The VAR Guy feed
Six Channel Partner Blogs The VAR Guy Didn’t Write: July 30
The VAR Guy spent most of this week at the Avnet Technology Solutions Partner Summit, where some alarming conversations took place. Now that our resident blogger is back home on Long Island’s Gold Coast, here are six channel partner blog entries The VAR Guy didn’t have time to write for the week ending July 30, 2010.
7. Circle the Date(s): For the second consecutive year, Symantec and ConnectWise are hosting major partner events the same week. But some creative road warriors may find time to attend both events. The VAR Guy hears Symantec Partner Exchange 2010 runs November 2-4 (more details soon…) in Las Vegas, while ConnectWise IT Nation 2010 (formerly ConnectWise Partner Summit) runs Nov. 4-6 in Orlando.
6. Keeping it Real: Two well-known veterans of the solutions provider market — Calgary Consultant Stuart Crawford and Small Biz Author Karl W. Palachuk — on Aug. 5 will host a Small Business Podcast about maintaining Work-Life balance. That’s been a hot topic for MSPs and VARs. But The VAR Guy wonders: Does the Crawford-Palachuk podcast count as work… or as play?
5. Smart Partners: SMBNation and Aspen University have launched a training partnership for technical SMB channel partners. The effort involves an online Pocket MBA program. Meanwhile, AIIM and Gimmal Group have launched a certificate program focused Microsoft SharePoint 2010. Now, The VAR Guy’s crazy question to readers: Are you certifiable?
4. Breaking Away — And Getting Together: The VAR Guy’s inbox is flooded with news and meeting requests related to CompTIA Breakaway. Our resident blogger is still sorting through all the news tips. A few involve some key career moves involving channel chiefs, media pros and research experts. Also of interest: Rauline Ochs, senior VP of Everything Channel’s IPED, will attend Breakaway — a sign that CompTIA and Everything Channel are trying to cooperate even as they compete on some fronts (such as Breakaway vs. XChange).
3A. Competing and Cooperating: Sure, The VAR Guy noticed some potential competition between Oracle and Cisco Systems this week. But our resident blogger is hearing chatter involving some strategic cooperation between Oracle and Cisco…. The VAR Guy is still fact-checking the info.
3B. Live… From Redwood Shores: Separately, it sounds like Oracle Channel Chief Judson Althoff is working on some embedded-related efforts — when he’s not preparing for his closeup on Oracle TV. Stay tuned.
2. Uncle Sam vs. Larry Ellison & Co,: Speaking of Oracle, the U.S. government alleges Oracle defrauded the government by overcharging for software. Meanwhile, IBM faces an anti-trust probe in Europe. For the record, The VAR Guy hasn’t received any lawsuits or cease-and-desist letters this week… though he hasn’t checked his street mailbox today.
1. Check the Headline: This remains a weekly top six list, reducing The VAR Guy’s workload on this blog entry by one-seventh every week — efficient, eh? Plus, that one-seventh of extra time frees you up for more important matters, like Gerard’s Song of the Day…
Thanks for reading. The VAR Guy enjoys all the daily dialog.
Follow The VAR Guy via RSS; Facebook; Identi.ca; Twitter; and via his Newsletter; Webcasts and Resource Center. Plus, visit www.VARtweet.com.
Read More About This TopicConvirture Targets KVM, Xen Open Source Virtualization Mgmt
How can virtualization VARs and their end-customers manage open source hypervisors like KVM and Xen? Convirture, promoter of ConVirt technology, may have the answer. Here’s why.
Convirture claims Xen and KVM open source hypervisors are easier to manage with ConVirt 2.0 Enterprise Edition. ConVirt isn’t new, but version 2.0 is and Convirture says real-world data centers have used and downloaded ConVirt more than 30,000 times. Plus, the company says ConVirt1.x is built into major Linux distros, like Ubuntu, Debian, OpenSUSE and more.
ConVirt 2.0 is being branded as a tool designed to use a company’s infrastructure in the most efficient way and being the “go-to-tool” for enterprises looking to go a hosted or private cloud, too. ConVirt has an extensive list of services, such as…
- Server pool-based management
- Templates-based provisioning
- Monitoring and configuration management
- Comprehensive virtual machine administration
- Highly scalable, 3-tier, standards-based architecture
In addition, ConVirt 2.0 Enterprise offers backup and recovery, private cloud management, storage and network automation that’s streamlined along with Enterprise integration for open repository, command line interfaces and of course APIs, the company says.
ConVirt 2.0 starts at $1,495 per host, up to 10 hosts, with a volume pricing for larger environments. You can also nap a “per virtual machine” package if you’re an ISP or hosting provider.
We haven’t put ConVirt 2.0 to the test but we’ll be checking in with channel partners to see how they’re managing open source and closed source hypervisors.
Follow The VAR Guy via RSS; Facebook; Identi.ca; Twitter; and via his Newsletter; Webcasts and Resource Center. Plus, visit www.VARtweet.com.
Read More About This TopicNorway Article Suggests iPhone 4 Issues Involve AT&T Network
Here’s a new spin on the iPhone 4 antenna and signal reception issue: Norway’s largest newspaper (think, The Wall Street Journal for Norway) suggests the iPhone 4 reception issues are related to AT&T’s U.S. network rather than the iPhone 4 antenna. Here’s a closer look at the claims.
A tip of the hat goes to Appleinsider.com for translating the story. The nutshell version goes like this:
The iPhone 4, HTC Wildfire, Nokia E71, and iPhone 3GS get taken to a remote part of Norway, on the outskirts of cellular provider who services the iPhone in Norway. All phones were subject to the death grip. All phones saw attenuation of signal. But the iPhone 4 did not do any worse nor better in the lineup.
But here comes the more interesting part: the article suggests that AT&T’s U.S. network, rather than the iPhone 4, could be causing the iPhone 4 reception issues. Moreover, the article mentions a Norwegian site named Amobil, which said the iPhone 4, as tested, shows no evidence of poor design and said integrated antennas normally are affected based on how phones are held. The Norwegian article also cited Amobil saying that mobile networks in Norway are “much more robust than AT&T’s network in the US.”
AppleInsider, along with the person who helped translate the Norwegian article expressed his own experiences with the iPhone 4, stating…
“I have myself tested the iPhone 4 and tried to replicate the signal loss close to one of Norway’s major towns without being able to get even one less bar.”
Can this save Apple, even just a little bit? Will this continue to spur rumors about a better iPhone for Verizon or a competing network? All this news falls on the backdrop of Apple’s continuation to prove signal attenuation by adding the Droid X to the lineup of videos showing phone signal attenuation.
Meanwhile, we’ve reached out to AT&T for comment about the iPhone 4’s performance on AT&T’s network.
Follow The VAR Guy via RSS; Facebook; Identi.ca; Twitter; and via his Newsletter; Webcasts and Resource Center. Plus, visit www.VARtweet.com.
Read More About This TopicVM6: New Virtualization Partner?
We hear a lot of virtualization noise in the market. But VM6 has caught our attention. The reason: They’ve just launched a global channel partner program and VM6 claims to help end-customers leverage existing IT infrastructure. Here are some perspectives.
The VM6 software solution, called VMex, leverages Microsoft’s Hyper-V and offers a solution for consolidation, high availability, and VM management. The company says VMex can transform a Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 into a self-contained data center in a box. It’s a totally virtualized SAN environment, with it’s own management console, VM6 claims.
VM6 says they’re helping VARs and system integrators break into the virtualization scene for SMBs and remote branch offices — two areas where some virtualization offerings are too complex or too costly for customers and channel partners alike.
As a 100% channel driven company, the global partner program is part of VM6’s plan to expand and help reach out to more partners working in the SMB space. VM6 is providing traditional partner program benefits, including sales and tech training, and deal registration.
On the right, you can see how VM6 approaches the virtualization challenge.
What makes VM6 different? They were once a systems integrator, and the company therefore believes it understands channel challenges and opportunities better than typical software companies.
Follow The VAR Guy via RSS; Facebook; Identi.ca; Twitter; and via his Newsletter; Webcasts and Resource Center. Plus, visit www.VARtweet.com.
Read More About This TopicCisco’s Jim Sherriff: The Channel is the Sweet Spot
Jim Sherriff’s new role as head of Cisco Systems’ U.S. and Canada channel strategy raised key question — mainly, how does his enterprise experience qualify him to lead Cisco’s North American channel partners? I had the chance to take that question straight to Sherriff. Here’s what he had to say.
Sherriff, whose resume includes stints as VP of HP Consulting and SVP of Cisco’s US Enterprise business, acknowledges that from afar, people may not spot his channel expertise and real-world experience in the trenches.
But Sherriff himself is quick to point out that he spent almost two and a half years as CEO of a Cisco, HP, and Sun Microsystems channel partner. Sherriff says that his time on the frontlines in the channel gave him two things that will benefit him in his new position: empathy for how hard it is for a partner to make money and sustain growth, and a willingness to “switch places” and let other companies take the lead in finding new opportunities for the VAR.
Moving forward, Sherriff says that he’s going to continue along the lines that Cisco Global Channel Chief Keith Goodwin already announced and use the US and Canada marketplaces as “sandboxes” to try new strategies and figure out how best Cisco can work with VARs.
And while Sherriff lead the conversation with this, I’ll leave it as a final note: he’s excited to have his new official title of Senior Vice President of the US & Canada Partner Organization, and seems to believe strongly in how Cisco and its North American partners can help each other in a time when everyone’s looking for new opportunities.
“This is the sweet spot,” Sherriff says.
In the weeks ahead, we’ll closely track Sherriff and the Cisco channel team — particularly in the SMB market. We’ve been in touch with multiple Cisco sources who are developing a global SMB channel strategy. Stay tuned.
Follow The VAR Guy via RSS; Facebook; Identi.ca; Twitter; and via his Newsletter; Webcasts and Resource Center. Plus, visit www.VARtweet.com.
Read More About This TopicSaaS: Arrow Promotes Verio Hosted Exchange, Hosted SharePoint
Hosted business solution provider Verio has inked a North American distribution deal with Arrow Enterprise Computing Solutions (Arrow ECS), connecting VARs with services like managed private servers, domain name registration, and Microsoft Exchange and SharePoint delivered as SaaS. Here’s a look at the deal.
Under the agreement, Arrow ECS will work with Verio’s sales force to find VARs hosted services sales opportunities and educate those VARs on what hosted services can do for them. It signals the expansion of the Arrow Fusion Professional Services Program, designed to open new doors for the resellers it does business with.
The complete range of Verio services is now available to Arrow ECS VARs, which means that the whole world of the cloud and SaaS is open to them — as I noted above, Verio provides everything from cloud servers to hosted messaging. Moreover, it’s backed by the viaVerio partner program and the benefits that entails.
“We continue to focus on enhancing our value for resellers by providing a broad range of products and services that will help them meet their customers’ demands, increase their portfolio of offerings and create new revenue opportunities,” said Joe Burke, vice president of worldwide services for Arrow ECS, in a prepared statement.
Arrow ECS is a giant in the distribution channel, with $4.9 billion in enterprise IT solution sales last year.
Verio, meanwhile, continues to expand its partner ranks. The company specializes in hosted and managed SMB solutions, and Verio is seeking to recruit roughly 500 SMB VARs and solutions providers this year, according to recent briefings with The VAR Guy.
Additional reporting by Joe Panettieri. Follow The VAR Guy via RSS; Facebook; Identi.ca; Twitter; and via his Newsletter; Webcasts and Resource Center. Plus, visit www.VARtweet.com.
Read More About This TopicHealth Care IT: Big Money or Big Hype?
Distributors and software companies continue to evangelize health care IT opportunities. But how quickly can new VARs generate profits after entering the health care vertical? Here are some stats, along with a look at some of the latest health care-related moves across the IT channel.
During the Avnet Technology Solutions Partner Summit near Denver, Colo., this week, Avnet indicated that its top VARs have found ways to raise their annual health care IT revenues by 40 percent or more. How? By focusing on Avnet’s HealthPath solution path and university training.
Of course, Avnet has plenty of competition within the distribution market. Tech Data, for one, has launched a Healthcare IT Pavilion (to train partners) and Tech Data will also distribute Greenway Electronic Health Records‘ medical practice management software. Plus, independent software vendors like gloStream are hitting the road to meet VARs and promote their medical practice software.
Tech Data’s Healthcare IT PavilionThe pavilion features a “simulated doctor’s office” that can demo and show off technology designed for medical facilities, big or small, along with a focus on EHR (electronic health records). Tech Data’s Healthcare Specialized Business Unit is supporting the facility, too, with practice management software, document imaging, networking, video and unified communications, plus digital signage. You can check out some pictures here.
The following technologies are demoed:
- Electronic Health Records
- Mobility (PC carts, tablet PCs, ruggedized handhelds)
- Practice Management Systems
- Document Imaging
- Unified Communications
- Video Conferencing
- Security
- Digital Signage
- Specialized Accessories (antimicrobial mouse pads, washable keyboards, etc…)
Meanwhile, Tech Data has agreed to distribute Greenway’s medical practice management software portfolio, dubbed PrimeSuite.
Here’s the quick rundown of what PrimeSuite offers:
- PrimeExchange – Patient info and practice data is shared among practices and externally with affiliated healthcare organizations
- PrimePatient – Web portal for patients to fill out and read health info, pay bills, and request appointments, etc…
- PrimeResearch – Online resource for doctors with access to clinical trial and drug info to help patients
- PrimeMobile – Mobile access to patient information, allows for work, notes and data to be synchronized via a handheld device.
- PrimeRCM – A revenue cycle management solution for medical practices
Resellers have to be trained in the Greenway “PrimeTraining” curriculum before they go out and sell, but resellers are backed by Greenway’s customer services, post and pre sales. This solution will be on display at Tech Data’s new Healthcare IT Pavilion.
Money MattersNo doubt, government mandates have triggered more health care IT spending. But careful of all that hype. Instead of chasing dollars, study the market.
Two VARs you may want to emulate:
- Technologent, which generated 800 percent growth in the health care market last year, Avnet says, and completed various HealthPath training.
- ETG, a managed services provider that appears poised to double its health care-related revenues this year.
Like we said: There’s lots of Health Care IT activity. But be careful. We’re seeing and hearing from VARs that stumble in the market.
Additional reporting by Joe Panettieri. Follow The VAR Guy via RSS; Facebook; Identi.ca; Twitter; and via his Newsletter; Webcasts and Resource Center. Plus, visit www.VARtweet.com.
Read More About This TopicCisco, NetApp, VMware: Converging In the Data Center
Cisco and NetApp have unleashed their new end-to-end Fibre-Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) solution with VMware. It’s designed for a so-called Dynamic Data Center. Perhaps not by coincidence, the trio are making their move the same week that Hewlett-Packard announced its Flexible Data Center strategy. The big question: Which data center strategy will channel partners embrace?
Let’s start with the Cisco, NetApp and VMware move. The end-to-end FCoE solution is built for VMware virtual environments exclusively, and looks to consolidate the number of devices and cables needed to actually drive the data center. What’s more, Cisco data center switches and NetApp storage FCoE solutions are now validated by VMware to support VMware environments.
All three companies mark this as a “significant milestone” for progressing the FCoE protocol amid growing opportunities in cloud computing. The trio claims they’re the “only networking, storage and vitalization vendors to combine data center consolidation, virtualization and automation” all using the FCoE.
Cisco, NetApp and VMware claim their solution will do the following:
- Save customers money: FCoE reduces the number of cables and adapters required in the data center.
- Increased Efficiency: Reduces equipment footprints in data centers, thereby reducing cooling requirements and power consumption
- FCoE now for Virtualized Environments: The trio feel that this is an prime example of how 10Gb lossless Ethernet has become a secure and integral part of a unified data center infrastructure. FCoE allows for NAS and iSCSI to exist on harmoniously on a single network. All this rolled together, is said, to improve network “agility and performance.”
Meanwhile, HP has been taking its own data center steps. Specifically, Hewlett-Packard says they’ve found a way to cut customers’ capital investment in half when building a data center, while simultaneously being green and cutting customers’ carbon footprint.
HP says the effort, called Flexible Data Center, is patent-pending, offering a standardized approach and modular design. HP calls this design “butterfly” because it has four prefabricated modules that can branch off from a centralized administrative section.
The cost is cheap since it’s using industrial components, HP claims, and there’s a streamlined building process that enables power and cooling to be distributed as well. HP is offering services with their new data center offering that help design and consult customers on implantation.
Choosing SidesMeanwhile, Cisco continued to bang the drum for its unified computing system (UCS) during this week’s Avnet Technology Solutions Partner Summit near Denver, Colo.
At the conference, Cisco representatives described current data center inflection points, and shared their views on how Cisco UCS can disrupt traditional data center companies like IBM and HP, and even some coopetition involving Cisco vs Oracle.
Perhaps Avnet officials said it best, predicting the IT world would converge around four or five companies.
Additional reporting by Joe Panettieri. Follow The VAR Guy via RSS; Facebook; Identi.ca; Twitter; and via his Newsletter; Webcasts and Resource Center. Plus, visit www.VARtweet.com.
Read More About This TopicRackspace Cloud Servers for Windows Gets Updated
Hosting provider Rackspace Cloud has announced an update to their still-in-beta Cloud Servers for Windows offering, bringing snapshots and backups as well as enhanced scalability to the Microsoft-enabled cloud instance platform. Here’s the skinny.
With this new update, Rackspace Cloud Servers for Windows gives administrators the capability to take a snapshot image of your cloud instance for later retrieval and backup in the case of disaster. Moreover, users can schedule when snapshots are taken, helping to make sure any backup is as close to current as possible. Snapshotting is a feature common to cloud platforms, but its until-now absence can be forgiven seeing as how it’s still in beta.
The other major new feature is what Rackspace Cloud called “Resize Up,” where users can increase the size of their cloud server as needed. More memory or disk space is but a click away, says their official blog entry. Ironically, Rackspace doesn’t yet offer the ability to scale an instance down when a usage peak has passed, but they say it’s coming soon.
It’s clear that Rackspace Cloud Servers for Windows is still very much a work in progress. But it’s an intriguing one, nonetheless.
Follow The VAR Guy via RSS; Facebook; Identi.ca; Twitter; and via his Newsletter; Webcasts and Resource Center. Plus, visit www.VARtweet.com.
Read More About This TopicSaaS: Zoho Launches Affiliate Partner Program
Google Apps competitor Zoho has launched an affiliate partner program. Can passive partners — everyone from bloggers to SMB web site owners — potentially profit from Zoho’s new SaaS partner program? Here’s some analysis.
Setup seems as basic as basic can be, as per Zoho’s blog entry: give them your PayPal account when you sign up, use the links and banners they provide you on your website, and when people start signing up for Zoho services through your hawking, you reap the rewards.
Zoho pays you when the users themselves pay Zoho, and you even get a cut on the monthly fees for up to 12 months after. It sounds like a good way to make recurring revenue in the most passive way possible — assuming you actually drive traffic in Zoho’s direction.
Right now, the Zoho Affiliate Program is only for Zoho Invoice and Zoho Projects, with more coming soon. The company already offers a partner program, but Zoho’s now showing a willingness to do business with whoever can get them more users.
Follow The VAR Guy via RSS; Facebook; Identi.ca; Twitter; and via his Newsletter; Webcasts and Resource Center. Plus, visit www.VARtweet.com.
Read More About This TopicCisco Names Jim Sherriff U.S. and Canada Channel Chief
Cisco Systems, as The VAR Guy suspected, appears set to announce Jim Sherriff (pictured) as its new U.S. and Canada channel lead sometime today. Translation: Sherriff essentially becomes Cisco’s North American Channel Chief, succeeding Wendy Bahr, who has shifted into a newly designed role. So who is Sherriff? Here are some perspectives — plus an ironic twist involving Hewlett-Packard.
First, some alleged chatter from within the halls of Cisco. After finishing up some birthday cake, Cisco Global Channel Chief Keith Goodwin is set to announce Sherriff’s new position within a blog entry sometime on July 29. Goodwin tweeted a vague teaser about the announcement earlier this week. Then, a few trusted (and loose lipped) channel sources promptly told The VAR Guy that Jim Sherriff was set to become Cisco’s North American Channel Chief.
Note: Cisco has yet to confirm all this Sherriff speculation from The VAR Guy. Updated July 29, 9:53am eastern: Cisco has just confirmed everything.
But let’s keep the speculation going. Who is Sherriff? Most recently, he was chairman of Cisco China, where Sherriff oversaw Cisco’s overall business strategy in China. Earlier, Sherriff was Cisco’s Enterprise Segment Senior Vice President with sales responsibility for 3,200 of Cisco’s largest enterprise customers throughout the U.S., according to a bio tracked down by The VAR Guy.
Leaving the GarageOh, and here’s the ironic twist. Before joining Cisco, Sherriff had a 20-year career at a certain hardware company called… um… wait for it… Hewlett-Packard.
Though more than a decade ago, Sherriff’s time at HP included serving as VP and GM of HP Consulting, with responsibility for all of HP’s professional services, according to his bio.
Now that Cisco competes fiercely with HP, you can bet Sherriff will help Cisco partners to counter the HP Services team.
Getting Up to SpeedStill, Sherriff will need to prove himself to Cisco’s channel. Some Cisco observers say Sherriff has a strong enterprise reputation but some say he apparently has no channel experience.
But take a closer look folks: Sherriff may have been a solutions provider during a previous career stop at Stonebridge Technologies.
Either way: Cisco’s North American channel apparently has a new Sherriff in town … you all be cool.
Follow The VAR Guy via RSS; Facebook; Identi.ca; Twitter; and via his Newsletter; Webcasts and Resource Center. Plus, visit www.VARtweet.com.
Read More About This TopicDo Sun Partners Really Need to Embrace Oracle Solutions?
Oracle continues to evangelize software solutions to Sun legacy partners. But do Sun partners need to specialize in Oracle databases, applications and middleware? The VAR Guy gathered some thoughts from Oracle VPs Tom Wagner and Jim Standard, plus Avnet VP Mike Hurst. Here are their perspectives.
First, a little background. The VAR Guy caught up with Wagner, Standard and Hurst during the Avnet Technology Solutions Partner Summit, held July 26-28 near Denver, Colo. Much of the conference focused on transitioning Sun partners to the Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN) Specialized partner program.
The VAR Guy’s key questions:
- Do Sun partners truly need to embrace Oracle-centric software solutions?
- For those Sun partners exploring Oracle-centric software opportunities, which Oracle offerings should Sun partners embrace first?
- How is Avnet, a value-added distributor that works closely with Sun and Oracle, helping partners to potentially master OPN specializations?
Here’s how Wagner, Standard and Hurst addressed those questions.
Oracle Software Expertise: Must Have for Sun Partners?Sun partners know Wagner well. Indeed, Wagner is Sun’s former channel chief and he has also worked for a Sun VAR. These days, Wagner is Oracle’s group VP for North American Alliances and Channel Sales.
Throughout the Avnet partner conference, Wagner maintained a careful balancing act — conceding that Oracle was growing its direct sales force but pointing out that Sun partners can pursue roughly 130,000 North American Oracle customers that don’t have any Sun solutions in place.
But do those Sun partners need to start specializing in Oracle’s software? Wagner addresses the question in this FastChat video:
Click here to view the embedded video.
The bottom line: Wagner sounds like he’s politely nudging Sun legacy partners toward software specializations. The reason: Partners who choose to focus purely on the general purpose server and network maintenance markets are going to face a competitive slugfest.
Oracle Software Specializations: Potential First MovesNow, let’s assume a Sun partner buys into Oracle’s software vision. In that case, which Oracle software solutions should the Sun partner master first?
Jim Standard, Oracle’s group VP for global alliances and channels, says there’s no single magic bullet answer. Instead, he offers some tried-and-true advice: Listen to your customers, and they’ll ultimately tell you what Oracle software solutions they need. This FastChat video expands on Standard’s thoughts:
Click here to view the embedded video.
How Sun Partners Can Prep for Oracle SpecializationsNow, let’s assume a Sun partner has spotted an Oracle software specialization of interest. How can the partner master and earn that OPN Specialization?
Hmmm… One potential answer involves Avnet Technology Solutions, which has launched two programs — Value Master and Under Our Wing — to help Oracle and Sun partners move forward within the OPN Specialized partner program.
Mike Hurst, VP and a global supplier business executive at Avnet Technology Solutions, offers some insights on the Avnet-Oracle relationship, and the potential upside for Oracle and Sun partners:
Click here to view the embedded video.
The Bottom Line for Sun PartnersNo doubt, The VAR Guy in recent months has heard Sun partners express concerns about (A) Oracle’s direct sales efforts and (B) transitioning into Oracle’s OPN Specialized partner program.
Transitions are never easy. Oracle still needs to polish various partner reward and loyalty efforts for Sun solutions providers. But here’s a riddle: How did Sun partners expect to survive if Sun had remained an independent, money-losing vendor whose very survival was in serious doubt?
Time to face facts: Oracle’s buyout of Sun actually mitigates customer questions about Sun’s long-term technical viability. And, perhaps shockingly, Oracle has already restored Sun’s business to profitability.
Nobody is saying Sun partners are going to have an easy time (A) potentially competing with Oracle in very high-end enterprise accounts and (B) navigating new and emerging OPN Specializations. But Sun partners were facing certain doom if Sun had remained independent.
Still, a big question remains: How many Sun legacy partners will follow the advice offered by Wagner, Standard and Hurst? The VAR Guy will be listening for clues.
Follow The VAR Guy via RSS; Facebook; Identi.ca; Twitter; and via his Newsletter; Webcasts and Resource Center. Plus, visit www.VARtweet.com.
Read More About This TopicThe PC Is Not Dead; Long Live PCs
It seems like once a year an article or blog gets posted re-igniting the debate on the future of computing devices. Because I often speak about the future of technology, the topic is of great interest to me — especially when it comes to the future of PCs.
First, let me pose a question: Why don’t other industries have the same black/white mentality?
- Mutual Funds are dead!
- The car is dead – SUV’s will take over!
- The toaster is dead!
Perhaps other mature industries, with more than 30 years of history, see changes as trends versus end results. To illustrate, yes, SUV sales have increased over the past 15 years, but is it really the end for cars? Absolutely not. Cars sales are growing and evolving geographically (China and other emerging markets), by style (coupe, sports, etc), by price point, by usage, by target market (eco friendly), and dozens of other ways.
Looking at some of the sources of the “PC is dead” mantra, it is usually a new technology that inspires the prediction:
- Internet in 1994
- Thin Clients in 1996
- Smart phone in 2002
- Virtualization in 2005
- Cloud in 2007
- Netbook in 2008
- Slate in 2010
Interestingly, if you look at thin clients, virtualization, cloud computing, netbooks and slates, all very newsworthy and loaded with mountains of hype, none of them have taken over 11% of the end user demand in business and government spending.
What makes the PC so resilient?
Interestingly, many of the original PC decisions that were made in Boca Raton, Florida in 1980 created the longevity of the platform. IBM deciding to use third parties for things like the processor, operating system, and BIOS in their first PC created a truly open, non-proprietary sand box. Other decisions like plenty of internal and external ports created a platform that would grow and evolve with the technology world around it.
No one in 1980 could predict the importance of connecting PCs together. In fact, networking didn’t become popular until years later. Things like high level gaming, multimedia, graphic arts, communication and social interaction were also significantly beyond the vision for the PC.
The PC has always been an open and configurable device, with a very low cost of entry for any organization to add value. Thus, its ability to evolve is core to its continued success.
It is the central device that you will continue to rely on as companion devices grow, such as smart phones, slates, WiFi toothbrushes, treadmills and thousands of other devices come to market.
Now, the facts:
The good news for VARs, Managed Service Providers and other hardware resellers is the growth of the PC market has rebounded very quickly from the economic downturn. In fact, NPD just reported that US Distribution and Commercial Reseller categories increase both Notebook and Desktop almost 50% year over year.
Globally, IDC reported that PC growth last quarter was over 20% with strong results across the globe. This happened to be the first quarter of sales for the Apple iPad. This was a very similar story to the rapid growth of the Netbook two years ago – very little impact on PC categories.
What does this prove?
The facts are pointing to a new reality in computing. Users are looking for companion devices where they add value, but rely on the PC as their home base. Interestingly, configuring devices for the first time, whether it is a BlackBerry or an iPad, requires a PC!
Pervasive computing is a concept where you will likely own 20 or more computer devices in the next 5 years. The PC appears to be the one central device that organizes, builds and customizes content for these other companions.
Based on the past 15 years, trying to predict the next 15 is next to impossible. Knowing that computing will continue to build ubiquity and new and exciting usage scenarios are around the corner, the PC is well positioned to adapt and thrive.
Jay McBain is director of SMB for Lenovo. Guest blog entries such as this one are contributed on a monthly basis as part of The VAR Guy’s 2010 sponsorship program. Read all of McBain’s guest blog entries here.
Read More About This TopicVMware Launches Volume License Solutions
VMware is launching a new Volume Purchasing Program, designed to make it simple for partners and virtualization customers to acquire discounted software licenses in bulk. It’s not entirely straight forward, but VMware says they’ve made the licensing process easy. Decide for yourself. Here’s the deal…
VMware’s Volume Purchasing Program (VPP) works off a tier-based points system for “simple” discount structuring. The more points earned, the greater the discount — though the discount rates vary based on the total purchase levels. The accumulated points can roll over an eight-quarter period Customers can earn anywhere from 4 percent to 12 percent discounts off VMware’s published MSRP prices.
VMware likens this entire system to a frequent flier program. For now, VPP comes from authorized VMware partners only.
Follow The VAR Guy via RSS; Facebook; Identi.ca; Twitter; and via his Newsletter; Webcasts and Resource Center. Plus, visit www.VARtweet.com.
Read More About This TopicAvnet’s Top Channel Partners: Who Are They?
The VAR Guy knows Avnet Technology Solutions works closely with a range of IT vendors. But which solutions providers work most closely with Avnet? And which of those channel partners are generating the most success? Here’s a quick look at Avnet’s partners of the year…
1. Top Server Partner: FusionStorm saw their server business grow 196 percent last year.
2. Top Storage Partner: Alliance Technology saw storage business grow 82% last year.
3. Top Service Partner: ASG generated double-digit growth in the services business.
4. Top Software Partner: Logicalis, saw their Oracle software business grow more than 350 percent.
5. Top Hitachi Partner: Continental Resources grew their Hitachi storage business by more than 40 percent last year.
6. Top Symantec Partner: HighVail Systems generated 380% growth in its Symantec business in 2009.
7. Top Growth Partner Award: Groupware won the award, though growth rates were not disclosed.
8. Top Public Sector Partner: World Wide Technology pushing beyond federal business to generate state and local momentum, according to Avnet.
9. Top Health Care Partner: Technologent generated 800 percent growth in the health care market, Avnet says, and completed various HealthPath training.
10. Partner of the Year: The Avnet nominees were Alliance Technology, ACS, FusionStorm, GroupWare and Technologent. The winner was Alliance Technology.
Avnet unveiled the winner list during the Avnet Technology Solutions Partner Summit, held this week near Denver, Colo.
Follow The VAR Guy via RSS; Facebook; Identi.ca; Twitter; and via his Newsletter; Webcasts and Resource Center. Plus, visit www.VARtweet.com.
Read More About This TopicCisco vs. Oracle: Friends or Foes at Avnet Partner Summit?
Call it the latest example of coopetition. On some fronts, Cisco Systems and Oracle cooperate. But on other fronts, Cisco and Oracle increasingly compete. That reality is taking center stage this week during the Avnet Technology Solutions Partner Summit near Denver, Colo. Here’s a recap through the eyes of The VAR Guy.
The Avnet partner conference started July 27 with heavy Oracle-centric content. Throughout the day, Oracle and Avnet executives described why Sun partners should begin to specialize and, not by coincidence, pursue the Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN) Specialized offerings. Oracle even claimed Sun’s CMT servers can outperform Intel servers.
Switch to July 28, and the conference is now focused mostly on the Avnet-Cisco Systems relationship. On the one hand, Avnet and Cisco are telling partners how to compete with Hewlett-Packard and IBM. But listen closely and you’ll hear where Oracle and Cisco will also compete and cooperate.
Chris Swahn, Avnet’s VP and GM for Cisco Solutions offered these two observations:
- Cisco’s unified computing system (UCS) offers another platform to run Oracle software.
- And for customers who prefer Sun’s SPARC servers, partners can complete the solution with Cisco’s NEXUS solutions.
Clearly, Swahn was trying to tactfully balance Oracle and Cisco messaging. But read between the lines and it’s clear Cisco and Oracle will wind up competing in some market segments — especially as Cisco attempts to consolidate servers, storage and networking in the data center. Swahn notes that Avnet hopes to generate $1 billion in Cisco data center sales within three years.
Now, the ironic twist: Cisco’s David Lawler took the stage and said he was a Sun veteran who had also worked on x86 servers. In The VAR Guy’s mind, Lawler was attempting to show he understood the competitive server landscape, and Cisco intends to disrupt the traditional Sun server business.
Cisco Sees Inflection PointLawler is VP of UCS product management within the Cisco server access virtualization group. He says multiple data center inflection points have occurred. They include:
- The Mainframe in the 1964: The compute, comms, storage and OS all were designed to work together and kicked off the IT industry. Then there were minicomputer and client server waves.
- Disaggregated systems in 1995: Distributed, standards-based disaggregated systems arrived. Compute, network, storage, operating system were available from many vendors. The web and virtualization drove additional opportunities.
- Now: In 2010 and beyond, there’s no single word to describe the next data center inflection point, Lawler says. But clearly, he’s pointing partners to Cisco’s unified computing system, which converges servers, storage and networking in the data center. He also pointed to 10Gb Ethernet, x86 evolution and virtualization as the enablers that Cisco spotted in 2005. Now, he says, a unified fabric, common compute platform and mainstream virtualization are driving the new data center.
The bottom line: Lawler asserted that Cisco has always embraced standards (such as Ethernet) to help develop new partner solutions. He assured partners that Cisco UCS is standards-based.
Sun Legacy, Cisco Future?During a few brief moments, Lawler mentioned his Sun legacy — a clear indication that he wants Sun partners in the room to trust Cisco’s vision. Lawler also mentioned that Intel x86 shipments are rising as customers migrate away from RISC, Itanium and Unix — an indirect shot at Solaris and SPARC, without having to mention them by name.
Sure, Lawler’s main competitive statements were directed at HP and IBM. But The VAR Guy wonders: Going forward, will Cisco and Oracle mostly cooperate or mostly compete?
Here’s a clue: Toward the end of Lawler’s session, he mentioned Cisco itself is running most of its Oracle applications on a Cisco UCS platform…
Hardly surprising and a clear sign of how Cisco and Oracle-Sun will compete on some fronts.
Follow The VAR Guy via RSS; Facebook; Identi.ca; Twitter; and via his Newsletter; Webcasts and Resource Center. Plus, visit www.VARtweet.com.
Read More About This TopicApptix Revamps SaaS Partner Program
Apptix, which provides hosted Microsoft Exchange and SharePoint messaging and collaboration to the enterprise, has announced a revamped partner program designed to help VARs meet the needs of businesses of all shapes and sizes. The company says the new effort includes increased margins for its partners. Here’s the scoop.
The idea, says an Apptix spokesperson, is that the company has broadened out to support resellers of three types:
- simple referrals, for resellers who identify opportunities but don’t want any further involvement;
- retail resellers, where Apptix themselves handles the VAR’s accounts receivable but otherwise is “hands free” on billing;
- and wholesale resellers who can add Apptix’s offering into a broader portfolio.
It’s pretty obvious Apptix is trying to expand their appeal to resellers of all shapes and sizes. And from a branding perspective, says that same Apptix spokesperson, they’re offering resellers co-branding, white label, and private label opportunities, depending on need and size.
As far as those enhanced margins go, Apptix was short on precise details but says that they’re offering VARs “increased and progressive partner margins.”
“The enhanced and flexible Apptix Partner Program provides resellers of any size the ability to leverage the cloud for expanded customer offerings and new recurring revenue streams,” said Apptix VP of Business Development Aubrey Smoot in a prepared statement.
Smoot had previously told The VAR Guy that Apptix would be enhancing their channel play this summer — and it looks like they’ve followed through. But is it enough to keep the so-called “Apptix Turnaround” going?
We continue to check in with a range of hosting providers to hear how they’re evolving their SaaS partner programs. We may have more news to share on the topic later today.
Follow The VAR Guy via RSS; Facebook; Identi.ca; Twitter; and via his Newsletter; Webcasts and Resource Center. Plus, visit www.VARtweet.com.
Read More About This TopicApple Updates iMacs, Mac Pros, Displays And Introduces Magic Trackpad
It’s Christmas in July, that is, if you’re an Apple fan and you happen to celebrate Christmas. As we suspected yesterday, Apple has unleashed a new bunch of toys. iMacs and Mac Pros have new CPUs, the 24 inch LED Cinema Display now has a 27 inch brother, and Apple has gone from one mouse button, to ditching the mouse all together with the new Magic Trackpad. Here’s the scoop…
The most desperately needed upgrade was to the Mac Pro, and boy did it get it. The Mac Pros now come outfitted with Intel’s 6-core CPUs, and come with dual-CPU configurations. The result? Apple’s branding the new machines “Mac to the power of 12.” There are also options for solid state drives, up to 512GB. Like always, Apple brands the Mac Pro as “the fastest Mac, ever” because, naturally, it’s their top of the line, and they’re the only ones selling Macs. But it’s cute anyway.
Meanwhile, the Core 2 Duo has finally be eliminated from the iMac lineup, being replaced with the Core i3 on low end models, going up to quad-core Core i7 on the top of the line. The iMacs can come equipped with SSDs up to 256GB as well as 2TB HD drives. Graphics have been updated, and there’s now support for SDXC memory cards.
Apple’s new 27 inch LED Cinema display features an IPS display (same type in iPad) to deliver superior viewing angles, and of course, gigantic resolution of 2560×1440. It’s got an iSight camera in it, along with all the USB peripheral ports, microphone and built in speakers, plus a MagSafe charger for your MacBook. It’s only $999, and that’s a steal when you consider that Apple’s (still selling) 30 inch Cinema Display (with a resolution of 2560×1600) still priced at $1799 and has none the above multimedia features.
Lastly, we have the Magic Trackpad. It’s not a surprise Apple released this. Rumblings and leaked photos of this device floated around when the Magic Mouse was about to come out. But Apple’s fascination with multi-touch just couldn’t stay on the mobile lineup. It’s simply a giant touch pad. It’s glass and clicks just like the Macbook touch pad. It has the same dimensions (just less wide) than the Apple aluminum keyboard, so they look great side by side, plus, this blogger thinks down the line it has potential to support more than the standard touches built into the MacBook line since the large surface area is great for 4-5 finger touches, too.
Overall, it’s the summer lineup that Apple is known for, and it’s nice to see they’re paying attention to the desktop market. Releasing the Magic Trackpad shows a small, but renewed commitment to the platform that made Apple so great in the first place.
The only no show? The MacBook Air.
But maybe that’s for the fall…?
Follow The VAR Guy via RSS; Facebook; Identi.ca; Twitter; and via his Newsletter; Webcasts and Resource Center. Plus, visit www.VARtweet.com.
Read More About This TopicOracle CMT Servers: Outperforming Intel?
The VAR Guy spent most of today listening to Oracle’s latest pitch to partners. The chatter occurred at Avnet Technology Solutions Partner Summit near Denver. Among the highlights: Some new competitive claims involving Sun’s CMT (Chip Multi-threading) servers allegedly outperforming Intel on some fronts. Here are the details, plus six other Oracle partner trends from the Avnet partner conference.
1. Ready to Attack Intel: Sometime on July 28, Oracle will meet with partners here to describe how Sun CMT servers can beat commodity Intel servers in terms of price-per-user and performance-per-watt benefits, The VAR Guy hears. Alas, The VAR Guy hasn’t seen or heard the presentation yet, but he’ll be investigating Oracle’s performance claims.
2. Big Numbers? Sure, Oracle plans to take roughly 4,000 customers direct. But Oracle claims existing Sun partners can find new revenue opportunities by targeting 130,000 North American customers that run Oracle but don’t yet have Sun solutions.
3. Reality Check: Instead of hyping the Oracle relationship, Avnet executives have conceded — multiple times — that the shift from a Sun-centric partner strategy to the Oracle OPN Specialized partner program involves some challenges. Avnet executives sound genuinely upbeat, noting that the distributor’s Sun server sales rose last quarter. However, the big question remains: Just how many Sun partners will evolve to offer Oracle database, middleware and application solutions?
4. Servers and Storage: Sun has a big product portfolio, but Oracle wants partners to focus on two core opportunities — servers and storage. From there, you can expand to Database 11g, Fusion middleware, enterprise management and infrastructure software, asserts Nick Kritikos, VP of partner enablement at Oracle.
5. Open Source Specializations: Most pundits know the Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN) Specialized program includes database, middleware and application specializations. But drill down a bit more, and you’ll discover a Linux Enterprise specialization plus a MySQL specialization. A presentation from Nick Kritikos briefly mentioned that Oracle would launch some MySQL-related marketing efforts, though Kritikos says it’s too soon to share specific details.
6. Database Differentiation: Kritikos insists that the Oracle database customer value proposition remains clear… Nobody, he asserts, can match Oracle in terms of data integrity, high availability and performance. Thanks to Oracle’s database architecture, “competitors won’t catch us for at least 10 to 20 years,” asserted Kritikos.
IBM will surely beg to differ with DB2, and SAP hopes to make a run at the database market with the recent Sybase acquisition.
7. Oracle Enterprise Manager: Oracle is promoting this management platform as a single dashboard for maintaining servers, middleware and applications. Longer term, Enterprise Manager will increasingly support virtual desktops as well. The net result: Watch for Oracle to gradually position Enterprise Manager for service providers and VARs that want to remotely manage customer data centers.
That’s all for now. The VAR Guy will be back soon with additional perspectives from Avnet’s partner conference.
Follow The VAR Guy via RSS; Facebook; Identi.ca; Twitter; and via his Newsletter; Webcasts and Resource Center. Plus, visit www.VARtweet.com.
Read More About This TopicCisco Set to Announce North American Channel Chief
Memo to Cisco Systems Global Channel Chief Keith Goodwin (pictured): The VAR Guy hears Cisco is set to announce a new U.S. and Canada channel lead. So, is it safe to say there’s a new Sherriff in town? Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge. Hmmm… The VAR Guy looks forward to the official announcement sometime around July 28. HR leaks are welcome in the meantime. Also, The VAR Guy hears you (Mr. Goodwin) just celebrated another birthday. Hope it was a specialized, er, special one. And don’t worry, you don’t look a day older than The VAR Guy, our anonymous but well-preserved blogger.
Read More About This Topic