The VAR Guy

Former Autotask CEO Bob Godgart has launched ChannelEyes, positioned as a FaceBook-type social network for channel partners. Godgart is attending the SMB Nation conference to evangelize ChannelEyes, which claims to be “the first free and secure social network to aggregate Channel Program information.” The goal is to enhance communications between channel partners, integrators, dealers and agents. The big question: Do channel partners have time for yet another social network?

SUSE Linux, now owned by Attachmate, will unveil some partner and customer surprises at Novell BrainShare (Oct. 10-14, Salt Lake City), the company confirms. Meanwhile, Michael Miller, VP of global alliances and marketing, has been polishing partner and cloud services strategies for SUSE. And Miller has been busy meeting with strategic SUSE partners like Microsoft, SAP, VMware, IBM, Dell, HP and Fujitsu. So, what’s the message from Miller to SUSE Linux partners and customers? The VAR Guy got the answer.

Social media has revolutionized the marketing world as we knew it before the turn of the century—before marketers threw a bunch of stuff at customers to see what would stick—and most of it was a one-way conversation. Putting your message out in the market is one thing, but having someone listen is another.  With social media, not only are people listening, but they are engaging, sharing and influencing a vast network of people around the globe. So how do you start? Here are some clues.

Certes Networks is looking to increase its momentum through a compelling offering. For $1,000, Certes is offering its Network Encryption Starter Kit, specifically designed for “tunnel-less multilayer encryption” without a hefty price tag. Does this have channel implications? You bet. Here’s the scoop …

Reuters is reporting that webOS may not be dead, yet. In an interview, the head of HP’s PSG group Todd Bradley hinted HP may not be done with the webOS or tablet. So what does HP have up its sleeve? Bradley was elusive, but here are my top three ideas for what the PSG spinoff could do, along with some channel implications …

Xiotech, the storage company that has been hitting the channel with its ISE storage solutions, is reshaping itself. I spoke to Alan Atkinson, president and CEO of Xiotech about the changes, the first of which is a new name. Xiotech will now be known as XIO Storage, with a new device at the helm, the Hyper ISE. Here’s the quick scoop …

If you’ve been saving your pennies to buy the Dell Streak 5, you’re officially out of luck. Dell has killed the tiny tablet/phone roughly a year after its release. Here’s some perspective on what that means for the mini-tablet workplace and what that may mean for you, dear VAR, if you’re working on a tablet strategy …

E-mail and web security vendor M86 Security is leaning more on its channel partners to help it move deeper into the enterprise, and as such has redesigned its partner program in the Americas with a slew of new tools and incentives to jumpstart the process.

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…

Cisco Systems Inc. finally has a new VP of partner marketing. Her name: Amanda Jobbins (pictured). But who exactly is Jobbins, and how might she influence Cisco’s global partner marketing strategy? The VAR Guy took a closer look and spoke with a range of sources.

Cisco Systems Inc. announced multiple changes to its Worldwide Partner Organization today. Among the moves that warrants a closer look: Cisco has named Amanda Jobbins as VP of partner marketing, succeeding Luanne Tierney, who left to join Juniper earlier this year. Here’s some insight on the move.

Are you familiar with Gordon Summer? You probably are, just not under that name. To most of us, he’s Sting. Now storage vendor Data Robotics is taking a similar approach to its moniker since achieving rock-star popularity. The company is officially changing its name to Drobo, making both the company and the product one singular, eponymous brand. We heard a lot about branding during the recent Sage Summit 2011, so what can we expect now that Data Robotics is Drobo? Read on and find out …

Back in 2009 when I was first cutting my blogging teeth under the watchful eye of The VAR Guy, I wrote about the opening of the first Microsoft Store, in Scottsdale, Ariz. I was skeptical about its success and cited a bevy of problems with running a store that is supposed to emulate Apple’s model. But Microsoft has announced it plans to build more of them. What is Microsoft’s goal, and can the company succeed? Here are my thoughts on the idea …

The VAR Guy was super-busy at the Sage Summit 2011, and not the least of his tasks was a roundtable group meeting with Dennis Frahmann, executive VP of corporate marketing; Himanshu Palsule, executive VP of strategy; and Sage CEO Pascal Houillon. The open-forum Q&A quickly turned into a discussion about Sage’s biggest announcement: the brand. Houillon wasn’t shy in explaining why this change will be the most important and effective change Sage has ever made. But what of the partner reactions, which so far have leaned toward the negative? Houillon said it’s purely emotional. Read on for the details …

Sage North America CEO Pascal Houillon took center stage at Sage Summit 2011 July 11, offering his vision for the future of Sage. The No. 1 priority? Growth. But not company growth or revenue growth — rather, brand growth. How does Houillon plan on taking Sage’s multiple brands and merging it into one mega brand? Partners working with Sage should perk up — The VAR Guy has the details on what this means for you and the brands you already know, sell and love …

HP is launching iQuote, a quick way for distributors and resellers to obtain accurate quotes that factor in a slew of variables, from pricing based on product availability to running promotions for both customers and partners. Read on for the details …

HP’s TouchPad webOS tablet and other associated webOS 3.0 devices will include HP webOS Pivot, a veritable catalog of what’s what in webOS. The TouchPad and associated technologies go live July 1, 2011, so what can we expect and should the channel care? Read on for the details …

If there’s one adage Adobe Systems understands, it’s that image is everything. The company’s suite of creativity tools is proof of its comprehension. Lately, Adobe has also realized that when it comes to understanding customers, perception is indeed reality.

In case you missed it, on June 6, 2011, at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference, Steve Jobs unveiled Mac OS X Lion, iOS 5 and iCloud. And while iCloud has direct channel implications, iOS 5 has some media implications. Naturally, as a media team, we’re interested. In particular, there are two new features in iOS 5 that could shift the way you read our content, and shift the way we provide it. If you’re a VAR with your own blog, you might want to read up on the features. There’s a lot of potential, but will it go anywhere?

The VAR Guy has covered storage company FalconStor in the past, including its recent updates to its PartnerChoice channel program. Now the company hopes to maintain its momentum with its latest executive hires: Former HP director of software support delivery Donna Williams will assume the VP position for Worldwide Technical Support, while former Symantec inside sales executive Abbas Meghjee will be VP of North American Sales Operations. What are they bringing to the storage table? Read on for the details …

Like Lenovo before it, Dell is making sure the PC isn’t dead yet. The company has released a line of robust workstations that reportedly can handle the heaviest of processing tasks, providing “uncompromised” performance and scalability. Read on for the details on the new machines …

Startup Big Switch Networks has landed $13.75 million in Series A financing, led by Index Ventures and Khosla Venture. The company is building a platform to bring virtualization and cloud architecture to enterprise networks, which is hardly a novel concept, so what is Big Switch really offering that’s bringing in the funding? Read on and find out …

Adobe Systems has a long and well-established reputation as a premier provider of creativity software. But what type of creative moves does Adobe have planned for the channel? The VAR Guy tracked down a few answers…