The VAR Guy

As a solution provider, your business is solving your customers’ problems in the best possible way, generating the highest possible value for them and in turn, for your firm as well. Today there is a pervasive challenge that is once again becoming increasingly painful for your customers: protecting against malware. The question to ask yourself is: are you proactively helping them address this in a way that creates value?

Our sister site, MSPmentor, will host its next webcast on Aug. 19 at 2:00 p.m. eastern. During the discussion, we’ll cover six ways for MSPs (managed service providers) and VARs  find and win new business. The format will be interactive. We’ll spend roughly 10 minutes on each business and sales tip.

The folks at Computer Service Partners (CSP) — a managed service provider in Raleigh, N.C. — have distracted The VAR Guy’s staff this week. First came word that CSP has a putting green in its Network Operation Center (NOC). Then The VAR Guy spotted a rather interesting application running in CSP’s NOC: Atari’s coin-op classic, Dig Dug. Here’s the scoop.

The next MSPmentor Live: CEO Exchange — a managed services webcast — is today (November 6) at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. Register now to hear how Gary Pica (general manager of mindSHIFT Technologies, a top managed service provider) and William MacLeod (CIO of Accu-Sort Systems, a top mindSHIFT customer) are strengthening their business relationship during these turbulent economic times.

The next MSPmentor Live: CEO Exchange — a managed services webcast — is November 6, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. Register now to hear how Gary Pica (general manager of mindSHIFT Technologies, a top managed service provider) and William MacLeod (CIO of Accu-Sort Systems, a top mindSHIFT customer) are strengthening their business relationship during these turbulent economic times.

As The VAR Guy continues his tour of Australia, he’s hearing solutions providers express more and more concern about the global economy. However, our resident blogger was pleased to hear some upbeat channel news from the States. Specifically, one of the world’s top managed service providers — DirectPointe — disclosed record third quarter sales results. In this economy, every victory counts.

Last call: Register now for today’s MSPmentor Live: CEO Exchange webcast. It’s scheduled for Thursday, October 2 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. During the event, hosted by MSPmentor.net (The VAR Guy’s sister site) you will have the opportunity to ask top managed service providers about their NOC (network operation center) strategies.

Millions of iPhone users download applications from Apple’s App Store. Now, Cisco Systems is considering a similar online App Store approach in the corporate market. Eventually, the networking giant may launch an online service or central repository to help you find Unified Communications applications and Widgets, The VAR Guy has learned. Here’s the scoop.

It’s official. Even CNBC says the Wall Street meltdown has spilled over into Main Street USA. Credit is getting tighter. It’s going to be difficult for entrepreneurs to make deeper investments in their own business. But don’t panic, folks. Here are five steps every VAR and managed service provider should take — right now — to generate more recurring revenue during the economic turmoil.

Dell Channel Chief Greg Davis says the company is exploring a range of new partner initiatives, including IT certifications for health care and federal government partners. Davis also says changes are coming to Dell’s deal registration system, which currently doesn’t accept engagements valued at under $50,000. For more, check out a podcast with Davis hosted by our sister site, MSPmentor.

Sparxent, a start-up company based in Salt Lake City, Utah, is seeking to acquire managed service providers and VARs that generate roughly $5 million to $20 million in annual revenues. The company, backed by vSpring Capital, today disclosed that it has acquired NetworkD Corp. of Newport Beach, California. Sparxent has also signed a letter of intent to acquire Arbyte of Moscow.

CompTIA Breakaway, held in Orlando, Florida, this week, was a successful conference for hundreds of VARs and managed service providers. Foolishly, open source companies that need channel strategies skipped the show. Here’s why The VAR Guy was alarmed.

When The VAR Guy heads to CompTIA Breakaway, he’ll be sure to poke around to see what Dell’s up to at the show. In the meantime, here’s some color commentary regarding Dell and its managed service strategy from our sister site, MSPmentor.

The news isn’t all bad at Symantec this week. The company has been working overtime to address controversial channel comments from COO Enrique Salem. But on the other hand, there’s some promising developments involving Symantec Protection Network, the company’s software as a service platform. Here’s the scoop from our sister site, MSPmentor.

(Note: I wrote the following blog for our sister site, MSPmentor, this morning. It certainly applies to VARs as well.) Pick up today’s paper and you’ll see a stunning contrast between Intel and the broader economy. As economic indicators continue to weaken, Intel has announced record quarterly revenue — providing some welcome news to managed service providers and other IT-centric businesses.

I’m upbeat about the managed services market and the IT channel, but I wonder: Will the mortgage crisis at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and IndyMac Bankcorp (among others) begin to impact small business IT spending, lending to small businesses, and the IT channel as a whole?

Whether you’re an established or aspiring managed service provider, time is running out to register for MSPmentor Live: CEO Exchange. The Webcast, hosted by our sister site MSPmentor, starts at 2pm eastern today (Wednesday, June 25).

Okay, so the headline is a bit of an exaggeration. But here’s the upshot: FedEx — a major economic bellwether — just delivered horrible financial results, and nearly one-third of CEOs expect to make job cuts over the next few months. But OnForce, the online marketplace for IT service providers, is feeling pretty upbeat about business in North America. Here’s why.

On June 25 at 2pm eastern, our sister site will host our next MSPmentor Live: CEO Exchange Webcast. Unlike traditional Webcasts, we typically answer dozens of attendee questions throughout the event. Our goal is to interact with managed service providers, and address your most pressing questions.

The VAR Guy likes simple messages that cut right to the point. So when Trend Micro launched its new “Worry-Free” security software brand, he was intrigued. What exactly is Worry-Free, and what does it mean to solutions providers? Here are some thoughts from our resident blogger.

The VAR Guy and many tech industry watchers breathed a collective sigh of relief on May 6, when Cisco Systems announced relatively strong earnings. Our resident blogger warned readers earlier this week that Cisco would make-or-break Wall Street, based on the company’s results. Overall, things look good at the company. But there was an area of weakness, notes our sister site, MSPmentor.

The VAR Guy’s sister site, MSPmentor, has an interesting scoop today about Ubuntu Linux. The fast-growing operating system, it seems, is leaping beyond PCs, servers and mobile devices. Next step: Network security systems. Here’s the scoop from MSPmentor.

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.