The VAR Guy

CA Technologies has launched a new CA Global Partner Program to address the changing needs of solutions providers, cloud and managed services providers (CSPs and MSPs), alliance partners and resellers, according to Channel Chief David Bradley. The new CA Technologies partner program emerges as CA also attempts to connect the dots between established brands (ARCserve, for instance) and acquired technologies (such as Nimsoft and AppLogic). Here’s the update.

Oracle Group VP of Product Marketing Bob Shimp told roughly 100 industry analysts today that Oracle is determined to simplify the IT experience for customers, while unleashing the power of extreme innovation. To do so, Shimp said Oracle is spending $5 billion on its annual R&D efforts.

As of next month, Canonical’s Ubuntu One file-syncing service will be 3 years old. Since its introduction it has evolved considerably and taken some unexpected turns. At this juncture, then, it seems appropriate to ask: What is Ubuntu One, exactly? What makes it different and where is it headed in the future? Read on for some thoughts.

The cloud storage and backup professionals at Mozy are diving deeper into the channel, with a major upgrade to its reseller program, including Mozy Reseller Portal 2.0, offering real-time cobranded marketing and sales materials and new lead management features including opportunity registration and lead sharing.

Protecting users (and their data) from themselves is tough enough within uniform computing environments, which is one of the big reasons many organizations hesitate to make the jump to non-Microsoft platforms on their workstations. But now securing data across different operating systems is a little easier with Endpoint Protector‘s announcement of Linux support. Here’s the scoop, and what it means for Linux in the workplace.

A Red Hat Storage 2.0 beta with Big Data and Apache Hadoop support is now available. So what is Red Hat (NYSE: RHT) trying to achieve in the storage market, and where do partners potentially fit into the story? The VAR Guy is so pleased that you continue to raise such timely questions. Here are the answers.

Demand for IT pros with virtualization and networking skills is rising faster than businesses can find qualified employees. This reality is likely the impetus behind a partnership between Cisco Systems (CSCO) and EMC (EMC) to step into the void and offer technical education solutions in the areas of cloud architecture, virtualization, storage, data center networking and data science. Read on for the details.

As the data storage demands of businesses grow (and grow and grow) VARs are in a unique position not only to offer storage platforms and services but also to provide services that protect and manage that data. After all, what good is the world’s biggest shoe closet if you can’t find your favorite trainers? Migration, remote monitoring and, perhaps most importantly, backup and recovery services are critical components of data storage VARs should include in their bag of storage tricks.

The transformation of open source projects into business ventures doesn’t always proceed smoothly: Witness Mandriva Linux and OpenOffice.org, to name just a couple examples. But ownCloud, which began the launch of a commercial entity in December 2011, seems to be off to a decidedly successful start, with the release of the company’s first commercial products. Here are the details, and their implications for open source cloud computing.

Microsoft (MSFT) is developing a cloud-based backup service for Windows Server 8. New details about the Microsoft Online Backup Service surfaced on the Microsoft Windows Server blog earlier today. On the one hand, the Microsoft cloud service could potentially compete with established online backup companies. But on the other hand, Microsoft is opening up the Online Backup Service to partners. Here’s some timely perspective from The VAR Guy.

ownCloud Inc., which develops open-source software for building cloud infrastructure, has existed as a commercial entity for only a few short months.  But it has already begun racking up partnerships throughout the channel, highlighting the plentiful opportunities available at the juncture of the cloud and open-source. Read on for the scoop, and what it means for the open-source ecosystem more broadly.

Social and mobile technologies are infiltrating the enterprise at an alarming rate. But while that may come as no surprise to channel veterans, the impact of those technologies on security is not top of mind for all enterprises. Palisade Systems is looking to protect and prevent data leakage for trend-setting enterprises everywhere. Here’s the lowdown on the latest version of Palisade’s PacketSure Data Security Platform …

When Red Hat (symbol: RHT) announces Q4 2012 results on March 28, the company will finally become the first independent open source firm generating at least $1 billion in annual revenues. Still, some Wall Street pundits worry about slowing growth at Red Hat. At the same time, Red Hat is working hard to push beyond Linux, training partners on open source storage, virtualization and middleware. Will the party continue for Red Hat and its partners?

We’ve been covering a smattering of storage-related news of late, and it’s not surprising: Storage is bursting at the seams. XIO is looking capitalize on that demand by flexing its storage muscle, all thanks to the Microsoft Partner Solutions Center. According to Microsoft-run storage benchmarks, XIO’s Hyper-ISE exceeded the “wildest expectations.” The VAR Guy’s interest is piqued …

HP’s latest partner program incentive is showing the channel lots of love. The incentive is dubbed “100 Percent New Account Initiative,” and it’s exactly what it sounds like, as long as you’re serving up storage. Here’s the scoop on how HP is handing over more leads right into  partner’s hands …

Software features are good, but certification that they actually work is even better — particularly in the open source channel, where users don’t always enjoy the same kind of warranties that are common in the proprietary ecosystem. In this respect, the world of open source Big Data management became a little more stable with the recent announcement that MapR’s distribution of Apache Hadoop has been certified for Talend Open Studio for Big Data. Here’s the scoop.

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.

Seagate Technology (NASDAQ: STX) appears to be in the market for potential cloud storage-related acquisitions or deals that further strengthen EVault. Indeed, EVault is a cloud-based online backup service, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Seagate. The long-term Seagate plan for EVault apparently includes organic growth, potential acquisitions and perhaps even an IPO (initial public offering). Here’s why.

Solid state storage, the storage chips that outfit all the mobile devices we love so much, are truly destined for more than just games and e-mail. We’re already seeing SSD solutions cropping up in advanced storage devices, and now Avnet Embedded is looking to educate its community with an event focusing on the wonderful world of SSDs. Where’s the locale? Everywhere — it’s an online virtual summit. Read on for the details …

If you’re a Dell VAR looking for an edge, Dell may have just given you one. It’s the brand new Dell trade-in program, which is specifically targeting current (or soon-to-be-former) EMC and NetApp customers. What’s the storage jazz all about? I’ll tell you …

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 …

Over the past two years, SEC documents indicate, Cisco Systems has invested $264 million into VCE — the virtual computing environment that’s also backed by EMC and VMware. Some quick math by The VAR Guy suggests Cisco, EMC and VMware together have invested roughly $750 million in VCE since 2010. So is the investment paying dividends so far? Here’s an educated guess.

While most of us are thinking about 2012 and 2013, The VAR Guy has been busy thinking further into the future — say, 2017. It’ll be here before we know it, and our resident blogger is a former Boy Scout, so he’s doing all he can to be prepared. What trends can we expect in the channel as technology grows? Here’s a quick look at what’s been banging around the inside The VAR Guy’s noggin …