The VAR Guy

When The VAR Guy last checked in with Merchant Warehouse in October 2010, the company was refocusing its channel partner program. Fast forward nine months and The VAR Guy notices something interesting: It looks like Bob Cellucci has succeeded Jay Chaudhry as VP of business development for partner channel. Here’s the details…

Microsoft‘s revenue cup continues to runneth over — despite continued concern about Windows sales. For its Q4 ended June 30, Microsoft delivered record revenue. But take a closer look and you’ll see strengths and weaknesses across Microsoft’s business — including a 1 percent dip in Windows sales, and no mention at all of tablet or smartphone momentum. Here’s what Microsoft said… plus a reality check from The VAR Guy on each point.

CompTIA is blaming a stalled economic recovery for a dip in IT spending. According to the organization’s Business Confidence Index, company investment in infrastructure and employment is at a standstill amid uneasiness about the direction the economy will take. Here’s a quick brief of the stats and figures …

Apple reported record-breaking results for its third quarter of 2011, showing the world it remains a force to be reckoned with in the IT space, thanks to ongoing love from the consumer space and a growing infatuation from the business market. Read on for the details and the perspective you can only get at The VAR Guy …

Sometimes, The VAR Guy’s views are just plain wrong. As Cisco Systems looks ahead to layoffs in August 2011, it’s time for The VAR Guy to look back at what went wrong at the networking giant. A case in point: The VAR Guy applauded — loudly — when Cisco acquired the Flip video camera in March 2009. And The VAR Guy cheered again in mid-2009, when Cisco prepared to hand out Flip cameras to all Cisco Partner Summit attendees. The strategy sounded so simple: Flip users would load the Internet up with more video, forcing enterprise customers to upgrade their bandwidth and network infrastructure. But in the end, The VAR Guy — heck, and John Chambers — overlooked some key challenges.

The VAR Guy recently reported that Google‘s revenues aren’t really gaining ground on Microsoft‘s annual revenues, based on nearly a decade of financial data. Now, our resident blogger is back with an update — this time looking at GOOG vs. MSFT annual net income since 2002. Here again, the results may surprise you.

The other shoe nearly dropped today at Cisco Systems Inc. The networking giant confirmed plans to eliminate 6,500 employees worldwide. The twist: The impacted employees won’t be informed until August. Among the expected cuts: 15 percent of VP-level and above employees. The VAR Guy is checking to determine if any channel VPs are exiting the company. In the meantime, here’s the blow-by-blow.

When Google announced big Q2 revenues yesterday, it reminded The VAR Guy of an old blog he wrote. Back in May 2008, The VAR Guy openly wondered if Google’s annual revenues would ever surpass Microsoft’s revenues. Fast forward to the present and it’s time to raise that question again: Are Google revenues catching up to Microsoft revenues? The VAR Guy has an answer and some analysis that will surprise most readers.

Strong product competition from Apple and Google have bruised BlackBerry company Research in Motion’s momentum in the mobility space, with the vendor reporting less-than-stellar Q1 2012 earnings. Can its new technologies such as the Bold Touch and the PlayBook tablet help RIM right the ship, and is there a silver lining somewhere in its cloudy forecast? The VAR Guy has a few ideas. Read on for speculation and a bit of insight …

Unified communications and networking vendor Avaya plans to go public once again, filing a $1 billion initial public offering proposal with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The VAR Guy has noticed a rash of technology companies hitting the market of late, and wonders if Avaya’s move will spur other privately held companies to take the stock market plunge (in a good way).

Lenovo and De Lage Landen — two Channel Finance 25 companies — continue to expand their financing programs for VARs and managed services providers. The latest example: The Lenovo Partner Credit program, in partnership with De Lage Landen, now offers U.S. resellers up to 60 days of interest-free credit. The program involves such distributors as D&H, Ingram Micro, Synnex and Tech Data. The bigger long-term question: Will Lenovo continue marching forward and perhaps even launch a hardware as a service (HaaS) effort for VARs and MSPs? Here are some early insights.

When it comes to running a small business, some VAR challenges never change. Chief among them: Finding potential financial partners that can assist with leasing, lines of credit, SMB financing, hardware as a service (HaaS) and other financial needs. Need help finding potential partners? Check out The VAR Guy’s Channel Finance 25, a new report that allows VARs and MSPs to quickly track down potential financial assistance across the channel.

Taiwan-based networking company D-Link posted its Q1 2011 results this past week, showing a slight dip year over year, but after adjustment and exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and the New Taiwan dollar, D-Link actually posted a slight gain. Read on for the breakdown …

The technology distribution sector is following the lead of many vendors, with Avnet and Ingram Micro showing mostly positive numbers for their previous quarters. Avnet, which announced its Q3 2011 earnings, showed strong growth across the board, while Ingram Micro took a net income dip but still posted decent Q1 2011 figures.

Networking company Netgear and application delivery company Radware both announced a successful Q1 2011, attributing their positive earnings to new and first-to-market products that are propelling their growth in the marketplace.

Technology distributor Arrow Electronics and virtualization stalwart Citrix both posted positive numbers for first quarter 2011, representing an ongoing trend of growth and financial gains in the tech sector. Read on for the details and the effect on the Wall Street milieu …

AMD has released its Q1 financial results, showing the processor space is still very much alive and kicking, thanks to continued demand for mobile devices and the success of AMD’s APUs. Read on for the financial details …

Apple posted record-breaking Q2 results, which really isn’t that surprising. What it actually sold — and how much — is cause for pause, however. If you’re interested in just how well Apple is doing, read on for some perspective that could shape the way you approach the channel and the entire consumerization-of-IT phenomena.

Three technology stalwarts reported strong quarterly earnings, furthering the notion that the tech sector is healthy despite a still-anemic economy. Apple Computer, EMC and F5 Networks – all of which represent a separate corner of IT – each posted double-digit revenues and earnings, thanks in part to end users opening their wallets and investing in new technologies.

The titans of the tech industry are turning profits. Intel and IBM are off to a great 2011, with Q1 earnings bolstered by Intel’s chip proliferation and IBM’s systems strategies. Read on for the numbers…

Riverbed Technology announced better-than-expected earnings and profit for its first quarter as demand for its technology surged in the United States and abroad.

Juniper Networks is working to increase its margins as it posted a first-quarter 2011 revenue increase of 21 percent over last year but a decrease of 7 percent from the previous quarter.

The POS space is rife with numerous solutions for credit card transactions. But sometimes the associated merchant fees can make credit card transactions more costly than they’re worth. Luckily, there’s Square, which has developed a simple iOS (or Android) device that accepts credit card payments easily without associated merchant fees. The device is priced at $10 (or essentially free, since customers get a $10 bonus for signing up after buying the device). Read on for the details and see if Square is the right tool for you.