The VAR Guy

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.

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.

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.

Cisco Systems Inc. CEO John Chambers sounded cautiously optimistic today when the networking giant announced Q4 fiscal year 2011 results. Instead of looking back on layoffs and abandoned products, Chambers talked about progress that will position the company for the next stage of growth. The big question: Can Chambers really deliver that growth?

Cisco Systems Inc. is set to announce fiscal Q4 earnings later today (Aug. 10). The VAR Guy wonders: Will CEO John Chambers (pictured) suggest that Cisco is now ready for a rebound … or will it require far more time for Cisco’s recent channel adjustments to generate sales and profit momentum?

Cisco Systems is set to announce Q4 fiscal 2011 results on August 10. It’s safe to say the earnings call will be filled with strategic updates — especially as Cisco this month cuts 6,500 employees from its payroll. CEO John Chambers has publicly stated that Cisco will streamline its business, become more nimble and regain its focus. Still, plenty of questions remain. In fact, here are six of those core questions…

What a difference a day makes. Over the past few months, pundits — including The VAR Guy — have criticized Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers for management missteps that will soon trigger 6,500 layoffs at the networking company. But by July 28, Wall Street was starting to regain faith in Chambers and Cisco. What triggered that overnight change of heart? And what does it mean for fiercely competitive networking industry VARs? The VAR Guy has some insights to share. Right here. Right now.

Juniper shares fell a whopping 20 percent today after the company issued a weak earnings outlook. But here’s the bigger question: Do earnings concerns at Juniper, Cisco Systems and Extreme Networks signal broader troubles in the networking industry? Before you answer consider this: The VAR Guy is starting to hear from channel partners who say their networking profits are getting pinched.

Cisco Systems Inc. finally has a new VP of partner marketing. Her name: Amanda Jobbins (pictured). But who exactly is Jobbins, and how might she influence Cisco’s global partner marketing strategy? The VAR Guy took a closer look and spoke with a range of sources.

Amid layoffs at Cisco Systems Inc., the networking giant today confirmed multiple Worldwide Partner Organization changes. The moves are meant to streamline the organization and speed decision making, according to a blog post. Key leaders such as Keith Goodwin, Edison Peres and Wendy Bahr remain in place. And several familiar names — such as small business veteran Andrew Sage — are moving into new posts. Plus, Cisco has named a channel marketing leader to succeed Luanne Tierney, who left to join Juniper earlier this year. Here’s the update.

Sometimes, The VAR Guy’s views are just plain wrong. As Cisco Systems looks ahead to layoffs in August 2011, it’s time for The VAR Guy to look back at what went wrong at the networking giant. A case in point: The VAR Guy applauded — loudly — when Cisco acquired the Flip video camera in March 2009. And The VAR Guy cheered again in mid-2009, when Cisco prepared to hand out Flip cameras to all Cisco Partner Summit attendees. The strategy sounded so simple: Flip users would load the Internet up with more video, forcing enterprise customers to upgrade their bandwidth and network infrastructure. But in the end, The VAR Guy — heck, and John Chambers — overlooked some key challenges.

The other shoe nearly dropped today at Cisco Systems Inc. The networking giant confirmed plans to eliminate 6,500 employees worldwide. The twist: The impacted employees won’t be informed until August. Among the expected cuts: 15 percent of VP-level and above employees. The VAR Guy is checking to determine if any channel VPs are exiting the company. In the meantime, here’s the blow-by-blow.

The VAR Guy spent much of this week at Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2011 (WPC11), where the software giant proved it still knows how to build new, multi-billion-dollar businesses. But what else happened in the channel this week? Here are six channel partner blog entries The VAR Guy didn’t have time to write for the week ending July 15, 2011.

Cisco Systems is trying to rally customers and partners at the Cisco Live conference in Las Vegas this week. But there are some off-stage distractions. First up, one pundit speculates that Cisco will cut 5,000 positions in August. And in another sign of the times, Cisco channel veteran Lang Tibbils has left the networking giant to join McAfee. Sure, people make career moves all the time. But Tibbils’ career move reinforces changing times at Cisco.

As CEO John Chambers seeks to streamline and re-focus Cisco Systems around its core markets, some pundits speculate that Cisco will sell of its WebEx business. But Cisco insiders say such speculation is nonsense. Indeed, Cisco Senior Director of Business Development Richard McLeod moments ago told The VAR Guy — point blank — that the WebEx business is not for sale.

Quick, name a technology giant that dominated the 1990s and amassed 85 percent share (or more) in its core markets — only to face growth challenges, competitive pressures and a stagnant stock price in recent years. Alas, both Microsoft and Cisco Systems fit that distraction. Although they lead vastly different companies, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer (pictured, left) and Cisco CEO John Chambers (right) seem to be facing similar challenges. Here’s why.

Let’s cut right to the chase: Wall Street has lost faith in Cisco Systems, and investors are wondering if CEO John Chambers can get the networking company back on track. How can Chambers energize the company — and its channel partners? Here’s an open letter to John Chambers from The VAR Guy… search engine optimized to ensure it reaches John’s desk — or Cius tablet — using the minimal number of router hops.

The VAR Guy is packing his bags this evening for a trip to San Francisco. But before he embarks on this latest road trip here are six channel partner blogs The VAR Guy didn’t write for the week ending May 6, 2011.

Sometime later this year, The VAR Guy suspects, Cisco Systems will announce a more aggressive ISV (independent software vendor) partner initiative. Among the key potential partners: Microsoft. Indeed, there are signs the two tech titans plan to work more closely together on a range of fronts — especially within corporate data centers leveraging the Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS). Here’s the update.

Cisco Systems is offering a voluntary early retirement package to a portion of the networking company’s U.S. and Canada employee base, a Cisco spokesperson confirms. Channel VPs and top Cisco salespeople — among other distinguished folks — will not be eligible for the offer. Here’s the update, along with insights from The VAR Guy.