The VAR Guy

It’s been less than a month since VMware officially acquired Zimbra — the open source email platform — from Yahoo. But VMware isn’t standing still. Jim Morrisroe, VP and GM of VMware’s Zimbra division, says the company is preparing software appliances that combine virtualization with Zimbra. They should arrive by Q2 2010. Plus, VMware’s channel will soon promote Zimbra offerings. But that’s not all…

The VAR Guy suspects most CA employees — and most VARs — had never heard of Nimsoft before today. But CA’s $350 million buyout of Nimsoft represents a dramatic wake-up call for channel partners and big software companies (um, did somebody say Microsoft?) across the globe. Here’s why.

When CA acquired Nimsoft today for $350 million, it set the stage for some sweeping changes in the managed services market. But this is more than a technology story, folks. CA also gains a colorful executive — Nimsoft CEO Gary Read (pictured) — and a Nimsoft management team that thrives on social media and disrupting competitors. Here’s the scoop, as only The VAR Guy can spin it.

Microsoft Channel Chief Allison Watson, in a FastChat Video with The VAR Guy, explains how VARs and managed services providers can potentially profit from Microsoft’s cloud offerings. But that’s not all…

Oh the Tablet buzz never ends. As we all know Apple’s iPad won’t support Flash anytime soon, but the HP Tablet (or Slate) will support Flash, naturally, because it’s running Windows 7. HP and Adobe intend to capitalize on that fact. In fact, Adobe showcased Flash on the HP tablet with it running AIR applications as well, and that got people thinking…

If the RSA Security Conference wasn’t enough to convince you that cloud-based security products are ready for primetime, Panda Security, which bills itself as capital-T The Cloud Security company, announced that it’s experienced 122% growth in its software-as-a-service (SaaS) endpoint protection product line. Here’s the scoop.

With spring around the corner in North America, it seemed like the right time for SpringSource to ’spring’ into action make their big announcement. SpringSource is unleashing SpringSource Server Spring Edition as “the best place to build and run Spring applications.” There’s a free promotion involved. Plus, this is the first time SpringSource will be offered through the VMware channel. Here’s the skinny…

We knew Google had been making nice with software developers – and now we know why. The Google Apps Marketplace has just launched, giving ISVs a way to integrate their products with Google Apps and sell them to a huge-and-growing customer base. Intrigued?

ZyXEL Communications, the ‘complete solution’ guys we’ve been talking about for a while now, have another notch to put in their belt. They’ve joined the Panasonic Solution Developer Network (PSDN). The move signals networking and video surveillance further converging. Intrigued…?

Open source software companies continue to strengthen their channel partner programs. The latest example involves SugarCRM’s new Open+ Partner Program. But SugarCRM isn’t alone. The VAR Guy has a hunch that several open source partner program announcements will surface this week. Here are the details.

Wipro Technologies, the IT services arm of Indian megacorporation Wipro Limited, has announced says the company plans to actively promote Microsoft’s Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) — which includes Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and other SaaS applications. The news comes less than a week after Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said he was betting the company on the cloud. Here’s how Wipro plans to assist Microsoft with that bet.

Apparently, there’s more money to be made in hosted applications — which is why Rackspace Hosting’s hosted solutions division is relaunching their reseller program with higher margins and more products. Here’s the deal.

Wireless mobile giant Motorola has launched their PartnerEmpower Channel Program. Officially, the Motorola PartnerEmpower Program (PEP)  brings together all of Motorola Enterprise Mobility Solutions (EMS) partners “under a single channel program framework.” Here are additional perspectives from Motorola Channel Chief Janet Schijns (pictured).

Isilon Systems, which specializes in scalable storage, network-attached storage, archiving solutions and storage virtualization, is making some channel partner moves. I spoke with Leonard Iventosch, the channel VP who is building Isilon’s partner program. Here’s his strategy.

Networking solutions provider Westcon has announced the opening of their “virtual demonstration lab,” which lets resellers and their customers test F5 Networks-delivered hosted solutions in a virtualized network environment. Here’s the scoop.

In a speech to the student body University of Washington, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer elucidated the promises and perils of the cloud, shedding some light on Microsoft’s cloud strategy.  Gizmodo’s got the blow-by-blow – here’s a recap and our take.

What a difference a decade or two makes. Back in 1995, Bill Gates wrote the famed Internet Tidal Wave memo to help turn Microsoft toward the Web. Fast forward to the present, and current Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is trying to recapture some of that old memo magic, this time saying Microsoft is going “all in” with cloud computing. Translation: Ballmer in 2009 sounds a lot like Gates in 1995. But here’s the problem: The VAR Guy knows Bill Gates. And Steve Ballmer is no Bill Gates. Here’s why.

At the Intermedia Partner Summit, the hosted Exchange provider told dozens of MSPs and VARs that they can potentially generate more profits from hosted unified communications. Intermedia’s pitch sounds accurate. But a few attendees raised questions about  getting into the hosted Unified Communications market. Here’s why.

The VAR Guy is listening for clues about the hosted Exchange industry. Are VARs embracing hosted Exchange opportunities and how are those efforts going so far? Bob Leibholz, VP of sales and business development at Intermedia, provided some key reality checks during the Intermedia Partner Summit this morning in Silicon Valley. Here are some details.

Recently, I sat down and had a chat with Zyxel’s Shawn Roger, product marketing manager and Jake Sailana, marcomm manager. The pitch? Have you considered ZyXel for your healthcare needs? Here’s what they want you to know…

The biggest news out of the the third day of the RSA Security Conference in San Francisco: a gamut of computing industry leaders, including Google, Verizon, and CA, announced the formation of the Open Identity Exchange, a non-profit organization dedicated to building trust in online identity credentials. Here’s the scoop, along with the rest of the day 3 highlights.

Microsoft is getting ready to roll out Visual Studio 2010, the latest version of their pedigreed software development environment on April 12. If you’re a developer upgrading from an older version of Visual Studio, Microsoft has some good news for you. And if you’re looking into buying the professional edition at retail, there’s even better news — it’ll include 20 hours of Windows Azure. Interested?

Call it an ERP partner cat fight. While the SAP Partner Summit wraps up in Las Vegas, rival NetSuite has launched a new SaaS partner program. The new NetSuite SP100 Program offers VARs 100 percent of first-year subscription revenue. But there’s a twist. Here are the details.