The VAR Guy

Isilon Systems, which specializes in scalable storage, network-attached storage, archiving solutions and storage virtualization, is making some channel partner moves. I spoke with Leonard Iventosch, the channel VP who is building Isilon’s partner program. Here’s his strategy.

Many software companies continue to evangelize data deduplication strategies. The latest example: Symantec says that new versions of the popular Backup Exec and NetBackup, both with a new focus on data deduplication, will arrive February 1. Here’s the scoop.

Amazon Web Services, proprietors of the EC2 cloud, has entered into a partnership with relatively unknown Danish firm ComArchive to provide e-mail archiving in the cloud. The alleged selling point: The solution can be installed, configured, and made ready to go in 10 minutes, ComArchive asserts. Now, for the key questions facing VARs and customers.

Lenovo claims its new Secure Managed Client (SMC) is the “PC industry’s only storage-based fleet management solution.” SMC 2.0 brings increased security and tools, and there’s a lot of them. Here’s the news boiled down and what you need to know.

Linux redefined pricing in the operating system market. Now, Zmanda hopes to apply those same open source pricing pressures in the backup market. Zmanda claims that its backup system costs one-fifth to one-tenth as much as alternatives from Symantec and EMC. But is open source backup — at any price — ready for the enterprise?