The VAR Guy

Not too long ago we chatted about SpringSource. Now they’re back in the news again. SpringSource, a division of VMware and Java app evangelist, has unveiled a new site to help the Apache Tomcat community. Here’s the deal…

Our research shows half of e-commerce websites have known vulnerabilities, putting a website owner’s business reputation, customer data and revenue at risk. And according to a security watch-dog site, only 5% of these vulnerabilities are fixed. Translation: This spells o-p-p-o-r-t-u-n-i-t-y for solution providers like you to sell vulnerability assessment solutions and add on remediation services to the deal.

The waterfall method of development is as old as time itself.  For those unfamiliar, waterfall is a production process in which the development of a product takes place in sequential stages. It has served as a ubiquitous framework for production in various industries. Most notably, waterfall has been the go-to method for development teams in the software industry. In recent times however, time has caught up with the old waterfall process. This once popular software development process is losing substantial ground to more agile frameworks like Scrum. Where waterfall errors, Scrum thrives. Here’s why.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is serious software. But xTuple, an open source ERP specialist, is injecting some humor into the conversation while building a channel partner program. Here’s the scoop.

Reports are swirling that IBM is seeking to acquire Sun Microsystems for at least $6.5 billion. If a deal happens, what does that mean for the future of Solaris, SPARC, MySQL and other technologies that overlap with IBM’s core product portfolio? Will HP give Sun a call and offer a competitive bid? The VAR Guy offers four predictions about the potential IBM/Sun combo. Yes, Linux dominates the conversation.

Like a steady drumbeat, Oracle seems to be hitting the right tempo with its channel program in recent months. Instead of flooding The VAR Guy with pointless “news,” the database giant checks in every few weeks with another tidbit of info. The latest example: Nearly 40 value added distributors are now backing Oracle’s products. Hmmm. Isn’t Oracle a direct sales giant?

Former Tech Data Senior VP Bob O’Malley has his hands full trying to pull his current company — InFocus — out of a nosedive. The LCD projector maker, which has made a big channel push since O’Malley arrived in September 2007, is cutting 30% of its staff and has retained Thomas Weisel Partners for advice concerning unsolicited offers to buy the company.

From Best Buy to Wal-Mart, big companies use business intelligence (BI) software to drive new revenue and market opportunities. Now, those high-end market solutions seem to be pushing down — through the IT channel — into small and midsize businesses. Skeptical? Check out this anecdotal information from SAS Institute.

The VAR Guy is impressed with Tom Perry. As the head of IT for the Huntsville (Alabama) airport, Perry made a strategic decision. Instead of launching a paid WiFi service, he built a free WiFi network for travelers. Here’s why.

CA Inc. (formerly Computer Associates International) is in Las Vegas this week, hosting its CA World partner and customer conference. It’s an opportune time for The VAR Guy to ask: Can partners trust this latest iteration of CA — which includes a new managed services and SaaS (software as a service) push? The VAR Guy sure seems to think so. Here’s why.

Attention bargain bin shoppers: Software as a Service (SaaS) stocks have declined more than 50 percent from January through Nov. 14, 2008, reports MSPmentor — The VAR Guy’s sister site. Our resident blogger doesn’t make buy, sell or hold recommendations. But isn’t SaaS supposed to be the future of software???

Once again, financial analysts are a day late and a dollar short. Google’s stock has fallen sharply in 2008, and now Wall Street bulls are finally turning bearish on Google’s stock, according to Barron’s.

Dell has revamped its channel blog with more community features, including familiar Web 2.0 capabilities that allow you to see who else is logged into the site. Of course, The VAR Guy was pleased to see MSPmentor — his sister site — mentioned in a post about the managed services industry.

Symantec Endpoint Protection was supposed to be a game-changing security solution. Instead, some critics considered it a bloated memory hog. Still, The VAR Guy hears Symentec Endpoint Protection Maintenance Release 3 (MR3) addresses the performance issues that plagued some customers.

Ah, even when he’s 35,000 feet in the air, The VAR Guy can’t escape from Dell channel news. While using inflight WiFi service, our resident blogger spotted these two small but important pieces of Dell PartnerDirect channel news.

Ricoh Americas Corporation has addded a Ricoh Independent Solutions Vendor Program (RiSVP) to its existing Alliance Program. You can find details here.

Digital signage remains a hot opportunity for VARs and integrators. But most digital signage systems are passive networks that push content out to plasma and LCD screens. So, what’s next for digital signage? The VAR Guy found the answer in Australia.

Roughly seven weeks after Dell launched its PartnerDirect channel program in Australia, The VAR Guy has landed in the land down under. During his trip, our resident blogger interviewed Rob Makin,  director of channel strategy and acquisition for Dell Australia. Here’s the scoop.

The VAR guy enjoyed reading a recent blog entry from Sean Phelan, a former Dell Direct evangelist who is now helping the PC giant to build its partner network. Here are some quick thoughts from Phelan.

Sure, Voltage Security is gaining momentum with traditional channel partners. But take a closer look, and you’ll see that the company also has a SaaS (software as a service) strategy that’s starting to connect with partners.

Perhaps Zoho, the SaaS (software as a service) alternative to Google Apps, isn’t such a market underdog. Zoho now has 250 employees, expects to be profitable in 2009, and is embarking on an open source middleware strategy, The VAR Guy has learned. Our resident blogger spoke with Sridhar Vembu, CEO of Zoho parent AdventNet, for more details.

Dell Channel Chief Greg Davis says the company is exploring a range of new partner initiatives, including IT certifications for health care and federal government partners. Davis also says changes are coming to Dell’s deal registration system, which currently doesn’t accept engagements valued at under $50,000. For more, check out a podcast with Davis hosted by our sister site, MSPmentor.

Dell has launched a return policy for its certified partners. The VAR Guy is trying to think of something witty to say about the policy. But he’s a bit punchy from too much coffee and too little sleep. So, here’s more info about the return policy — direct from Dell’s channel blog.