The VAR Guy

Data centers are popping up across the country as a never-ending stream of new Internet applications strain the nation’s information storage capabilities. Worldwide demand for data centers is expected to rise 12 percent just this year, and 17 percent in 2012, according to Tieri Research. How can VARs grab their share of the data center opportunity? Here are some suggestions.

Novell’s latest quarterly financial results, revealed today, were a mixed bag for the SUSE Linux provider. Novell made progress in some areas. But didn’t really thrive in others. Where does the company go from here. The answers will likely surface at the Novell BrainShare 2010 conference (March 21-25, Utah), where Novell will strive to energize channel partners and customers? In the meantime, here’s a look at Novell’s current business condition … through the eyes of The VAR Guy.

Hewlett-Packard’s latest quarterly results, announced today, beat Wall Street’s expectations and CEO Mark Hurd is raising earnings guidance for 2010. HP sounds downright bullish. Will Michael Dell be equally bullish when Dell announces earnings on Feb. 18? Here are some clues, some of which involve Dell’s PartnerDirect partner program.

Call it a rare triple play in the open source server market. Lenovo, Red Hat and Tech Data are partnering to give resellers discounts on select Lenovo ThinkServers with Red Hat Enterprise Linux or Red Hat Enterprise Linux Advanced. Here are the details — and the implications for open source solutions providers.

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.

Talk about a change of heart. As we look at the MSPmentor 100 survey results, we’ve discovered an interesting trend: Many of today’s top performing managed services providers are finding revenue from an unlikely source. Customers that previously said no to sales pitches in 2008 are now signing up for ongoing services. Want more sales and business tips from The VAR Guy’s sister site, MSPmentor? Then join the next MSPmentor live webcast. Here’s what we’ll cover.

We are all familiar with 3rd party maintenance — and the premise that VARs can make additional residual revenue; however if we pay close attention to the ‘fine print’ in the programs and contracts, what really happens to the residual revenue and who really owns the customer? Are there options? What can VARs do to protect their revenue and customer investment? If a customer elects a service alternative why is it called 3rd party? I just raised plenty of questions. Now, some answers.

In this economy, SMBs are holding tight to old equipment. But there’s a potential silver lining for VARs: Cashing in on maintenance contracts. But how can you track scores of contracts across your customer base? That’s where Managed Maintenance, Inc. (MMI) — maker of the OneView SaaS portal — hopes to help. Here’s the scoop.

Representatives from Accel Partners, a leading venture capital firm, visited the SMB Nation trade show in recent days, according to multiple sources who attended the Las Vegas conference. What attracted Accel to the conference? Glad you asked.

From August 27 through September 4, The VAR Guy will pay particularly close attention to Novell and Red Hat. That nine-day period will provide a healthy reality check for the Linux market — and it may also reveal how open source initiatives are shaping up across the IT channel. Here’s why.

As the auto industry cash for clunkers program falls to pieces, IT vendors continue to introduce their own special financing and trade-in programs to stimulate technology sales. Call it Cash for IT or Cash for Technology Clunkers. And now, Cymphonix and NetSuite are joining the party. Here’s the scoop.

You’re familiar with Uncle Sam’s Cash for Clunkers financial program for car buyers. The VAR Guy started to wonder: Will Cash for IT Clunker incentives emerge for channel partners? The answer: Sort of. The VAR Guy reached out to several vendors to see how they currently incent VARs to refresh customers’ hardware. Here’s what’s cooking at Cisco Systems and a range of other IT vendors.

In our latest podcast, Maryann Von Seggern, director of worldwide channels development for Cisco Capital, describes partner financing options from the networking giant.

 

 Podcast: Cisco Capital Financing Options for Channel Partners [8:20m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

It’s a classic three-course meal. First, Avaya recruited partners away from Nortel Networks’ enterprise unit. Now, Avaya is bidding on the Nortel enterprise unit for about $475 million. If the deal goes through, The VAR Guy suspects Avaya will gain an improved seat at Microsoft’s unified communications table.

If you’re striving to better understand hosted security solutions — recurring revenue models, sales strategies and technology considerations — then join me on July 15. That’s when we’ll host The VAR Guy: Live webcast. Here’s some quick information about the webcast.

Consolidation continues across the IT channel and the open source software market. The latest example involves Sparxent, a mid-market solutions provider, buying XAware, an open source data integration specialist. XAware is the second open source company to get gobbled up this week. And in both cases, venture capitalists seem to be consolidating their financial bets. Here’s the scoop.

I’m shocked. Oracle this morning announced plans to acquire Sun Microsystems for $7.4 billion. The deal reorganizes the software landscape for managed service providers and VARs. And it also raises questions about what Oracle will do with all of that Sun hardware.

Sometimes, investors have the right to attack Novell. But this time around, at least one financial analyst firm seems to be beating up on Novell for a rather foolish reason. Here’s the scoop, from The VAR Guy.

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.

I’ve been reading a range of coverage related to President Obama’s credit plan for small businesses, announced March 16. The Associated Press offered the following bullet points summarizing the plan — but I wonder: Will managed service providers (MSPs) and VARs benefit from the strategy?

Dell’s channel blog caught The VAR Guy’s eye this morning. In it, the company announced a zero percent, one year financing option for qualified EqualLogic partners working with qualified customers in the United States. Here’s how it works.

Next week will be a busy one for Oracle and its channel partners. The VAR Guy is under gag orders on some news. But here’s how you can get some info. Judson Althoff (pictured), group VP of worldwide alliances and channels, has blogged about Oracle’s upcoming North American Partner Expo, a virtual conference scheduled for March 19. Of keen interest to The VAR Guy: Apparently, the virtual event will offer some financial tips and business guidance to Oracle partners — particularly timely content in this economy.

CompTIA (the Computing Technology Industry Association) and its SoftwareCEO portal have issued a research report showing a substantial drop in high-tech mergers, acquisitions and IPOs. The stats didn’t surprise The VAR Guy. But the findings are a timely, interesting read nonetheless. When will the high-tech IPO market improve? The VAR Guy offers a guess — along with a look at three companies poised to test the IPO waters.