The VAR Guy

Red Hat has invested in EnterpriseDB, the two companies confirmed today. The move accelerates EnterpriseDB’s momentum with big-name partners and also gives Red Hat a hedge against the pending Oracle-Sun-MySQL business combination that awaits regulatory approval. Here’s some more analysis.

After a one-year hiatus, Novell plans to resume its BrainShare conference for customers and channel partners in 2010, according to Chief Marketing Officer and Channel Chief John Dragoon (pictured). Somewhere, SUSE Linux fans should be celebrating. Here’s why.

Chariot Solutions, a Red Hat channel partner and Catalyst Program member, has developed an iPhone application to monitor JBoss application server performance. This is the latest example of an open source solutions provider blending IT consulting and ISV (independent software vendor) efforts. Here’s the scoop from The VAR Guy.

The VAR Guy is hanging out with 1,400 of his closest friends at Red Hat Summit and JBoss World in Chicago. Here are seven key observations — involving Red Hat’s business, channel and partner strategies — so far.

During Red Hat Summit in Chicago, CEO Jim Whitehurst and Executive VP Paul Cormier warned attendees not to get locked into virtualization and cloud initiatives involving Microsoft Windows Azure and VMware. Here’s a recap of the morning keynotes.

Call it a careful test of partner relations. Take a close look at the Red Hat Summit today, and Red Hat seems to be hugging Synnex in one arm and Tech Data with the other. Of course, Tech Data and Synnex are fierce rivals. So why is Red Hat showing them equal love today? Here’s the scoop.

Red Hat today launched the Catalyst Program, which empowers VARs with complete open source software stacks that could rival traditional closed source stacks from Oracle and Microsoft. Here’s the scoop from Red Hat Summit and JBoss World in Chicago — plus some bigger-picture observations.

When the Red Hat Summit (and the associated JBoss World) conferences  kick off Sept. 1 in Chicago, The VAR Guy will be watching closely for new channel and partner developments — some of them involving Qumranet, Cisco Systems, EnterpriseDB and Alfresco. In fact, here are five key Red Hat trends our resident blogger expects to cover at Red Hat Summit and JBoss World.

As Novell prepares to announce quarterly results on Aug. 27, the company offered this tidbit of information: More than 2,000 independent software vendors (ISVs) have signed up for the SUSE Appliance Program — which is less than a month old. Pretty darn impressive, assuming those ISVs move forward with Novell. Here’s why VARs should care.

Consider the following scenario: Roughly 10,000 people are set to converge at VMworld (Aug. 31-Sept. 3, San Francisco). In many ways, the conference represents the center of the virtualization universe. But Cisco Systems VP Mark Fulgham (pictured) will be half-a-country away, delivering a virtualization keynote at Red Hat Summit (Sept. 1-4, Chicago). Here’s why.

From August 27 through September 4, The VAR Guy will pay particularly close attention to Novell and Red Hat. That nine-day period will provide a healthy reality check for the Linux market — and it may also reveal how open source initiatives are shaping up across the IT channel. Here’s why.

Alfresco, which positions itself as the open source alternative to Microsoft SharePoint, is getting very serious about the IT channel. After joining the Open Source Channel Alliance in April, Alfresco is playing an encore and expects to sign up 40 new system integrator partners in North and South America this year. Here’s the scoop.

Red Hat’s fastest-growing channel business — the JBoss middleware platform — potentially faces new competition. The aggressor is VMware, which has acquired SpringSource for $420 million. Here’s the scoop.

It’s a classic software industry strategy: Build a solution and then position it as an intuitive alternative to anything from Microsoft. To wit, Box.net says its shared content solution is a simple, cost-effective alternative to Microsoft’s super-hot SharePoint offering. Here’s the scoop.

Red Hat within the next few weeks — and possibly before Red Hat Summit (Sept. 1-4, Chicago) — plans to make major enhancements to the company’s channel partner program. Heading up to the announcement, Red Hat continues to work more closely with the Open Source Channel Alliance. Here’s the scoop 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.

When Red Hat kicks off its big customer summit June 18 in Boston, the open source giant will bring along a rather large — and surprising — date: Cisco Systems Inc. Why does Cisco plan to hang out at one of the open source industry’s largest events? The VAR Guy has a few hunches.

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.

The VAR Guy will keep a close eye on the Red Hat Summit, which kicks off June 18 in Boston. Here are five trends and themes he’ll be investigating at the event.