Red Hat leads the Linux-driven server market — mostly because of Red Hat’s ability to work closely with Independent Software Vendors (ISVs). But two recent moves by Canonical and Novell, respectively, show promise on the Ubuntu and SUSE Linux ISV fronts. Here are the details.
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More than 2,600 partners will converge at this week’s VMware Partner Exchange conference in Las Vegas. Big channel names such as Arrow ECS and Ingram Micro will lend their names to the event. Multiple cloud and virtualization storylines will emerge. But The VAR Guy is zeroing in on one thread: VMware’s strategy for Zimbra, the recently acquired open source email platform.
Forgive The VAR Guy if he sounds a bit confused, but our resident blogger has been scratching his head recently while reading channel coverage involving Oracle and SAP — especially amid a surprise CEO change at SAP. Here’s some perspective.
The VAR Guy is keeping a close eye on Vartopia, some sort of multi-vendor deal registration web site. Vartopia’s founders appear set to disclose their plans sometime today at VMware Partner Exchange, a massive partner conference this week in Las Vegas. Here are the early details.
Cisco Systems recently disclosed plans to End of Life (EOL) and End of Service (EOS) over $9 billion worth of Cisco gear. That move actually creates new support opportunities for VARs and solutions providers. Here’s why.
Bell Microproducts has teamed with Force10 Networks to create a more robust ”portfolio of networking products.” Bell Microproducts, the value-added distributor, has mainly focused on storage and computing tech, while Force10 Networks has traditionally been involved with data center solutions and the enterprise marketplace. Here’s why you might want to pay attention.
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The VAR Guy is losing sleep, gaining weight, aging fast and always running out of time. But that’s okay… because site traffic continues to surge. Still, our resident blogger wishes he had more hours in the day to write even more blogs. In fact, here are six channel partner blog entries The VAR Guy didn’t have time to write for the week ending February 5, 2010.
7. Open Channel: Pentaho, the open source BI specialist, says its OEM partner program grew 146 percent in the second half of 2009. CEO Richard Daley recently told The VAR Guy he expects Pentaho to double bookings in 2010.
6. What Conflict?: When McAfee announced Security Quickstart Services for small and midsize customers, the company was smart to quote a channel partner in the press release. However, some observers think Quickstart is primarily a direct sales push into the SMB market. The Quickstart website sure looks like a direct sales pitch. The VAR Guy still needs to give McAfee equal time on the matter.
5. Why So Quiet?: The VAR Guy noted earlier this week that Unison Communications — a fledgling unified communications company — has been pretty darn quiet in recent months. One potential reason: Former CTO Igor Balk apparently moved on to a startup called PMP HQ.
4. The Bad and the Good: Investors weren’t impressed with NetSuite’s latest SaaS revenues. Perhaps SaaS and cloud aren’t living up to the hype? But NetSuite is quick to point to continued wins involving SAP customer defections.
3. Join the Party: XO Communications is now a supplier member to 1nService, an international community of advanced technology integrators. Also of note: An emerging relationship between 1nService and NeuronGlobal. The VAR Guy will explain why next week.
2. Friday’s Fatal Distraction: Scroll down to the bottom-right of this web page. No quarters required. A new fatal distraction will debut each Friday. Enjoy.
1. Check the Headline: If you know The VAR Guy, you know he doesn’t play by the rules. There is no #1 on this list, because it’s a top six list.
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Is Canonical serious about pushing Ubuntu into businesses? The company’s latest corporate move provides a clear answer. Indeed, Canonical has hired Matt Asay (pictured) — one of the open source industry’s best-known names — as its new chief operating officer. The move comes amid a CEO shift and several major product initiatives at Canonical. Here are some perspectives.
Heads up for VARs and partners working with SMBs: If you haven’t given ZyXel a look yet, you might want to read on. They’ve got some interesting UTM (unified threat management) solutions and some margin-increasing incentives if you work with them. Here are the details.
When it comes to SharePoint, there’s no middle ground: Folks are either profiting from the Microsoft platform, or competing fiercely with it. Microsoft sells at least $1 billion worth of SharePoint annually. And on Feb. 10, SharePoint customers and partners are going to converge on San Francisco for a major SharePoint conference. Here’s what to expect.
Just in time for 3DTV (no joke, Norton), Microsoft is set to launch a Digital Home competency for channel partners in May 2010, according to documentation on the company’s Web site. The Digital Home channel initiative is part of a broader Microsoft Partner Network competency overhaul. Here are the details.
Apple says their new iPhone update is going to be killer. Google’s Android Phone and OS proliferating is catching on like wild-fire. New rumors point to some groovy stuff for Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 7 experience. But the real story involves Steve Jobs’ preoccupation with Google. Here are the details.
More >Microsoft is looking pretty healthy for a ‘dead’ company. Sure, former Microsoft VP Dick Brass essentially buried the company in a New York Times Op-Ed piece today. But remember: Skeptics buried IBM in 1993 and Apple in 1996. Critics thought the HP-Compaq deal was forever doomed. And lots of folks thought Larry Ellison had lost his mind when Oracle started buying up big enterprise software companies. So, what’s the reality at Microsoft?
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