The VAR Guy

Everyday there’s a new story about cloud computing and it is an increasing challenge to understand how all of the pieces fit together and how one actually leverages it in a practical and meaningful way. MSPmentor’s recent Cloud Computing Explained in Four Paragraphs did a great job simplifying and explaining cloud computing. But there are some deeper angles VARs need to explore. Here they are.

Microsoft and Red Hat have launched hosting and cloud partner programs within weeks of one another. But the partner programs are as different as closed source and open source. Here’s the scoop, plus a key ingredient that could Microsoft’s hosting strategy a leg up with channel partners.

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.

The VAR Guy isn’t going to make many friends with this blog post. He thinks Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS) is past its prime. Even as Microsoft gears up this November to ship SBS 2008 and Windows Essential Business Server 2008, our resident blogger wonders: Do small businesses really want on-site servers with all that software?

The VAR Guy has a theory: Sure, thousands of Microsoft partners are seeking to host Exchange Server, Dynamics and SharePoint. But, our resident blogger believes, a good portion of the Software as a Service (SaaS) industry is going open source. First, Linux became popular for hosting applications. Now, open source applications like SugarCRM are increasingly shifting to the SaaS model.

An old friend sent The VAR Guy a rather interesting YouTube link today (see above). In it, Google describes its software as a service (SaaS) strategy to VARs, IT consultants and managed service providers. Yes, folks. There’s a channel play for Google Apps. Here’s a look at the video. And a big thank you to Virus Woman for sending along the link.

It happened again: Another IT-related article declaring a specific technology industry segment “recession proof.” That’s a dangerous, misleading claim, The VAR Guy believes. Here’s why.