The VAR Guy

The VAR Guy knows big UC companies aren’t the only video players in town, and he knows interoperability is key to success in the videoconferencing/collaboration space. LifeSize is one of the vendors that understand that, and is now offering a solution that allows customers using Microsoft Office Communication Server 2007 R2 to integrate with LifeSize collaboration offerings. Read on for The VAR Guy’s HD-quality channel perspective …

Bravo, Microsoft. You hit the jackpot with Bing on the iPad. The search engine shows us this is what you were always supposed to do: solid software. The big guys up at Redmond must have some Macs sequestered away somewhere, because they’re doing a great job developing for the iOS platform. What’s so great about Bing on the iPad vs. any other search-related app? Read on for the details …

Forgive the headline. The VAR Guy isn’t suggesting Cisco Systems is doomed. At $40 billion, Cisco remains a networking giant. But these days, even CEO John Chambers (pictured at Cisco Partner Summit 2011) concedes that Cisco has “disappointed our investors and we have confused our employees.” So what’s really ailing Cisco Systems? The VAR Guy checked his time machine and found the answer in 2002, in 2007 and again in 2011. Here’s the nagging Cisco problem, which shows itself every few years.

All talk and no walk seems to be the issue Motorola is facing right now. Sales of its Xoom, which Motorola aggressively marketed as the first official Google Android Honeycomb tablet, is off to a rocky start. So far, estimates put the Xoom sales at only 100,000 sold. Compare that with the iPad 2, which is estimated to have already sold millions. Read on for a little perspective …

Storage, storage, storage. Seems like everywhere The VAR Guy looks there’s another storage offering hitting the market. The latest buzz on the platter-spinning scene is from Dot Hill, which is targeting the creative and educational market with its new AssuredSAN + ATTO 8Gb Fibre Channel HBA combination. Here’s the scoop:

Paragon Software has inked a deal with distributor Arbitech to proliferate Paragon’s data recovery and migration solutions for SMBs. The complete line of Paragon products will be open to Arbitech’s VARs and system integrators. Here’s a quick rundown on the new relationship …

Nearly a year after former OnForce CEO Jeff Leventhal founded WorkMarket.com, things are starting to pick up speed. The service, which pairs VARs with available temporary service personnel and manages the entire workforce soup to nuts, is gaining real traction among the resale community. While the offering, which Leventhal terms “the world’s first Labor Resource Platform,” still is invitation-only, it’s managed to fill out its customer and worker ranks at a steady pace. Read on for the details…

When it comes to spotting the next big channel opportunity, The VAR Guy keeps tabs on Hewlett-Packard VP of Channel Strategy and SMB Meaghan Kelly. Indeed, Kelly (pictured) is leveraging an HP Startup and VC Council to uncover new opportunities for HP and its SMB channel partners. Is the strategy working? Take a look…

Some of the IT channel’s top names are huddling up this week in Chicago for CompTIA AMM — an annual membership meeting for the Computing Technology Industry Association. No doubt, CompTIA — among the best-known associations serving VARs and MSPs — has undergone some dramatic changes under CEO Todd Thibodeaux (pictured). You might even say that we’re all looking at CompTIA 3.0. Here’s why.

There is a tremendous opportunity in healthcare technology for VARs and MSPs. With federal stimulus available to medical professionals implementing electronic medical records (EMR) and a wealth of technology and compliance consulting opportunities, solution providers that are equipped to offer these services are experiencing great success. Here’s how to get started.

ERP vendor Lawson is looking to find some channel mojo as it seeks partners in North America to help it sell into the food, fashion and distribution sectors.

Have an idea for a great Linux application that’s missing from the 30,000+ downloads in the Ubuntu repositories? Or just interested in learning some programming pointers? If you answered yes, the latest and greatest Ubuntu App Developer Week, which starts Monday, April 11, 2011, is for you. Keep reading for details…

KEMP Technologies is launching what it says is the first server load-balancing appliance specifically designed for Microsoft Exchange 2010. It comes preconfigured and ready to deploy. Read on …

Vyatta, which bills itself as the open source alternative to Cisco Systems, is gaining traction in the cloud as cloud service providers continue to adopt its downloadable x86-based network operating system to build their own cloud. We’ve covered Vyatta’s progress on The VAR Guy for a while now, with Vyatta obtaining IPv6 certification in August of 2010. Here’s the scoop on its latest news:

Ingram Micro is investing further in its Advanced Computing Division (ACD), adding HP’s BladeSystem Matrix to its demo center in chilly Buffalo, N.Y. While The VAR Guy is not a fan of visiting any place where his nose hairs freeze the second he steps outside, the addition of the BladeSystem Matrix may be worth the extra layer of clothing he’d have to don to make the visit. So what’s so special about this technology? Read on for the details …

When it comes to disk space, you can never have too much, and there’s no such thing as too fast when accessing data. That’s why Dataram has launched an update to its flagship XcelaSAN with double the cache memory per each high-availability appliance. That translates to faster applications and faster productivity. If you’re a storage VAR, or someone who gets excited about Fibre Channel SAN environments, read on for the details …

MSPmentor, The VAR Guy’s sister site, will host its next webcast on Wednesday, April 13. The topic: Maximizing Partnerships to Build a Better Business. We’ll explore how MSPs are working with one another, peer groups and associations to unlock new revenue opportunities. We’ll answer attendee questions throughout the webcast. Here’s a look at our guest speakers and some more background on the event…

Technology reseller CDW has released the result of a survey showing some large growth numbers for unified communication implementations. The VAR Guy has been keeping watch over the trending topic of unified communications for a while now, but CDW’s results show there’s more room for growth than The VAR Guy anticipated. Read on for the details and The VAR Guy’s channel perspective …

There’s no doubt storage is a constantly growing marketplace. With a Netgear ReadyNAS en route to me for testing, I’ve had NAS on the brain. And so does Avere Systems, which, just after launching an update to its storage OS, has launched new FXT Scale-Out NAS appliances with upgraded hardware platforms. The FXT 2550 and 2750 promise to bring big beefy system upgrades for “next-generation” NAS experiences. If you’re a storage VAR, read on …

Tech Data and Brightstar are joining forces to create a comprehensive mobile device and service activation for VARs. Incorporating Brightstar’s wireless mobility prowess and Tech Data’s relationship with the channel, the two companies have created ActivateIT, a joint venture designed to equip partners with the tools and expertise necessary to take on the growing mobility market. Read on for the details …

Mention the word “mesh” in tandem with the term “outdoor network” and chances are you’re bound to be met with a grimace or two from seasoned IT professionals who spent way too much time trying to optimize a traditional campus-wide mesh network. The technology, after all, is inherently flawed – each hop on a mesh network reduced output so significantly that the user experience was severely impacted (at which point the user would give up and go find a Starbucks for a decent wireless connection).

ERP software vendor Lawson has announced a new healthcare-focused analytics tool and a slew of new offerings aimed at making BI easier on the brain during its annual user confab.

The VAR Guy couldn’t help but notice concerns swirling around F5 Networks. No need to press the panic button, but some Wall Street watchers think F5′s channel sales were a bit slower than anticipated in March. The chatter popped up on the Barron’s Tech Trader Daily blog. Here are the details and the speculation.