The VAR Guy

Recognizing small businesses have many of the same IT needs as the enterprise but lack the same resources, Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) has added management capabilities to its Core processor family that include security and productivity features aimed at the SMB space and the VARs that serve it.

There’s no denying it: the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) phenomenon is here, and it’s not going away anytime soon. But a line of new secure access gateways from Array Networks is helping remove some of the security and infrastructure issues associated with BYOD, good news for VARs silently cursing Apple iOS and Google Android. Read on for the details.

Sophos has issued a security notification to channel partners, explaining why the security company took its partner portal offline last week and reset all portal user passwords. The reason: Sophos discovered suspicious activity on April 3, issued an initial alert on April 5, and offered a more comprehensive partner update on April 6. Here’s the blow-by-blow.

Sophos, which is positioning itself as a complete security provider, has named Emmanuelle Skala (pictured) as VP of global channels, succeeding Steve Hale. The shift arrives as many security software companies — Kaspersky Lab, McAfee and Symantec, to name a few — adjust their channel leadership.

Sophos, the endpoint security and anti-virus software company, has acquired Dialogs, a cloud-based mobile device management (MDM) company that protects tablets and smartphones, including Apple iPads and iPhones, Google Android, Symbian, Windows and Blackberry devices. The Sophos-Dialogs deal follows Symantec (SYMC) buyouts of Nukona and Odyssey Software for MDM and Mobile Application Management (MAM). The VAR Guy wonders: Is this the start of an MDM feeding frenzy?

How did former Sophos Channel Chief Christopher Doggett wind up at Kaspersky Lab, the security software provider? The answer involves PartnerPath (the former Amazon Consulting). Doggett had been out of the channel for a bit. When he decided to potentially jump back into this market, he dialed PartnerPath CEO Diane Krakora. Smart move.

Kaspersky Lab, the anti-virus and endpoint security software company, has hired former Sophos Channel Chief Chief Christopher Doggett, Trend Micro channel veteran Jean Lozano and Sony veteran Chris Gaebler to bolster its channel partner and consumer business strategies. The moves come amid major changes in the security software market, where Symantec changed its North American channel chief only a few days ago.

Welcome to the inaugural Channel Partner Program Roundup, our weekly collection of channel partner program updates. Our goal at The VAR Guy is to offer up the important, need-to-know details of partner program changes every Thursday without all the fluff.

HP has confirmed the consolidation of its Imaging and Printing Group (IPG) and Personal Systems Group (PSG) and also has disclosed details about other unification moves within its corporate infrastructure. Is HP just streamlining or do these moves signal something more? Super-quick analysis coming right up …

When Symantec isn’t protecting mobile devices, it’s focusing on its core with Symantec NetBackup 7.5 and Backup Exec 2012. Naturally, The VAR Guy has the quick rundown on Symantec’s latest iteration of backup and security technology …

Dell has announced its intention to buy network security and data protection vendor SonicWALL, a move that further rounds out Dell’s technology lineup in the networking and data center space.

Just the other day we were looking at Symantec’s journey into mobile protection world. Now, we learn about the Symantec Smartphone Honey Stick Project. Don’t let the name confuse you — this has nothing to do with Android (specifically) or tasty sweets. Rather, Symantec dropped 50 phones with “private” information across five major cities and recorded the results. What can the channel learn? Let’s take a look …

No, it’s not Shark Week, that’s on the Discovery Channel. This is SHARKFEST 2012, and Riverbed Technology, the WAN optimization network company, will be hosting the fifth annual convention focusing on Wireshark, the open source packet sniffer. But how does this play into the channel? I’ll tell you …

Symantec is looking to capitalize on the continued proliferation of mobile devices, with its Norton Mobile Security for Android now available for Galaxy phones. What exactly does mobile security provide, and more importantly, do we need it? Here’s a quick look …

Physical security has been gaining some traction in the channel, and ZyXEL, in its continuing effort to expand and enhance its partner programs, has rolled out a new set of cloud-based IP surveillance cameras. Read on for the deets …

Ingram Micro is looking to make a security splash at the 2012 International Security Conference West, which will be held in Fabulous Las Vegas, Nev. But what is it about security that has Ingram Micro all fired up? All the details you need to know, without the fluff, coming right up …

Symantec and VMware are making their relationship more intimate, bringing new security integration across VMware’s suite of virtualization technology. VARs working the virtual space or security vendors looking to provide some increased incentive may want to check out what these two tech giants are doing …

In January 2012 it was announced Avaya’s head of Worldwide Channels, Jeremy Butt, would be leaving Avaya “to pursue other opportunities.” We now know what those opportunities are: Butt has been tapped to lead Westcon Group’s new EMEA region as executive vice president.

Palo Alto Networks, the company focused on next-gen firewalls, has gained considerable support from the technology community with brand new data center and mobility partners teaming up to help build out new and improved integrated security solutions. Here’s The VAR Guy’s rundown on what this means for Palo Alto Networks partners and the channel at large…

It’s that time of year again for the Healthcare Information and Management Systems (HIMSS) annual conference. Vendors around the world are focusing on healthcare-friendly technology, and you know our resident blogger always has his eye on the vertical markets. VARs looking to attack the ever-growing healthcare vertical should read on to find out what Avaya, Dell and VMWare are bringing to the examination table …

By now most of us in the channel realize mobile device management (MDM) isn’t just a passing fad. In fact, some of the more savvy solution providers have already built a full-blown business around ensuring their customers’ iPads and other devices work on the corporate network. Now F5 Networks is hoping to make its channel partners’ work a little easier by aligning its technology with some of the larger players in the MDM space.

Sophos is adding to its security solutions portfolio with its Sophos Virtual Web Appliance. Designed to protect and integrate with a variety of virtual environments, the appliances hopefully will make the management of virtual machine security easier. Here’s the scoop …

As vertical markets expand and compliance rules become even more strict, VMware wants to help. Users of vCenter Configuration Manager for their VM-heavy data-senstive deployment may want to check out the new features VMware is offering to ensure compliance is super easy. Read on for the details …