the details …

Lest anyone complain that the free-software world doesn’t offer enough choices, there are now two major open source office suites vying for the hearts and minds of choosy end users. But since both of these products — OpenOffice.org and LibreOffice — derive from the same codebase, what actually sets them apart? Here we take a look at a few features unique to LibreOffice.

The iPad 2 made its debut March 2, 2011, with the event featuring a surprise appearance by Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who received a standing ovation. Despite being on medical leave, Jobs looked healthy, and the event keynote offered a healthy dose of criticism to the tablet arena thus far. Here’s the scoop …

Palo Alto Networks is looking to move into your data center with its new GlobalProtect PA-5000 series. The offering also marks the fourth release of PAN-OS, making this the first time new hardware and software have been paired to provide enterprise-level capabilities for ‘next-generation’ firewalls. What does that all boil down to? Here’s the information, straight up …

Following the news of Intel’s consolidation of its partner program comes a move by AMD to simplify its own partner program, with a focus on embedded systems (again) — a similar focus to Intel’s move with EPDS 3.0. The VAR Guy loves competition, and the processor space certainly could use a little shaking up. So what does AMD have up its sleeve? Read on for the details …

BMC Software has picked Ingram Micro as its first authorized U.S. distribution partner. For the uninitiated, BMC Software develops server and workload automation software built for the cloud. Read on for the quick details …

Eager to push deeper into the SMB market, Cisco Systems has unveiled two unified communications solutions for the small and midsize business markets that cost about $100 to $165 per user, as well as a WebEx reseller program. Plus, the networking giant is offering three-year, zero percent financing in some areas. Will channel partners answer the call for help? And how does Cisco plan to compete against emerging hosted PBX solutions for the small business market? Cisco’s Andrew Sage (pictured), VP of worldwide Small Business Sales, and other Cisco experts share perspectives with The VAR Guy.

Siemens Enterprise Communications is making available its OpenScape unified communications platform and associated offerings as a cloud service, giving end users the full breadth and depth of the solution without having to invest in the necessary hardware. What’s more, the company plans to offer the cloud service only through its channel partners, in an effort to balance its percentage indirect vs. direct sales.

The big question: Can Cisco Systems — and Cisco partners — continue to command premium prices as rivals like Hewlett-Packard push hard into the networking market? Cisco CEO John Chambers says the conversation with customers isn’t about price. Instead, Chambers says even the most price-conscious customers — businesses like Wal-Mart — are willing to pay a premium for solutions that deliver true business value. Chambers covers that point — and more — in this FastChat Video.

The VAR Guy is always interested in hearing about ways vendors are helping their partners tap new market opportunities. The SMB space, in particular, is full of opportunities. HP is well-aware of the $57 billion market, and has launched its SMB Central portal to help partners feast on the bounty. Here are the details …

LSI Corp. has announced its second-generation MegaRAID SATA+SAS RAID controller cards based on the 6Gb/s technology. Featuring LSI’s dual-core 6Gb/s RAID-on-chip, these new controllers promise to bring the highest level of RAID performance you can currently buy. What’s the real deal? I spoke to Suresh Panikar, senior manager, worldwide channel marketing at LSI, and Scott Cleland, senior manager, channel product strategy at LSI for the details …

Nexsan is expanding its “flexible storage platform” with the new E-Series storage system. But it’s not for the enterprise, it’s being purpose-built for the midmarket. If enterprise-level features are needed for your midmarket business, read on …

Polycom is making news again, this time with an expanded partnership to deliver integrated business communication systems along with ShoreTel. ShoreTel, known for its “Brilliantly Simple” IP phone systems, plans on working with Polycom to help deliver Polycom’s UC Everywhere and help businesses invest in best-of-breed communication technologies. Here are the details …

At Cisco Partner Summit 2011, CEO John Chambers is sitting down now to meet with the press — and even anonymous bloggers like The VAR Guy slipped into the room. So what are the opportunities — and challenges — facing Cisco and its channel partners at this very moment? Here are perspectives from Chambers and Executive VP Rob Lloyd. Oh, and there was plenty of chatter about Cisco’s decision to recently announce a Chief Operating Officer reporting to Chambers. Here’s why.

Amid the consumer electronic buzz and excitement at Intel Solutions Summit 2011 in Las Vegas, The VAR Guy found a solid gold chip of channel news. Feb. 28, 2011, marked the first day of Intel’s new Technology Provider Program, which aims to consolidate the once separate Intel Channel Partners (system builders and integrators) and Intel Technology Providers (branded resellers) into one family, all under the moniker of Intel Technology Providers. The VAR Guy wonders, Is this a good idea for the channel? Read on for some perspective …

At Cisco Partner Summit 2011, Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers held a fireside chat with several thousand channel partners this morning. His key message: Cisco won’t compete with channel partners in the cloud and other areas as market shifts accelerate.  Also, Chambers said Hewlett-Packard is not taking share from Cisco in the switching market. “We will go [forward] together” with channel partners as the world shifts from “an information economy to a networked economy,” Chambers said. Here are the top highlights from the Cisco Partner Summit 2011 keynotes this morning.

Hewlett-Packard has come up with a new design in wireless access points that can handle more traffic than standard 802.11 technology – good news for networking VARs working with high wireless-traffic clients such as healthcare facilities and educational environments. Here’s the deal:

At the Intel Solutions Summit 2011, The VAR Guy got the low-down on the upcoming solutions from Intel’s Enterprise Platform and Services Division (EPSD) from none other than Lisa Graff, general manager of EPSD. Here are the details …

While The VAR Guy is galavanting around fabulous Las Vegas for Intel Solutions Summit 2011, us blogger plebeians are enjoying things from the sidelines. And some Intel news our resident blogger left to us is the company’s new lineup of solid state drives. Built to compliment the speed of Intel’s new Core processors, the SSD 510 series has some features worth looking at if you’re interested in increasing your productivity …

Not too long ago The VAR Guy speculated Apple had fallen out of love with its  authorized Apple retailers and channel partners and was looking to make some changes. Now, the company seems to be usurping them all together. It has secretly launched a new program called JointVenture, allegedly designed to offer help and expertise to small businesses. Here are the details …