The VAR Guy

Smaller channel programs are getting makeovers in 2012. We recently looked at Logitech’s burst of VAR love and channel improvements coming to D-Link VARs, and now networking company ZyXEL Communications is working its VAR mojo by adding a new incentive-based loyalty program to its channel partner program.

At the HP Global Partner Conference next week, Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman will have the opportunity to engage and energize partners. But the event will also serve as a proving ground for Whitman and HP. Indeed, some partners want further assurances that HP is back on track after the company lost its way in 2011. Here’s a preview from The VAR Guy.

Data is a powerful thing, but having it is only part of what makes data powerful — you have to be able to make sense of it. SAP’s HANA platform has been available to large enterprises looking for that all-important data analysis, but now SAP is making that technology available to the SMB and SME community with SAP HANA Edge, and it’s exclusively through the channel. Read on for the details …

Multimedia peripheral company Logitech has welcomed more than 120 VARs into its U.S.-based reseller program, Logitech for Business. We’ve already noticed Logitech’s expanded presence in the unified communications (UC) world thanks to its relationship with Jenne Inc., so what does Logitech’s growing partner program mean for the channel? We got fresh perspective coming up …

The Super Bowl is nearly here — but The VAR Guy can’t say much about The Big Game since some of our blog team members are lifelong New England Patriots fans. And other bloggers here are far wiser New York Giants fans. (Guess which camp the always-wise VAR Guy belongs to?) While you’re weighing the answer to that question, here are the nine most read technology news and channel partner stories from our blog network — The VAR Guy, MSPmentor and Talkin’ Cloud — for the week ending Feb. 3, 2012.

Dot Hill, the company behind the AssuredSAN storage system, wants to assure all owners of the AssuredSAN storage system that their investment will be completely assured. Thus, enter the Dot Hill one-year-free, on-site-support initiative. If you’re sure you want to know more, rest assured, the full details of the AssuredSAN storage support program are surely coming up.

The channel ebbs and flows with a variety of partners and vendors, and some shine more than others. That’s why Syncsort is highlighting its partners that exemplify the company’s values. Which partners secured Syncsort’s coveted 2012 Partner of the Year award? The VAR Guy’s got you covered…

Oracle President Mark Hurd and Channel Chief Judson Althoff are set to rally and educate 100 Oracle Specialized channel partners tomorrow at the company’s Redwood Shores, Calif., headquarters. The gathering, set for February 2, will include product roadmaps and strategies to help partners leverage Oracle as a partner growth engine. Here’s some insight from The VAR Guy.

D-Link’s VIP Partner Program now stands for more more than “Value in Partnership,” as D-Link has overhauled the program and upgraded it to VIP+ status. With it comes a new partner portal, new training and streamlined operations with D-Link. I spoke to Steve Ryan, D-Link’s director of North American Channel Programs, about the big changes. Read on for the details …

The VAR Guy just got a call from HR double-checking a help-wanted ad for a freelance website manager. Yes indeed, our resident blogger’s alleged media empire needs to find additional talent to fuel more growth. But even before more help arrives, web traffic continues to grow. Here are the nine most read technology news and channel partner stories from our blog network — The VAR Guy, MSPmentor and Talkin’ Cloud — for the week ending Jan. 27, 2012.

Tech Data has joined VCE to deepen its relationship with cloud and virtualization technology and on behalf of its reseller customers. Read on for a quick refresher on the VCE and how Tech Data partners can benefit …

PC Wholesale, a division of Synnex, has expanded its relationship with HP to give Synnex resellers access to HP’s Renew Program, which provides resellers with the opportunity to sell officially refurbished and certified HP equipment. Here’s what VARs should know …

Jenne Inc., the VAD that keeps on giving, is now adding LifeSize’s portfolio of solutions to its Jenne Solution Design tool online design portal. Here’s the quick rundown on what that means for partners working with Jenne …

Lenovo is quietly planning to accelerate its server initiatives in 2012. But first, the PC giant is focusing like a laser on a four-screen initiative — smart phones, tablets, PCs and smart TVs. To execute on all fronts, Lenovo will need more channel partners. But will Lenovo’s channel become saturated with partners along the way? Lenovo North America Channel Chief Chris Frey (pictured) says absolutely not. Here’s why.

The VAR Guy is suffering from a case of virtualization deja vu. Or is it double-vision? The symptoms: VMware today launched the VMware Solution Exchange, a virtualization and cloud solutions marketplace. It’s designed to help customers, partners and developers to more easily find and select VMware-certified solutions. Now, the twist…

AMD, Apple, CA Technologies and EMC each reported quarterly results today. Their respective results suggest corporate technology spending continues to accelerate — perhaps setting the stage for a strong year in the IT channel.

When Novell introduced GroupWise 2012 this week, some pundits said nobody cares about the new release. The VAR Guy respectfully disagrees. Perhaps Novell GroupWise 2012 won’t set the world on fire. But the upgrade’s arrival represents a key vote of confidence from Attachmate (Novell’s parent) to the GroupWise community — including some channel partners. Here’s why.

Dell’s OEM Solutions division today said it will offer customized SUSE Linux Enterprise servers to customers. But the far more interesting nugget of information for partners involves SUSE Studio, which Dell will use to build and deploy customized Linux application stacks. Here’s why.

For many organizations, finding the right solutions provider or VAR is a critical task. Enterprises as well as SMBs look to their solutions provider for guidance, and now more than ever for backup. As data continues to grow (for most SMBs, up to 50 percent annually), solutions providers can help their customers choose which backup model makes the most sense for their organization.

The VAR Guy — like many media pundits — has openly questioned Microsoft CEO Steve Baller’s leadership over the past year or two. But while watching CNBC today, The VAR Guy heard a rather interesting thesis that suggests Ballmer has built Microsoft to stand the test of time — while Apple and Google could each suffer from one fatal flaw.

Avaya has confirmed Jeremy Butt, vice president of worldwide channels, is leaving the company at the end of March 2012, after almost four years with the organization.

I’m back in my secret lair here in San Francisco after my trip to Las Vegas for the Juniper Networks Global Partner Conference, and while I was laid low for a day thanks to an unfortunately timed bug, I wanted to share some slightly belated final thoughts drawn from my time on the conference floor, conversations I had with Juniper executives, and just some stray observations.

In a surprise announcement, Ingram Micro named Alain Monie (pictured) as its next CEO, effective tomorrow (Friday, January 20, 2012). Monie succeeds outgoing CEO Greg Spierkel. Company insiders say the Ingram Micro CEO change and transition may have been planned in October 2011, the moment Monie agreed to return to Ingram Micro as president and COO.