The VAR Guy

Cloud storage company Gluster has been making the rounds, ensuring GlusterFS hits all the important compatibility marks on the storage scene. This time, the company is teaming up with storage startup Savage IO to create a new scalable NAS storage. Details follow …

HTC announced it is considering buying a mobile OS to use in its mobile devices rather than working with the mobile OSes of other companies. One such OS is HP’s webOS, but is it the right choice for HTC? Here’s the scoop …

The fall season is almost upon us, and as the air gains a morning chill and trees start to shed their leaves, Intronis is gearing up for its annual Fall release — a major cloud storage upgrade designed for MSPs and VARs. Ted Roller, VP of channel development at Intronis, describes the strategy in a FastChat Video.

SoftLayer Technologies, a cloud and managed hosting provider, is promoting Microsoft WebMatrix as a tool to help partners and customers create and publish websites. The move shows how partners can use Microsoft-centric technologies to build and non-Microsoft applications hosted by SoftLayer.

Talk about a sign of the times — and a fork in the road. Microsoft is rallying Windows 8 developers at the BUILD conference in Anaheim, Calif. this week. Nearly 400 miles North, the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco focuses on data centers, PCs and the so-called Intel Ultrabook initiative. No doubt, Microsoft and Intel still work closely together. But their decision to host separate developer conferences in separate cities the very same week shows just how much the old Wintel relationship has evolved.

FOSS Force is a nifty blog that covers IT and the open source world. Christine Hall, managing editor of FOSS Force, openly wonders if The VAR Guy can remain anonymous, engaging and responsible now that Penton Media — a 1,300 person company — has acquired The VAR Guy and his parent, Nine Lives Media. Hall even suggests that Penton’s buyout of The VAR Guy won’t be good for FOSS. Ahem… The VAR Guy would like to reply.

I hope you’ll join us for our next two webcasts. First, we will show you how to deliver new customer value with the managed services tools you already have (Sept. 21, 2:00 p.m. eastern). Second, we’ll show you the five habits of highly profitable MSPs that mastered SaaS (Oct. 5, 2:00 p.m. eastern). Our Channel Expert Hour webcasts serve readers of The VAR Guy, MSPmentor and Talkin’ Cloud.

Social media has revolutionized the marketing world as we knew it before the turn of the century—before marketers threw a bunch of stuff at customers to see what would stick—and most of it was a one-way conversation. Putting your message out in the market is one thing, but having someone listen is another.  With social media, not only are people listening, but they are engaging, sharing and influencing a vast network of people around the globe. So how do you start? Here are some clues.

VARs serving the POS market may not see a plethora of customers deploying iOS devices, especially those that need a device rugged and equipped enough for everyday use. But Lowe’s Companies has faith in Apple, deploying 42,000 iPhones in its stores to enhance both employee productivity and customers satisfaction. Here’s some perspective on the POS market …

The Building Windows 8 Blog continues to grace us with Microsoft’s developmental updates. The latest: boot times. Specifically, the Windows 8 team has drawn out exactly how it’s making Windows 8 boot up faster than any version of Windows before it. Why is this important? The VAR Guy believes it’s for tablets, of course. Read on for the details …

Symantec is leveraging its VeriSign acquisition with a new enterprise-focused technology for centrally managing SSL certificates in the workplace. I spoke to Amar Doshi, Symantec’s senior manager of product management about the announcement and channel implications. Here’s the scoop …

Are you an app developer with an “itch to scratch,” or an independent programmer eager for more exposure to the open source channel? If so, the Canonical team is building a site just for you, to help you integrate your work into Ubuntu. Here’s a look at what the company has done so far.

The latest buzz before Microsoft’s BUILD developer conference (Sept. 13-16, 2011) is that Samsung and Microsoft may actually team up to build a Windows 8 tablet, unveil it at the event, and then give it away to all attendees at the conference. Sounds exciting, especially for die-hard Windows users. But The VAR Guy is cautiously optimistic. Here’s why …

Ice Cream Sandwich, the version of Android purported to be the one code to rule them, will unite Honeycomb and Gingerbread in a sweet mixture of open source goodness. But when will it arrive? According to Eric Schmidt, Google’s executive chairman, we can expect it sometime late this fall. But what does that mean for the Android ecosystem? Here’s some speculation on what we’ll see when the dessert comes to the table …

If you’ve been thinking to yourself, “Self, I’d really love some more compliance and security features with WhatsUp Log Management,” today would be your lucky day. Version 10 of WhatsUp Log Management has arrived, with features specifically targeting the growing needs of all businesses. Read on for details …

The Building Windows 8 blog just keeps on getting more and more juicy. Its latest morsel is Microsoft plans to support Hyper-V in the client builds of Windows 8. Why is Microsoft bringing streamlined virtualization to the masses? Well, read on and find out …

And so it begins. After a bleak summer that included 6,500 job cuts, Cisco Systems (CSCO) is working hard to raise its voice and rally partners. Channel Chief Edison Peres has issued a video blog to crystallize the company’s partner strategy. Andrew Sage, Cisco’s VP, Partner Led, is set to provide strategy updates soon. And CEO John Chambers (pictured) recently rallied the Cisco sales force to further support partners. All of the chatter includes Cisco executives talking about the “Next Cisco.” But has the Next Cisco really arrived?

Yes, there’s a lot of fear, uncertainty and doubt regarding the fate of HP’s PSG division, but all is not doom and gloom within the halls of HP. I spoke to HP’s Jeff Groudan, director of worldwide thin client product marketing for HP’s Desktop Solutions Organization, who gave the lowdown on the future of HP’s thin clients, the channel and some hints on the future of PSG. In fact, HP partners might actually have something to look forward to amid a spinoff …

Certes Networks is looking to increase its momentum through a compelling offering. For $1,000, Certes is offering its Network Encryption Starter Kit, specifically designed for “tunnel-less multilayer encryption” without a hefty price tag. Does this have channel implications? You bet. Here’s the scoop …

Hitachi Data Systems continues to garner ink, such as coverage of its revamp of the HDS TrueNorth partner program. Now the company is making ripples across the storage industry with its acquisition of BlueArc. Read on for the acquisition details and channel perspective …

With all the buzz over the past few months about Sophos acquiring Astaro, you might have forgotten that Astaro continues to develop and expand its portfolio. The latest release is an advanced version of the Astaro RED (Remote Ethernet Device), designed to simplify branch office management and connections. Full feature list follows …

The VAR Guy just took a look at his travel schedule for October 2011. Simply put: It could be the busiest month ever for channel partners that plan to attend VAR- and MSP-centric conferences. Skeptical? Take a look at this packed schedule of October 2011 events, many of which The VAR Guy and his editorial team plan to attend…

Linda Zecher, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of Worldwide Public Sector, has departed the Redmond giant to become the new CEO at education and learning company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. While The VAR Guy gets the general sense that Zecher’s departure from Microsoft was on better terms than enterprise chief Simon Witts‘, it still raises the question, What the heck is going on at Microsoft?