The VAR Guy

The VAR Guy stumbled upon a comScore report that tallied the numbers of mobile devices in the United States and a surprising figure emerged: iOS devices are beating out Android devices by nearly 59 percent. The VAR Guy finds this report much more tantalizing than others of the same ilk, since this survey accounts for all iOS devices vs. all Android devices. Read on for some fun numbers and The VAR Guy perspective …

In an effort to expand its channel presence, storage company Dot Hill has teamed up with Condre Storage, an IT distributor with a focus on enterprise data storage solutions. What does this mean for Dot Hill partners? Read on for the quick distribution details …

Syncsort, which specializes in data integration and protection solutions, has joined forces with Avnet Technology solutions to go deep on distribution. Though a new expanded agreement, Avnet will distribute the NetApp Syncsort Integrated Backup solution into the EMEA region. Read on for some more details …

Riverbed Technology, known for its WAN optimization solutions including its Steelhead appliance, has made specific optimizations to support Citrix XenDesktop virtual desktop solutions. If WAN performance issues in virtual desktop deployments have been a problem in your network, Riverbed may have the solution. Read on for the product details.

Riverbed Technology announced better-than-expected earnings and profit for its first quarter as demand for its technology surged in the United States and abroad.

Juniper Networks is working to increase its margins as it posted a first-quarter 2011 revenue increase of 21 percent over last year but a decrease of 7 percent from the previous quarter.

Adobe Systems has a long and well-established reputation as a premier provider of creativity software. But what type of creative moves does Adobe have planned for the channel? The VAR Guy tracked down a few answers…

I just returned from a trip to the Scottish Highlands in search of the Loch Ness Monster and the Bonnie Prince. While I’m sad to report that both remain elusive, I did spot Ubuntu in use by a small business where I least expected it. Here are the details.

Since introducing its Borderless Networks strategy roughly 18 months ago, Cisco Systems has been rolling out additional and updated features to further the company’s vision of offering an “anyone, anywhere, on any device at any time” experience for end users. Its latest round includes intelligence to assign security policies to individual devices and manage both their networks and their network services simultaneously. Read on for the details.

PacketMotion is launching PacketSentry Virtual Probe, a tool that allows security monitoring of sensitive data in virtual and cloud environments. PacketMotion claims Virtual Probe’s low resource requirements and easy setup make it an efficient tool in auditing virtual hosts. Read on for the details …

Mitel is shaking up the unified communications space again, this time with a new offering for Android devices. It’s billed as a “bring your own device” solution that can allow Android users to access all of Mitel’s UC applications on their phones. Read on for the details …

Dell is pushing into some interesting territory with a recent promotion of the “phone company in a box” solution by netTALK DUO. It’s available now on Dell.com, and carries with it some implications for VARs not just as resellers, but also as users themselves. Everyone’s phone bill could use a little trimming, so read on for the details …

“I just didn’t believe I was like everybody else. I thought I was unique.” I’m not going to attempt to address the current state of all things Charlie Sheen but the guy is on to something when it comes to standing out. While our Oracle Specialized partners may not have tiger blood they do have the skills and credentials to stand out in a crowd. We called the paparazzi to help us capture and highlight the great work our partners were doing – turns out there’s some royal wedding and they’re booked through the end of the month.  Never Fear – the Oracle PartnerNetwork Specialized Premier Page is here.

DLT Solutions, a government VAR, is reaping the latest round of benefits from its long-term relationship with Autodesk: a $26 million contract to provide computer-aided design software to the Air Force. Here’s the update.

The VAR Guy was intrigued about a tidbit that made rounds during the weekend. Apparently, Apple has scooped up Microsoft data center expert Kevin Timmons. What’s the reason? What is Apple planning? The VAR Guy has a few ideas …

The POS space is rife with numerous solutions for credit card transactions. But sometimes the associated merchant fees can make credit card transactions more costly than they’re worth. Luckily, there’s Square, which has developed a simple iOS (or Android) device that accepts credit card payments easily without associated merchant fees. The device is priced at $10 (or essentially free, since customers get a $10 bonus for signing up after buying the device). Read on for the details and see if Square is the right tool for you.

The VAR Guy spent portions of this week working through some programming issues. He’d like to say thanks to the Fanatical support folks who assisted with some key insights. Faced with distractions, here are six channel partner program blog entries The VAR Guy didn’t have a chance to write for the week ending April 15, 2011.

The VAR Guy spent most of this week at Ingram Micro, Juniper and Synnex partner conferences. Now, our resident blogger is home trying to catch up on the channel news. So what is 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 April 15, 2011. Take a look…

The VAR Guy and his sister sites — TalkinCloud and MSPmentor — have been closely monitoring distributor cloud strategies. Can the classic pick, pack and ship giants — folks like Arrow, Avnet, Ingram Micro, Synnex and Tech Data — somehow cash in on cloud computing? Really? The VAR Guy has some updated thoughts to share.

Check Point Software, which specializes in security appliances and software, announced positive earnings for Q1 2011 with a record year-over-year growth. Read on for the financial breakdown …

I’m sure there are a few of you trying to justify buying an iPad for work. Luckily, there are plenty of business apps available that make the iPad downright useful in the corporate setting. DropDAV is one of those tools that make my iPad more work-friendly, and it links with Dropbox. If you’re a busy VAR or MSP looking for an easy way to get those Pages, Keynote or Numbers files onto your computer without having to use iTunes, read on.

For VARs working the virtualization space, the list of solutions grows ever longer. The latest comes from a partnership between Quest Software and MokaFive to deliver a local VDI solution. The idea of repurposing older machines for VDI duty isn’t new, but their angle is. Quest and MokaFive are calling this a BYOC (bring your own computer) solution, including Macs, iPads and even Android devices. The two companies also have an interesting plan to increase adoption while beating out rivals. Read on for the details …

The VAR Guy does a lot of traveling, so his familiarity with mobile devices is a must. Equally important is traveling light, which is why The VAR Guy is intrigued by the prospect of near-field communication (NFC). You may know it more colloquially as “e-wallet” technology. Juniper Research (not to be confused with Juniper Networks) recently published a report noting that NFC will be in 1 in 5 smart phones by 2014. Does this mean The VAR Guy will be able to consolidate his wallet with his iPhone soon? Here’s what the forecast looks like …