More than 300 IT executives and dozens of vendors met to talk about midmarket solutions at the Midsize Enterprise Summit.
ChannelWeb picked 15 common beliefs about Microsoft and gave channel partners the opportunity to explain why they're more fiction than fact.
ChannelWeb visited Tech Data's headquarters for a strategy update and was given a behind-the-scenes tour of how the distributor operates.
Apply Now For Our 'Women In The Channel' Special ReportWe're once again looking for a few good women - the leading women at solution provider organizations, vendors and distributors involved with the channel. In last year's report, VARBusiness recognized 50 women driving innovation and creating opportunities at channel organizations. To be considered for this year's listing, apply today
Posted by Joe Caponi at 04:35 PM, May 9, 2008 Sign Up For The 2008 Emerging Technology Vendors DirectoryIn last year's Emerging Technology Vendors special report, we wrote "[Emerging vendors offer] far superior technology, more robust margins and uncompromising technical support... they're reshaping the information technology industry, solution providers say, by handily beating established vendors in head-to-head product, margin, technical support and field engagement comparisons... It's not even close." Smart solution providers are always looking for new opportunities, and once again, we're looking for the newest vendors reaching out to the channel. If you're a vendor (under $1B in revenue) selling though the channel, Sign Up Now. The deadline is next Thursday, May 15. Posted by Joe Caponi at 05:04 PM, May 8, 2008 Quote Smarter: Product Pricing and AvailabilityWe want to change the way you build quotes for clients. Our newest tool offers real-time pricing, availability, and research on thousands of IT products, to help you get the best solutions into your customers hands, at the best prices. Most significantly for solution providers, it's possible to enter your reseller ID with D&H, Ingram Micro, Synnex or Tech Data, to determine your specific partner pricing from any of those distributors. Along with our partner, VARStreet, we're eager to see how this helps you operate your business, and how we can continue to improve it.
Posted by Joe Caponi at 10:52 AM, May 8, 2008 20 Great-Looking Solution Provider WebsitesLike Captain Kirk, when he was split into good and evil halves, great technology solutions won't thrive without great design. While great design doesn't always come naturally to solution providers, it can provide a key differentiator in positioning their businesses. And I've found some sites that do just that. We've just posted "20 Great-Looking Solution Provider Sites," a slide show I've put together, recognizing some of the sharpest sites in our industry. Starting with the 2007 VARBusiness 500 companies, I whittled the list down to sites that demonstrate appealing design, imagery and typography, along with elegant navigation, and I learned quite a bit myself. Coming soon: What not to do.
Posted by Joe Caponi at 03:20 PM, May 7, 2008 Can You Hear Me Now? Not With Vista AudioOn Friday, our Kevin McLaughlin posted a brief piece audio problems experienced by Windows Vista users running the new Service Pack 1 and Windows Update: "The update for IDT (Formerly Sigmatel)'s high definition sound and is called "IDT High Def Codec," according to several users on a Dell customer forum, who claim that installing the update results in a "Code 10" Error after rebooting, as well as the loss of audio." As of late this afternoon, over 120 ChannelWeb readers have posted in our forums about their experience with problem, and how they were able to fix it (if they were). It's the hottest forum topic we've seen in recent memory. Though not specifically Microsoft's fault, it's another black eye for Vista which really didn't need it...
Posted by Joe Caponi at 04:48 PM, May 5, 2008 Could Microsoft 'Blink' On Vista?We were just discussing how XP will be with us for a long time. Ed Moltzen takes the idea one step further, suggesting that it's Vista that may be the OS that disappears, much like "New Coke": "While a lot of people will remember Coca-Cola's initial mistake, many tend to forget that, in the long run, its chief brand has endured and strengthened. Meanwhile, BusinessWeek reports that Macs are making inroads ino the corporate marketplace. Posted by Joe Caponi at 11:55 AM, May 2, 2008 Windows XP's Long GoodbyeLarry Hooper looks at the release of Windows XP Service Pack 3 and sees the beginning of the end for the OS: "XP lovers will likely be happy for a little while. But soon they will begin to realize something... But I'm not sure I'd say that the end of XP "looms," as Larry puts it. OEM's are enthusiastically taking advantage of their XP downgrade rights; XP fans are organizing to save their system; Dell is planning to sell XP until 2010; even Microsoft's Steve Ballmer refers to Windows Vista as a 'work in progress'. In our forums, ChannelWeb members seem reluctant, at best, to start moving their clients: "Any VAR that is suggesting it's clients move to Vista should be ashamed." XP will be the OS that wouldn't leave. In the 90's, Microsoft's Windows updates (3.1, 95, NT, ME) made every IT shop a multi-OS shop. That's not going to change any time soon. Don't miss our review of Windows XP Service Pack 3. You'll be getting to know it quite well... Posted by Joe Caponi at 01:15 PM, April 29, 2008 Channel ChampionsToday we present the complete report on this year's Channel Champions Awards. Features look at which vendors are earning the loyalty (and dollars) of solution providers in twenty-six different product categories. The complete scorecards are online, so you can see how vendors fared in specific technical, program and financial criteria, as well as who scored the best and worst totals overall. Craig Zarley puts the results in perspective: "HP won six overall awards and tied with IBM Corp. for a seventh. By contrast, Cisco Systems, the vendor with the next most overall awards, won in four categories. IBM won three and tied with HP in a fourth. And Robert DeMarzo explains the answers to Wanna Be A Champ? 5 Things You Must Do, including: "Don't overarchitect your channel program. Sure, a partner program is important, but many SMB VARs would prefer to sell your product sourced through distribution rather than join your program. A great program can never make up for a poor product no matter how hard you try." If you're a solution provider, Channel Champions can be your guide to which vendors are best serving the market, and how.
Posted by Joe Caponi at 11:11 AM, April 28, 2008 Turning The Tables On StormDark Reading reports that European computer experts have 'infiltrated' the Storm worm botnet, are learning more about it's size and scope, and can even disrupt its operations: "The researchers, from the University of Mannheim and the Institut Eurecom, recently infiltrated Storm to test out a method they came up with of analyzing and disrupting P2P botnets. Their technique is a spinoff of traditional botnet tracking, but with a twist: it not only entails capturing bot binaries and infiltrating the P2P network, but it also exploits weaknesses in the botnet’s P2P protocol to inject 'polluted' content into the botnet to disrupt communication among the bots." This is great news. I wouldn't bet against Storm's ability to adapt -- that's its strength -- and it has significant support as well as plenty of cash to help it continue. But eventually, either by technical wizardry or old fashioned police work, the Storm ring will get cracked. That'll be quite a story.
Posted by Joe Caponi at 09:47 AM, April 25, 2008 The IT PrimaryWord is, there's a presidential election coming up in November! And among the many issues on the next president's desk will be those regarding technology policy, including infrastructure security, high-tech visas, net neutrality, and more. We take a look at the campaign proposals of Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Barack Obama regarding high technology, then talks to a number of industry luminaries, including Cisco's John Chambers, Websense's Dave Roberts, Six Apart's Anil Dash, Sanford University's Lawrence Lessig, Fake Steve Jobs, and more, about what tech policy issues they see as most critical for the next president to address. Posted by Joe Caponi at 10:48 AM, April 24, 2008 Swainson Charts A New Course At CARobert DeMarzo has been behind the scenes at CA a few times lately, and thinks CEO John Swainson is building the company into a reliable channel partner: "Many solution providers suffered (aka got burned) from not only CA's financial traumas but also from its fickleness in the channel. One day it wanted to embrace the channel and the very next day it was kicking the channel in the teeth. That went on for years under old regimes. But is it time to put all of that behind you and give CA another look?... Perhaps it is." Our Scott Campbell took a detailed look at CA partners this past December, and found them please with the company's improvements. Robert DeMarzo also profiled CA's channel chief, Bill Lipsin, last summer. Posted by Joe Caponi at 04:19 PM, April 21, 2008 Build Hardware Opportunities With Custom SystemLast week in CRN, Robert Faletra called system builders "some of the scrappiest and most innovative entrepreneurs in the business." This week, system builders take center stage in VARBusiness, as we present our Annual Guide to Custom Systems, an in-depth look at both the business issues and technology choices facing whitebox, whitebook, and other custom hardware solution providers. In our Custom Systems Best Sellers slide show, we highlight the market leaders in ten key custom systems components, including chips, hard drives, and peripherals. For other solution providers, getting to know some key custom system partners can help you provide a far richer range of options to your own customers.
Posted by Joe Caponi at 12:47 PM, April 21, 2008 |
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