The VAR Guy

The VAR Guy is hearing rumblings from Novell about potential virtualization news at this week’s Microsoft GetVirtualNow event or the upcoming VMworld, scheduled for Sept. 15-18 in Las Vegas. The news will likely involve bi-directional virtualization efforts with Microsoft, according to our resident blogger. Here’s the scoop.

Novell expects to name a new channel chief by the end of this week or sometime next week, according to Senior VP and Chief Marketing Officer John Dragoon. There’s also some good news on the SUSE Linux front. Here’s the scoop, from The VAR Guy.

The VAR Guy landed in Boston Tuesday night, and will spend Wednesday meeting with Novell and OnForce, among other companies. No taxis. No limos. No rental cars. Instead, our resident blogger will depend on a few trusted local friends to get him around town. He’ll be back later today with a recap of his meetings.

Open source companies are finally getting on their feet in the IT channel, The VAR Guy believes. In fact, companies like Digium, GroundWork Open Source, Openbravo and Untangle are following Red Hat and Novell into the IT channel — on a global basis. Here’s a look at their progress.

Two small Linux companies are merging. What does it mean to Linux market leaders like Red Hat, Novell and Ubuntu — and Linux customers? Here are some clues from The VAR Guy.

Okay, the headline is a bit over the top. But fans of The VAR Guy have come to expect some pumped-up drama on this site. So here we go. A few days ago, The VAR Guy openly wondered if Novell (based in Waltham, Mass.) would have any marketing surprises in store for Red Hat Summit, which runs June 18-20 in Boston. Well, The VAR Guy finally has some answers.

Imagine if the Los Angeles Lakers held a fan rally in Boston, right in the Celtics’ back yard. That’s the situation facing the open source industry, where the Red Hat Summit starts June 18 right in Boston — roughly 15 miles from Novell’s corporate headquarters. So, should Novell defend its home turf and march on Red Hat’s parade? The VAR Guy certainly would. Here’s how.

Openbravo, maker of open source ERP (enterprise resource planning) and POS (point of sale) platforms, has landed $12 million in new funding. Openbravo’s new funding reinforces growing interest in open, easily customized alternatives to entrenched giants like Oracle and SAP. The VAR Guy traded email with Manel Sarasa, CEO of Openbravo, for his thoughts on the funding. Here’s a look at the email exchange.

The VAR Guy admits it: He left Novell for dead last year. But recent conversations with the company forced him to rethink all of those negative notions. In a few markets, Novell may actually thrive. And in one particular market, Novell could give Microsoft a run for its money.

In an interview with Reuters, Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth confirmed what The VAR Guy already knew: Sun Microsystems is increasing its bets on Ubuntu Linux. Here’s the scoop.