The VAR Guy

A few days ago Cisco Systems announced a significant milestone in our Unified Computing System (UCS) program – we announced that we had just shipped to our 10,000^th UCS customer.  It’s a pretty amazing feat as in just over two years of designing, manufacturing, and shipping our own Intel-based server line we’ve established ourselves in the Datacenter compute market with an award winning, innovative, and game changing portfolio offering.

The proliferation of cloud services, mobility on demand and Gigabit Ethernet has taxed data center environments to the point where many companies are experiencing serious drags on their network. But Cisco Systems is looking to “eliminate many of the choke points before they become choke points,” by adding 40GbE and 100GbE support to two of its most popular switches.

Cisco Systems has killed its Umi home telepresence business. The move follows months of speculation about Umi, an expensive high-definition alternative to Skype and other free video conferencing and video chat services. Umi has been on its death bed since at least mid-2011. But Umi wasn’t declared officially dead until now.

Welcome to 2012. The first IT trend of the New Year:  Many high-tech companies enter 2012 with new or recently named CEOs (examples include AMD, Apple, Google, Hewlett-Packard and IBM). Plus, a lengthy list of prominent CEOs (representing Cisco Systems, Dell, Microsoft, Oracle and Research in Motion) are under pressure to boost sales, profits and channel partner success. Here’s what channel partners should expect.

Yawn. It’s just past midnight here in New York. The VAR Guy is getting ready to go to bed — with a big bowl of ice cream, of course. But before our resident blogger signs off for sweeter pursuits, here are six pieces of high-tech news that The VAR Guy didn’t have time to write for the week ending Nov. 4, 2011.

Amanda Jobbins, VP of partner marketing at Cisco Systems, is focusing on five core priorities to help channel partners more closely engage their end-customers. Jobbins described her strategy during a chat with The VAR Guy earlier today.

Is Cisco Systems committed to VCE (the Virtual Computing Environment Company)? The answer appears to be “absolutely yes,” based on a recent Cisco SEC filing plus chatter from Cisco Global Channel Chief Edison Peres. Here’s the update.

It’s Columbus Day here in the U.S., which means many businesses are closed for the holiday. But The VAR Guy is plugging away and in catch-up mode. In fact, here are six pieces of high-tech news for channel partners that The VAR Guy didn’t have time to write for the week ending Oct. 7, 2011.

Technologies such as cloud computing and virtualization are forcing many enterprises to take a good, long look at their WAN performance. So, too, are vendors, hoping to help companies get rid of the slow feeds and extended latencies associated with those new technologies that drag down the network. Now Cisco Systems is jumping feet first into the WAN optimization space with a revamped line of solutions.

Cisco Systems is preparing some Cius Android tablet surprises at the Cisco Collaboration Summit (Nov. 14-17, Miami, Fla.), a major channel partner event. Key efforts apparently involve AppHQ, a Cisco-developed app store for the Cius tablet. Here’s the early chatter.

The VAR Guy spent a lot of time listening to HP Chairman Ray Lane this week. Our resident blogger is a bit tired from trying to track all the changes in the old HP garage.  All the HP chatter caused The VAR Guy to overlook some other high tech news from this week. In fact, here are six blogs The VAR Guy didn’t have time to write for the week ending Sept. 23, 2011.

Hewlett-Packard‘s board may fire CEO Leo Apotheker, according to multiple mainstream media reports. Apotheker faces intense pressure as HP navigates strategic and profit challenges. Apotheker has made some controversial moves but he isn’t HP’s biggest problem. Instead, the biggest issue facing HP involves media leaks that undermine confidence in the company and Apotheker’s management team.

Cisco Systems has published the second of its annual Connected World Technology Report, focusing on the importance of the Internet to the daily lives of college students and young professionals. Considering the fact that Cisco interviewed a generation of people who have never lived without the Internet, The VAR Guy finds the results less than surprising but more than a little sobering.

Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers yesterday attacked rival Juniper Networks. Now, Cisco is following up with a $75 million investment to help drive SMB Partner Led sales, according to Andrew Sage, Cisco’s VP of Partner Led. It’s all part of the “Next Cisco” strategy. Has the sleeping giant truly awoken? Here’s the update.

And so it begins. After a bleak summer that included 6,500 job cuts, Cisco Systems (CSCO) is working hard to raise its voice and rally partners. Channel Chief Edison Peres has issued a video blog to crystallize the company’s partner strategy. Andrew Sage, Cisco’s VP, Partner Led, is set to provide strategy updates soon. And CEO John Chambers (pictured) recently rallied the Cisco sales force to further support partners. All of the chatter includes Cisco executives talking about the “Next Cisco.” But has the Next Cisco really arrived?

Michael Capellas (pictured) is no longer CEO of VCE, but he remains chairman and his role at the company (which is funded mainly by EMC and Cisco Systems) is unchanged, according to Bob Wambach, senior director of marketing for VCE. Here’s the update.

Cisco Systems is adding to its Integrated Services Router line with a small form-factor router that can withstand extreme weather conditions and enable machine-to-machine communication, at a size that can fit in the palm of your hand.

Michael Capellas (pictured) is widely known as chairman and CEO of VCE — the virtual computing environment company funded mostly by Cisco Systems and EMC, with some help from Intel and VMware. But if you check the VCE website, the Capellas bio lists him as Chairman — with no mention of the CEO role in his VCE title or VCE biography. Hmmm… It could be a simple oversight on VCE’s part. But The VAR Guy has heard rumors about executive changes and potential staff changes in recent weeks.

The VAR Guy continues to hear from partners who suggest VCE — the startup funded mainly by Cisco Systems and EMC — is undergoing a reorganization. A spokeswoman for VCE on August 15 said company officials were traveling for the next two days and were not available for immediate comment. The VAR Guy estimates EMC, Cisco and other investors have lost a combined $228 million on the VCE effort so far — though an EMC SEC filing suggests “momentum continues to build” for VCE. Here’s a look at The VAR Guy’s math… and VCE’s importance to channel partners.

Instead of cutting VIP (Value Incentive Program) financial rewards to channel partners, Cisco Systems has increased its VIP rewards to channel partners for fiscal year 2012 — which started Aug. 1, 2011. Ricardo Moreno (pictured), senior director, Strategy, Planning & Programs, Worldwide Channels, Cisco, confirmed the increased VIP incentives today. The VIP enhancements are one piece of Cisco’s broader partner initiatives. Here’s the update.

Staffing adjustments and perhaps even layoffs may be under way at VCE, the virtual computing environment company launched by VMware, Cisco Systems and EMC Corp. Multiple channel partners tell The VAR Guy that VCE has been undergoing a reorganization and perhaps even staff cuts in recent weeks. Still, a recent SEC filing from EMC indicates that VCE’s momentum continues to build despite EMC recording an $88.4 million loss on VCE in the first half of 2011. Here’s the update.

The VAR Guy is looking ahead to the week of August 15 and thinking about joining a gym. Our resident blogger has some weighty issues to address. But  before The VAR Guy burns some calories, let’s burn through six blogs our resident blogger didn’t have time to write for the week ending August 12, 2011.

VCE — the Virtual Computing Environment Company backed by VMware, Cisco and EMC — is making the move to distribution this month. On the one hand the move isn’t surprising, based on VCE announcements from May 2011. But on the other hand, Ingram Micro is striving to get ahead of the story — hoping to position itself as VCE’s leading distributor.