The VAR Guy

The VAR Guy spent portions of this week working through some programming issues. He’d like to say thanks to the Fanatical support folks who assisted with some key insights. Faced with distractions, here are six channel partner program blog entries The VAR Guy didn’t have a chance to write for the week ending April 15, 2011.

The VAR Guy is scratching his head in confusion. When our resident blogger’s web site officially launched in January 2008, open source was all the rage. And quite a few open source companies were building channel partner programs at the time. Fast forward to the present and it seems like some open source channel partner programs have gone silent — especially as cloud computing continues to generate so much freakin’ hype. But don’t lose hope. Here’s why.

The VAR Guy’s week unraveled because … yada, yada, yada … so our resident blogger didn’t quite have the time to write everything he wanted. In fact, here are six channel partner blog entries The VAR Guy had hoped to generate for the week ending May 21, 2010.

Generally speaking, most traditional VARs still seem focused on Microsoft environments. But Travis Austin (pictured), founder of ReziTech, sees the world from a slightly different view. He’s building a managed services business that leverages Ubuntu Linux and Asterisk, the open source IP PBX. Here’s why.

Fonality is jumping off one bandwagon and leaping onto another. The company previously positioned itself as an open source IP PBX phone system provider. But going forward, Fonality is pitching itself as a leading provider of cloud-based phone systems and unified communications for small business. The repositioning also includes a recent CEO change. Here’s a look at Fonality’s new strategy, and the implications for VARs.

How’s this for ironic: The more The VAR Guy moves around, the more weight he gains. Eating at buffets in New York, Las Vegas, San Jose and San Francisco this week didn’t help… If The VAR Guy put down his fork long enough, perhaps he would have written the following six channel partner blog entries for the week ending March 5, 2010:

Two separate invites arrived within hours of one another. Adtran and Digium — two networking companies in Huntsville, Alabama — invited The VAR Guy and other members of the media to swing by for separate updates and briefings this week. Alas, The VAR Guy couldn’t make the trip. But the Adtran and Digium stories are worth sharing from afar. Here’s why.

Digium is expanding its channel partner program — potentially engaging more resellers that want to embrace Asterisk, the open source IP PBX. Digium has been particularly active with channel partners in recent months. Here’s the scoop.

Asterisk — the open source IP PBX — has dialed up another opportunity in the IT channel. This one involves Computer Troubleshooters, a major channel player that has more than 200 U.S. solution provider franchises. The VAR Guy hears Computer Troubleshooters will increasingly promote Fonality’s IP PBX solution. Here’s the scoop.

Through two key partnerships, Digium is hoping to promote local language Asterisk phone systems to hotels and other vertical markets across the globe. Here’s the scoop from The VAR Guy.

More than 250 solutions providers have gathered in Dallas this week for the 2009 HTG Summit and Q2 Peer Group Meetings. And during tonight’s sessions, one thing became clear: Despite the rise of open source, Microsoft’s partner program is showing no signs of a slowdown.

I’ve attended my share of Linux installation festivals (installfests), where open source volunteers typically take donated Windows PCs and revive them as Linux systems. Now, the installfest craze seems to have found a new calling: The Asterisk IP PBX market, where open source meets telephony.

Sometimes when you compete in a marathon, you forget the basics — such as tying your shoes. That’s the case at Digium, which faces fierce competition in the IP PBX market — and is only now introducing Fax for Asterisk. Why did it take Digium so long to bring this solution to market? If you’re distracted by that question you’re missing the bigger picture: Fax for Asterisk is another sign that Digium is growing up.

Instead of ignoring open source conferences, Microsoft continues to invade them. The latest example: John Frederiksen (pictured), general manager of Microsoft’s Response Point business, is scheduled to speak at Digium AsteriskWorld on February 3. Why is Microsoft paying such close attention to an event for open source IP PBX advocates? The answer is obvious.

Despite the recession, Cisco Systems and Digium (the upstart open source IP PBX specialist) are holding strategic partner and customer events within days of each other in Miami, Florida. Cisco’s agenda is all business. Digium’s agenda is mostly technology. The VAR Guy’s agenda: Stirring up some controversy.

In today’s episode, Fonality CEO Chris Lyman discusses Asterisk, open source, the IP PBX market and Fonality’s partner strategy. More specifically, The VAR Guy Live: Podcast covers the following five key topics…

Fonality CEO On Asterisk, Open Source and IP PBXes for VARs [ 11:33 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Fonality, a small provider of open source unified communications software originally based on Asterisk (the IP PBX), has scored a distribution deal with Tech Data Corp. This is the latest in a growing list of channel wins for Fonality, and it reinforces Asterisks’ growing momentum among solutions providers. Here’s the scoop from The VAR Guy.

Fonality, which specializes in open source phone systems, is answering the U.S. Gulf Coast’s call for help following Hurricane Ike. Fonality CEO Chris Lyman (pictured) had a rather intriguing disaster recovery idea following a chat with The VAR Guy. Here’s the scoop.

Move over, Digium. You’re not the only poster child for Asterisk and open source PBXes. Rival Fonality has scored another $12 million in financing from Intel Capital and Draper Fisher Jurvetson — and some of the money could be earmarked for acquisitions. Impressive, but what does it mean for VARs and solutions providers?

For roughly two years, The VAR Guy has warned Cisco Systems about the emerging open source threat to traditional IP networks. Now comes word that Voiceroute of Norwalk, Conn., is gaining momentum with a unified communications system based on open source.

Open source companies are finally getting on their feet in the IT channel, The VAR Guy believes. In fact, companies like Digium, GroundWork Open Source, Openbravo and Untangle are following Red Hat and Novell into the IT channel — on a global basis. Here’s a look at their progress.

A quiet revolution continues at Digium, the poster child for Asterisk — the open source IP PBX platform. Many open source companies struggle to line up resellers and solutions providers because, frankly, it’s unclear how to profit from open source. But in Digium’s case, more than 250 partners are banging on the company’s door because Digium really has built a better mouse trap. Here’s the scoop.

Last week, The VAR Guy outlined six trends he expected to generate some buzz at this week’s Interop conference in Las Vegas. Now that the show is in full swing, let’s take another look at those six trends to see how they’re shaping up.