Quality Time With The Channel ChiefsIn our 2009 Channel Chiefs special report, posted this week, we introduce over 150 partner program executives from the top channel vendors. We've given each a chance to spell out, in their own words, what theve accomplished in their channel programs, and where they intend to drive them in the coming year. Posted by Joe Caponi at 02:49 PM, February 26, 2009 Our Virtual Trade Show -- Opening Now!We've just opened the doors on our first Virtual Trade Show of the Year: Finding the Growth in Security and Storage. For the next seven hours, solution providers, vendors and Everything Channel editors will be examining opportunities for growth in practical solutions for businesses large and small. And you can participate right from your desktop, for free. Highlights include Robert Faletra's panel, 'Finding the Growth in Security in 2009' (starting now) and Robert DeMarzo's 2:30 ET panel: 'Growing Your Storage Practice in Challenging Times.' The day also includes sessions from Platinum sponsors Sonicwall, Symnatec and CA, and a live exhibit hall and lounge featuring additional sponsor information and business networking opportunities. Posted by Joe Caponi at 11:09 AM, February 25, 2009 Follow Us On TwitterIt's become the go-to home for instant publishing of news ranging from hardware deals, to product launches, and even to Gmail outage reports, and now it's our home, too. Follow ChannelWeb on Twitter. The enormously popular micro-blogging service offers new opportunities for organizations to connect to customers and engage the Web 2.0 world. At Forbes, David Ewalt went from calling Twitter users "self-obsessed nerds", to, you guessed it, becoming a Twitterer. At Information Week, John Foley has some advice on Tuning The Signal-To-Noise Ratio On Twitter, to make sure you reap the benefits without losing your day. Meanwhile, our Jennifer Bosavage looks at the characteristics of Twitter users--if they sound like your customers, or your potential customers, dive in.
Posted by Joe Caponi at 10:36 AM, February 24, 2009 Magazine MovesRobert DeMarzo runs down some changes in the lineup here at Everything Channel: "As some of you may have read online, Everything Channel, CRN's parent company, decided to stop publishing VARBusiness as a stand-alone magazine and integrate its management strategy coverage into CRN... We will now serve the market with one major magazine, one that was founded during the channel's very beginning." As an old VARBusiness hand, I'm certainly sorry to see the print magazine go. Online, though, we'll continue to bring you the VARBusiness research packages that made VARBusiness so unique, including State of the Market and State of Technology, the upcoming Partner Programs Guide, and of course, the VARBusiness 500, coming this summer. Posted by Joe Caponi at 02:34 PM, February 23, 2009 Up Is The New UpWe've just surveyed over 100 solution providers on their take on business, and guess what? They've got no time for gloom. In fact, many are sticking with their growth plans for 2009. And they've helped us pull together our latest VARBusiness cover story: 7 Ways To Grow In A Down Economy: "Part of the reason for all that potential growth might actually be those corporate cutbacks, VARs said. Several VARs said their business was thriving because they could offer their customers ways to do more with less. Such productivity-enhancing solutions are quickly becoming this season's best-sellers." Also in the latest issue, Chad Berndtson looks at opportunities arising out of the just-signed economic stimulus package: "The savviest VARs are already spotting opportunities, from total modernization upgrades to the General Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense, to green infrastructure initiatives and broadband expansion." Meanwhile, the economy may be turn out just fine on it's own. Ed Moltzen is scanning the landscape and already sees Light at the End of the Tunnel: "Even as market indicators remained scary, and have been since the banking meltdown last September, some observers out there are giving reasons to keep a stiff upper lip... Michael S. Malone has written an interesting item on what he sees as light at the end of the tunnel of economic malaise, and that light is coming from Silicon Valley."
Posted by Joe Caponi at 03:41 PM, February 18, 2009 VARBusiness 500 Deadline: February 19Okay, you've got a little more time. The nomination period for the 2009 VARBusiness 500, our annual listing of the top solution providers in North America, ranked by revenue, has been extended one additional week. You've got until next Thursday, February 19, for the chance to include your organization among technology's best. Entries are free, and can be found at crn.com/v500reg. Posted by Joe Caponi at 03:07 PM, February 12, 2009 In Search Of Lost (Small Business) TimeSmallBizResource's Gayle Kesten is back from the Small Business Summit 2009 with insight into how small businesses can leverage Web 2.0 tools "to find and keep customers for life:" "The good news is that no one had to be sold on the merits of blogging, using Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn, and having a Web site. Everyone understood the importance of becoming a thought leader, and how technology enables it at little, or no, cost. Recently, our Steven Burke highlighted timesaving the key proposition for VARs to take to small business owners. "Focus squarely on the time savings that come with helping business owners get rid of that big IT headache." Posted by Joe Caponi at 01:07 PM, February 5, 2009 Where's Obama's CTO?While nominees for most other high-level posts in the Obama administration face their particular ups and downs, one of the most highly anticipated spots remains empty, without a nominee or even a clear job description. That spot is national Chief Technology Officer. As we've reported, whoever winds up in this new postion will be tasked with both modernizing the federal government's internal IT systems, but also with addressing US technological innovation and competitiveness issues more broadly. US News and World Report discusses some documents outlining the job's responsibilities: "Two key roles have emerged for such a position. One would be working as a 'supra-chief information officer' to use technology to improve the delivery of government services, while the second would entail being an advocate for technological innovation." Meanwhile, Forbes addresses the high expectations the nominee will surely face: "Whoever accepts the role certainly has his work cut out. Every agency, department and bureau already has a technology infrastructure in place, and there are likely tremendous inefficiencies in all of these disparate technologies and infrastructures. This is just the kind of thing that a dyed-in-the-wool CTO would love to attack." The two most frequently mentioned candidates are Cisco's CTO, Padrasmee Warrior and Vivek Kundra, CTO of the District of Columbia. Though noting that both candidates are natives of India, the CIO Weblog calls them "polar opposites: "Kundra has made a name for himself recently by running the DC IT shop like a Web 2.0 startup, exposing data in innovative ways... Warrior, on the other hand... while she enjoys a fine reputation in the industry, it's unclear what sort of change she might bring to an administration which has promised such quality."
Posted by Joe Caponi at 12:19 PM, February 3, 2009 |
Go To The New Hot Topics HomeBy Joe CaponiManaging Editor, Operations, ChannelWeb Email Joe Recent Entries• Quality Time With The Channel Chiefs Archives By Categories
Archives By DateMarch 2009 Powered by: |
