The VAR Guy

Admittedly, most VARs have yet to jump into Amazon’s cloud. But that may soon change. Here are three prime examples highlighting how Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) and Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) are catching on with solutions providers. In some cases, the solutions providers may not even realize they’re working in Amazon’s cloud. Take a look.

DotNetNuke, which makes an open source content management system, seems to be gaining traction with channel partners. The company, which supports Microsoft .NET environments, has gone from zero to about 50 VARs and hosting providers in the past year, according to The VAR Guy’s ongoing Open Source 50 survey. Here are the details.

The VAR Guy is dragging a bit as the decade comes to a close. Our resident blogger needs to drop a few pounds and get energized for 2010. But before he starts a crash diet, here are six channel blog entries The VAR Guy didn’t write for the week ending Dec. 31, 2009.

SugarCRM CEO Larry Augustin loves stretch goals. A case in point: Augustin hopes to double SugarCRM’s revenues in 2010. To get there Augustin will need help from traditional channel partners and emerging Software as a Service (SaaS) partners. Here’s the open source CRM company’s strategy.

Two prominent open source applications providers — Open-Xchange and SugarCRM — are partnering to integrate their collaboration and customer relationship management software. The move comes as Open-Xchange recruits SaaS partners and on-premise channel partners to battle Microsoft Exchange. Here’s the scoop.

In this pocast, SugarCRM Interim CEO Larry Augustin discusses the company’s search for a permanent CEO; the company’s cloud- and SaaS-focused channel partners; working with Microsoft and Windows Server; and SugarCRM’s growth strategy for open source CRM. Plus: Will SugarCRM run in Microsoft’s Windows Azure cloud?

 

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SugarCRM remains in growth mode, and channel partners are responsible for two-thirds of the open source company’s revenue, according to interim CEO Larry Augustin (pictured). Heck, even Microsoft is helping to fuel SugarCRM’s growth. Here’s the scoop.

When The VAR Guy arrives at CompTIA Breakaway (Aug. 3-6, Las Vegas), a major gathering of VARs and solutions providers, our resident blogger plans to meet with key representatives from Red Hat and Synnex — co-founders of the Open Source Channel Alliance. Here’s what The VAR Guy has in mind for the discussion.

Tech Data, a $24 billion technology giant with deep Microsoft relationships, has developed a 24-month plan to emerge as “the voice for open source in distribution,” The VAR Guy has learned. The proposed strategy includes potential open source hardware solutions from Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Fujitsu. And it has broad implications for the software industry and the global IT channel. Here’s the scoop.

They aren’t household names. But in the world of open source business intelligence (BI) software, Jaspersoft and Pentaho are trading some impressive blows and building out their partner programs. Here’s the scoop from The VAR Guy.

Call it D-day for open source channel distribution. Synnex, Red Hat and nearly a dozen open source application providers — from Alfresco to Zmanda — have launched the Open Source Channel Alliance. The effort represents a tipping point for open source in the channel, reaching a potential 15,000 Synnex resellers. Here’s who’s in the Open Source Channel Alliance, who’s missing and what it all means to VARs and solutions providers.

Can solutions providers profit from Amazon Web Services? The VAR Guy found the answer by spending some more time with Levementum, a solutions provider that integrates multiple open source applications (such as SugarCRM and Compiere ERP) into Amazon’s cloud for customers. Here’s a bit about Levementum’s strategy and future direction.

If you want to see the future of the IT channel, take a look at Levementum, a system integrator that is deploying a range of open source applications (from Compiere to SugarCRM) in the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Ec2). Levementum isn’t alone. Progressive solutions providers across the globe are plugging into Amazon Web Services.

Even as some Wall Street indexes hit 15-year lows, GroundWork Open Source has apparently lined up more funding and seems to be plotting a long-term IPO (initial public offering) strategy with a CEO change.

CompTIA (the Computing Technology Industry Association) and its SoftwareCEO portal have issued a research report showing a substantial drop in high-tech mergers, acquisitions and IPOs. The stats didn’t surprise The VAR Guy. But the findings are a timely, interesting read nonetheless. When will the high-tech IPO market improve? The VAR Guy offers a guess — along with a look at three companies poised to test the IPO waters.

Pentaho, which specializes in commercial open source business intelligence (BI), has launched a formal Gold Reseller Program as part of a global push for the company. The VAR Guy is hardly surprised, given his ongoing dialog with Pentaho Channel Chief Lars Nordwall. Although details about the gold program are sketchy, Pentaho seems to be catching on with solutions providers.

At first glance, SugarCRM has launched new programs to train customers on open source CRM (customer relationship management). But take a closer look and you’ll see the continued evolution of SugarCRM’s channel partner program and SaaS (software as a service) initiatives. Here’s the scoop.

Most folks are focusing on Cisco Systems’ consumer electronics push this week. But The VAR Guy is keeping one eye on the data center — where Cisco apparently is preparing to launch blade servers. If true, our resident blogger wonders: How soon will Cisco speed dial Red Hat, MySQL, Novell, SugarCRM and other open source application providers?

Even as some VARs begin to embrace open source applications, they must deal with a new force: The shift of open source applications into the cloud and SaaS (software as a service) models. A case in point: JumpBox has pushed a dozen open source applications into the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) service. Here are the implications for VARs.

Compiere Inc., an open source ERP (enterprise resource planning) and CRM (customer relationship management) provider, is launching training courses to help strengthen the company’s customer and partner ranks. Backed by 65 channel partners, Compiere hopes more integrators will master the company’s software. Here are the details from The VAR Guy.

The delicate dance between Red Hat Enterprise Linux and open source application providers continues. The latest example: Red Hat is among the latest investors in Jaspersoft, which specializes in open source business intelligence. Here’s the scoop, from The VAR Guy:

The VAR Guy nearly overlooked a major development in the open source IT channel: Novell and SugarCRM veteran Lars Nordwall (pictured) has made the leap to Pentaho, an open source business intelligence company. Nordwall’s move is one small step for open source VARs, and one giant leap for Pentaho. Here’s why.

The VAR Guy has spent the last two years evangelizing software as a service (SaaS) and open source as a killer combination that VARs need to master. But now Trip Chowdhry from Global Equities Research says SaaS and open source companies will suffer greatly amid the economic turmoil. Here are Chowdhry’s perspectives and The VAR Guy’s observations.