The VAR Guy

Changes appear imminent within Dell’s channel partner program, and they’ll take effect on February 1. The two-part question: Are they super-small, isolated tweaks? Or is something bigger going on? Alas, The VAR Guy is having a difficult time finding answers. But here’s the chatter so far.

One of the little gizmos floating around CES 2010 this year was the Dell Mini 5. It’s not a netbook like the Mini 9, but a touch-screen tablet, of sorts. While 5  inches seems a little small for the tablet, it’s got some interesting potential. Read on to see how Dell is adapting to some new trends in the Linux world — even as the PC giant balances its Windows 7 relationship with Microsoft.

If it’s not official yet, it should be. Netbooks and Tablets are the CES 2010 show stoppers, and ever since the buzz about an alleged Apple tablet started, every consumer electronic maker has been rushing to beat Apple at its own game. HP was one of the first out of the gate this year at CES, and Steve Ballmer was happy to display the new tablet.

The Netbook. Once considered a toy, it now seems like the preferred device for many productivity-driven workhorse travelers. And even if you’re not a mobile workaholic, there’s something simplistically perfect about sofa-browsing while watching TV and catching up on some e-mail. With a small form factor, there comes caveats at the expense of size and portability. But recent moves by Lenovo and others show some promising trends — several of which involve Linux.

Now that Windows 7 is here, it begs the following question: What type of Windows 7 desktops, notebooks and netbooks are hitting the street? The answer: There’s no shortage of hardware from which to choose. Here’s a sampling of options we spotted…

During a phone conversation yesterday, a trusted source discussed open source and Linux certification with The VAR Guy. It was an interesting chat, but our resident blogger is looking further down the road and expects Asterisk certification to be the next big trend for VoIP solutions providers. Here’s why.

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?

The VAR Guy has been researching the unified communications market in recent weeks. And he’s stumbled across an interesting trend: More and more open source startups are pushing into the unified communications market. Here are four prime examples:

Microsoft is scheduled to bury Windows XP today — basically forcing Windows customers to buy Vista instead. Yet, Dell’s channel blog actually has the guts to show VARs how to continue offering XP to customers. Don’t underestimate the significance of Dell’s move.

Is Dell facing a partner revolt? Not really. But a few VARs allege that customers who buy direct from Dell receive better pricing than solutions providers. Now, Dell has a memo to help communicate its pricing policies to partners. Here’s a look.

In a single day, legacy channel publication Computer Reseller News posted two glowing stories about Dell’s progress in the laptop and government markets, respectively. Has hell frozen over? Is Dell that hot — or has CRN finally put the deep freeze on all the negative Dell coverage?

Dell surprised lots of folks with a strong quarterly earnings report yesterday. But the company didn’t surprise The VAR Guy. He knew Michael Dell would begin to turn the company around. Still, is Dell’s recent momentum most associated with cost cuts — or is the company beginning to gain some traction with managed services and IT channel partnerships?

If you want to know when a high-tech market is reaching its tipping point, keep a close eye on Dell Inc. Generally speaking, Dell only jumps into high-volume, mass market opportunities. So the company’s decision to offer TelePresence solutions — designed by LifeSize Communications — is worth watching. Here’s why.

Generally speaking, The VAR Guy is a procrastinator — except when it comes to timely blogs. In fact, he’s already confirmed plans to blog live from Ubuntu Live 2008, scheduled for July 21 and 22 in Portland, Oregon. Here are five reasons you should care about the Ubuntu distribution of Linux, and the Ubuntu Live conference.

Dell will host a webinar for its managed service provider partners on May 1. The VAR Guy spotted some early details about the Dell webinar over on his sister site, MSPmentor.

A technology revolution started today. Most people don’t know about it. In fact, most folks won’t hear about today’s events for another five to seven years. But circle April 24, 2008 on your calendar. A decade from now, historians will say today was the day Ubuntu Linux reached its tipping point — especially on servers. Here are five reasons why.

Within the next few weeks, Dell plans to launch a channel blog to help communicate the company’s partner strategy, and to interact more closely with solutions providers. Smart move. But The VAR Guy hopes Dell takes the following 5 steps with the blog.

When Dell launched its own small business blog earlier this week, the PC giant had a golden opportunity to capture the attention of channel partners. Instead, Dell’s initial blog posts marketed directly to small business owners and their employees — and ignored the partner community. That was foolish. But Dell also made a very smart move.

Dell. Resellers. Unified communications. Open source. A small software company has found a way to roll up those four ingredients into a very successful IP PBX solution that’s now going global. Here’s the improbable story of Fonality, which is selling its IP telephony software on Dell servers by the truckload.

Canonical, promoter of Ubuntu Linux, has plenty of momentum on the desktop. But as Canonical gears up for a server push, one key Ubuntu partner plans to sit on the sidelines. Indeed, Dell has no plans to ship Ubuntu on its servers, according to a Dell source who spoke with The VAR Guy today.

Dell today sent a letter to managed service providers. The dispatch provides MSPs with an update on Dell’s partner strategy. Give it a read by visiting our sister site, MSPmentor.

One of The VAR Guy’s favorite web sites is IdeaStorm, a Dell-run forum where readers share business and technology ideas, vote for their favorite reader concepts, and interact with Dell. IdeaStorm has been a huge hit with Dell customers and critics alike. Now, Dell may build a similar site for partners, solutions providers and managed service providers, The VAR Guy has learned.

The VAR Guy just got off the phone with Dell Channel Chief Greg Davis. Our resident blogger and Dell’s top partner executive discussed the company’s partner program, which launched in December 2007. So, how are things going so far? Here are some quick clues.