Solution Providers Archive

Independence Links

I'll be away a few days, but here's a head's up on the best of ChannelWeb:

This week we've launched the latest edition of our quarterly State of Technology report, this time examining opportunities in networking. Networking: Growth In VoIP, Video, includes details on our research into VARs networking choices, as well as a look at the 20 Most Strategic Networking Vendors.

This week will be remembered as Bill Gates last as a full-time Microsoft employee. End. Of. An. Era. Don't miss our 10 Examples Of Bill Gates Telling It Like It Is, and Information Week's Peek Inside Bill Gates' Head. Enjoy your summer, Bill!

Coming up next week, watch for CRN's Emerging Vendors Special Report. Many solution providers find they can enjoy better margins, offer unique solutions, and avoid channel conflict by choosing lesser-known hardware and software partners. We'll run down the pros and cons of that approach, and toss in a databank of almost 200 small, but growing vendors in a variety of tech categories.

Next week is also the last to apply for our Executive of the Year award and our Fast Growth/Retail directory.

Happy Birthday, America! And you too, Canada!

Posted by Joe Caponi at 12:15 PM, June 27, 2008
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Summer Solstice Linkfest

Tonight, at 8:00 EDT, our sun reaches it's highest point as seen in the northern hemisphere, we enjoy our longest day*, and summer begins. In honor of the sun, some links:

Continue reading "Summer Solstice Linkfest"

Posted by Joe Caponi at 04:37 PM, June 20, 2008
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Hot Topics Feedback

Last month, I posted 20 Great-Looking Solution Provider Websites, a slide show highlighting some of the most creative work on display in our business. Derive Technologies, one of the sites I mentioned, not only trumpeted their achievement on their website; but their design firm, Mitra Creative did as well. They deserved to.

I also heard from Kristine Buyers, director of Marketing Communication at Dewpoint, who shared the news that the company has since launched a redesign of their site. My initial take on it is that they've definitely made the site even more professional-appearing, and have kept a bit of the cheerful yellow color from their logo, though I do miss the playfulness of the old look a bit.

Two months ago, I blogged about the trouble at British Airways Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport outside London. I'm happy to say things are going better now, but not before we heard from a number of ChannelWeb members actually caught up in the Terminals' numerous opening-month problems, including one reader who notes:

"This has actually happened on the same scale with every single major airport that has opened in the last 15 years or so, including Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Bangkok, Thailand. I think you guys should do an in depth piece on how solution providers could be used to help gauge the capacity requirements and anticipate the contengenices that invariably crop up with projects of this scale!"

Some recommendations from the vendor community: In response to my post on the launch of Acrobat.com, Michele Wyman of Box.net emailed about her company's services, "a SaaS file system which offers robust online file storage and sharing tools, and also features a collaboration platform." There's a free offering, as well as subscription models for businesses. Are you and your customers embracing 'cloud computing' solutions?

In addition, in repsonse to my post "Virtualization Eases Desktop Woes", Angela Jamison pinged me from Jumpbox, "an innovative provider of virtual appliances." JumpBoxes are:

"A virtual appliance for an Open Source application that is focused on a single task (or single application) and is carefully crafted to capture the best practices for how the application should be implemented... The JumpBox Open Collection is full of JumpBoxes for the most powerful apps available.."

Entry-level business pricing looks very reasonable.

Posted by Joe Caponi at 10:40 AM, June 17, 2008
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Seizing Midmarket Opportunities

We discuss midmarket customers quite a bit on ChannelWeb, and for good reason--it's the sweet for solution providers looking to grow their businesses. This week's CRN takes an in-depth look: VARs Race To The Midmarket. Craig Zarley says the midmarket has held strong in the face of rough economic winds:

"The recession everyone has feared simply isn't showing up in the burgeoning midmarket. As a result, solution providers once focused on the enterprise and those catering to small business are now adjusting their business models in a race to the middle."

The cover story also includes a look at how VARs can build up midmarket relations; a slide show on
the Hottest Companies In The Midmarket; and our directory of leading vendor offerings for midmarket customers.

Also in today's CRN:

Apple's MobileMe Will Crush Microsoft and Google (If it Works): Ed Moltzen says that Steve Jobs has done:

"what Google and Microsoft have tried but have failed to do: Define the cloud, and turn it into a broad-based, software-as-a-service offering for anyone."

Lessons Of A Lifetime: a profile of VARBusiness 500 Lifetime Achievement Award winner Bruce Geier, CEO of Technology Integration Group.

Dell, The Innovator?: The direct giant has lined up some channel partners for its resurgent notebook lineup.

EMC's New Juggling Act With The Channel: EMC is another formerly direct vendor reaching out to the channel, according to Robert Faletra:

"It wasn't that long ago that EMC couldn't spell "channel program." Now it finds itself building out a channel that's not only comprised of high-end enterprise VARs, but with Iomega and other acquired products is focusing on the need to have a retail and small-business channel as well."

And Robert Demarzo evaluates Oracle's claim that "Two Heads Are Better Than One".

Posted by Joe Caponi at 04:09 PM, June 16, 2008
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Virtual Trade Show--Opening Shortly!

Our virtual trade show, World Without Wires examines solution provider opportunities in wireless solutions, and begins in a few minutes at 11:00 ET. Register now!

Posted by Joe Caponi at 10:49 AM, June 12, 2008
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Coming Thursday: Our Wireless (Virtual) Trade Show

One bright spot in the current economy is that the market for wireless solutions remains robust and margins are healthy. Our next Virtual Trade show, "World Without Wires," conming Thursday, dives deep into solution provider wireless opportunities.

The exhibit hall will feature products and program information from the top wireless vendors. Meanwhile, education sessions will feature: our Test Center editors; Intel's Steve Dallman; executives from ScanSource, Net@Work, Future Tech, and ePlus; and Everything Channel President Robert Faletra. Like any show, there'll also be networking, giveaways, live chats and more. Sign up now, and stop in anytime Thursday, 11 - 5, Eastern time.

Posted by Joe Caponi at 11:56 AM, June 9, 2008
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Memorial Day 2008 Linkfest

Here we are once again at the edge of a big weekend! But what to read? Some ideas:

Continue reading "Memorial Day 2008 Linkfest"

Posted by Joe Caponi at 04:06 PM, May 23, 2008
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High Tech, The Candidates, And The Public Sector

In today's CRN, Robert Faletra asks the question "Which Presidential Candidate Would Be Best For High Tech?", but eventually concludes that none of the big three has yet addressed our most important technology challenge:

"The biggest issue we face as an industry is education and graduating more engineers, and I haven't heard any of the candidates give me an answer as to what they would do about that."

Meanwhile, over on Small Business Resource, Gayle Kesten compiles a few guides (including ours) to the candidates's positions on high-tech issues. Among small business managers, the most critical issue she's seeing is dealing with health care costs.

Of course, the government isn't only a source of policy opportunities/challenges. It's also a big IT buyer, and Robert DeMarzo says it's a great hedge against a downturn in the business sector, if you know how to play it:

"The VARs who stuck with it and spent time securing contracts or serving as subs to the large prime contractors built a steady, profitable business that, in many cases, is growing faster than their commercial side while guaranteeing a predictable rate of return."

Posted by Joe Caponi at 12:36 PM, May 12, 2008
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Quote Smarter: Product Pricing and Availability

We 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
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Swainson Charts A New Course At CA

Robert 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
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When In Rome, Know Your Markets

At our IT ChannelVision event taking place this week in Rome, Everything Channel President Robert Faletra advised vendors and solution providers to learn which business models worked best in which global markets:

"Faletra said North American partners have moved well beyond the infrastructure buildup phase where the reseller model once worked. At the same time, that reseller approach is applicable in China where there is a huge infrastructure buildup taking place, he said."

In other news from Rome, Steven Burke reports that Partners Forecast Robust 2008 Sales Growth:

"Europe's top solution providers aren't feeling the ill-effects of an economic downturn. Solution providers... said hot products like notebooks for gamers and services muscle are fueling robust sales growth this year."

In addition, Intel is on hand to launch its new program for European systems integrators while Microsoft is urging system builders to enhance their services business models.

Posted by Joe Caponi at 04:25 PM, April 10, 2008
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IT Nightmares: British Airways Terminal 5

Well, things could be going better at British Airway's brand-new $8 billion Terminal 5 at London's Heathrow airport. Since it's opening just last Thursday, cancelled flights (by the hundreds) and lost luggage (by the tens of thousands) have crushed British Airway's hopes of a spectacular opening.

"Willie Walsh, BA’s chief executive, said yesterday that the number of [missing] bags was 19,000. Mr Walsh admitted that Terminal 5’s opening day had been a 'disaster' telling Sky News: 'It is a fantastic facility, we can make it work. But we got it completely wrong on day one.' "

You'll not be surprised to hear that much of the trouble is IT-related:

"British Airways said it planned to operate 80% of scheduled flights, including all long-haul routes, from Terminal 5 on Friday, after canceling dozens of flights Thursday... Much of the trouble stemmed from problems with the terminal's new computerized baggage-handling system. London's Daily Mail newspaper reported that baggage handlers were not able to log in to the system. As a result, British Airways said passengers could only board flights if they left checked luggage behind."

At the Software Testing & Quality Blog, Randy Rice notes that the situation has eerie similarities to United Airlines ill-fated baggage handling system at Denver International Airport.

"The new automated baggage system which has 10 miles of conveyor belts, 140 computers, designed to process 12,000 bags per hour had never been tested in a live terminal. That would be quite a load test, but still...there were many things both manual and automated that failed that such a test might have found."

And as one commenter on Information Week noted:

"As an IT developer the most golden rule we have and respect is: Once you have written something TEST IT, and when you are done testing it TEST IT AGAIN. AND AGAIN. If you do not, T5 is the result."

There's nothing like being 'live' to show you the kinks in your system. But it's better to find out when a hundred people are on line, rather than a stadium-full. They will work out the issues, but this is the kind of black eye we'd all be wise to avoid.

Posted by Joe Caponi at 10:53 AM, April 1, 2008
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VAR's Son An American Idol Favorite

David Archuleta, a top contender in the current American Idol, has some strong solution provider roots. His dad, Jeff Archuleta, is owner of Arch Consulting Group, a Salt Lake City hardware VAR. Larry Hooper has more:

"As long as David Archuleta remains in the competition, Jeff Archuleta will stay with him in Los Angeles and stay in touch with his employees via phone and email... He has turned the day-to-day operations over to staff."

I can think of some vendors that might benefit from some feedback from Simon, now that I think of it.

Posted by Joe Caponi at 10:00 AM, March 27, 2008
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Hurd 'Walks The Walk' At HP's Partner Conference

Craig Zarley reports that HP CEO Mark Hurd is doing all the right things to gain the support of his solution provider parthers:

"No one was friendlier at HP's Americas Partner Conference in Las Vegas than Hurd. He met publicly with solution providers. He met privately with solution providers. He showed up at Caesars Palace Monday for his keynote and stayed until singer Sheryl Crow had rocked the crowd Wednesday night...

Hurd also made clear to me that meeting and speaking with partners is part of his everyday job. 'Every trip I go on, I try to have a partner meeting. Generally, I meet with two or three in every city I go to,' he said."

Posted by Joe Caponi at 09:46 AM, March 18, 2008
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Today's Virtual Trade Show

Our Virtual Trade Show: Securing and Storing Customer Data, opens online in less that an hour. In fact, here's today's complete schedule:

Continue reading "Today's Virtual Trade Show"

Posted by Joe Caponi at 10:18 AM, March 12, 2008
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Spitzer, And Things That VARs Won't Do

Information Week reports that the "Emperor's Club," the alleged call-girl operation linked to New York Governor Elliot Spitzer, masqueraded as a web design consultancy:

"According to its Web site, QAT Consulting provides 'online advertising and promotion services,' including strategic planning, concept development, design and copyrighting and 'results analysis'... Prosecutors allege that QAT Consulting provided a front through which payments to the Emperors Club's $5,000 per hour hookers were funneled."

Most solution providers do exhibit a passion for their clients, but that's where the similarities end...

Posted by Joe Caponi at 01:35 PM, March 11, 2008
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CeBIT Memories

The giant European IT show has closed up shop for this year, and while most of the attention went to a police raid in search of patent-infringing products, there was also more immediately useful news for the channel. Catch the highlights in our slide shows on the Big Names At CeBIT; how Security Vendors Shone; and at some Bizarre Scenes.

CeBIT also provided a specific opportunity for some Microsoft execs to appeal to an international audience. CEO Steve Ballmer looked at the "Next Computing Revolution":

"Microsoft has for years been focused on the development of natural user interface technology, and those efforts are finally poised to bear fruit, Ballmer said. 'Today we have applications that can identify spoken and written words with greater accuracy, and we're starting to see the emergence of interfaces that are driven by touch and gestures,' said Ballmer. 'Over time, interacting with computers will be just like interacting with people.'"

While COO Kevin Turner focused on Microsoft's virtualization plans:

"Microsoft will offer virtualization at two-thirds the cost of its competitors, but the real differentiator, according to Turner, is that Microsoft is taking a cross platform approach. 'We're going to be the first virtualization technology that allows you to manage other vendors' virtualization solutions,' said Turner."

Posted by Joe Caponi at 11:37 AM, March 10, 2008
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A SaaS-y XChange Anticipates Our Virtual Trade Show

This week in Los Angeles, our Solution Provider XChange event has brought together soluion providers and some of the top channel vendors to network, evaluate industry trends, and hunt for opportuity. Tops among those opportunities are those related to delivering software-as-a-service (SaaS).

VMware was actively soliciting VAR partners for their virtualization solutions, while Microsoft reiterated their commitment to partnering with VARs in their small-business SaaS initiatives.

In other news, Ricoh and CA reached out to VARs with new product and program offerings, while D&H was showing the money to solution providers, promising an additional $10 million in credit to their VAR partners.

Not one to be outspent, HP also promised major increases in their channel investments.

"'Channel investments are key,' said Adrian Jones, HP's vice president and general manager, Americas Solution Partners Organization. 'Last year we paid over $350 million in PartnerOne rebates and we plan to do more in 2008.' Jones promised too, that HP would pay more MDF and spend more on channel demand generation and training this year."

If you missed this XChange, don't fear. Additional XChange events are coming up. But first, we've got an exciting opportunity everyone can participate in. Our next Virtual Trade Show opens next Wednesday, March 12, online at 11:00 Eastern, Daylight Saving time.

The 'eVent' will focus on "Securing and Storing Customer Data" and feature presentations from RSA Security, IBM, Symantec, Websense, and our own Everything Channel CEO, Robert Faletra. See you there!

Posted by Joe Caponi at 11:06 AM, March 7, 2008
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Hurd Raises Expectations For HP Partners

HP solution providers gathered at this week's HP's Americas Partner Conference have much to be happy about. In three years, CEO Mark Hurd has revived the company and made it the biggest player in technology. And he's brought thousands of channel partners along for the ride. As Steven Burke notes:

"Hurd took a long, hard look at the businesses and then bet big on the channel."

But Hurd is demanding increasing loyalty from partners looking to keep up with HP. Today's CRN cover story examines the pluses and minuses channel partners are encountering:

"Some exclusive partners complain that HP's flagship PartnerOne rebate program is fraught with sales data reporting errors, making rebate payments unpredictable at best. And with a growing portion of the rebate money tied to hitting aggressive growth goals, some of these partners say their rebate money is declining even as their overall HP business grows."

Hurd himself sat down with us to take on these issues, in an exclusive question-and-answer session:

"We're all under economic pressures here. Nobody calls me up and says here's an extra bag of money for doing the same thing you've always done. What we're looking for are partners that want to come up with new, innovative, exciting things to go do."

Keep an eye on ChannelWeb for more news from the HP Partner Conference all week.

Posted by Joe Caponi at 12:24 PM, February 25, 2008
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The Vision Thing

Announced this morning: CMP Channel (ChannelWeb's parent) has acquired Vision Events from Gartner Inc. Details to come, but we'll enjoy many more opportunities to bring together solution providers, top channel vendors and our own editors to chart the future of the channel.

Posted by Joe Caponi at 08:59 AM, February 21, 2008
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For Opportunity, Head For The Middle

It's classic political advice for presidential candidates, but CEOs are listening too. In the latest VARBusiness, Robert DeMarzo shines a light on the importance of the midmarket (organizations that employ between 100 and 1,000 workers) to high-tech CEOs facing an economic downturn. Their route to the midmarket: you.

"The top executives of companies like IBM, Oracle, Cisco, CA and many others are paying closer attention to hundreds of thousands of companies in the midmarket than ever before and, in doing so, solution providers that serve those customers are becoming valuable commodities."

Posted by Joe Caponi at 11:40 AM, February 20, 2008
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President's Day Linkfest

As we head off into the long weekend, some business and technology links to keep you on top of the channel:

Continue reading "President's Day Linkfest"

Posted by Joe Caponi at 03:59 PM, February 15, 2008
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It's Just Their Nature

Great comment from a reader email today:

"As far as Dell entering the channel, they have a tremendous amount of bridge building to perform. Too many channel companies have tried in the past to work with Dell only to discover that the account was taken direct behind their backs.

Dell's attempts to go indirect are about the same as HP trying to go direct. Neither has the real infrastructure needed to pull it off extremely successfully."

Posted by Joe Caponi at 12:20 PM, February 13, 2008
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Be A Giant

Congratulations to the New York Giants on their sensational win in last night's Super Bowl. Though this may be a bit of a comeuppance to a certain trash-talking New England-based publishing president I could mention, it does reinforce many lessons solution providers have come to know: Never give up. Don't panic. Don't let somebody else define you. Make your own luck. Go Big Blue!

Posted by Joe Caponi at 08:06 AM, February 4, 2008
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Federal Cyber Security Plan Is Big, Secret

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that President Bush will propose a major increase in federal cyber security spending, in an effort to safeguard public and private comptuer networks:

Continue reading "Federal Cyber Security Plan Is Big, Secret "

Posted by Joe Caponi at 11:05 AM, January 31, 2008
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You. In 25 Words Or Less

Robert DeMarzo is back from the Raymond James & Associates investor conference, and has some new insight into how some of the biggest names in the channel identify their organizations' unique positions. He suggests that it's an effort that the average VAR would be wise to emulate:

"Generally speaking, VARs do not spend nearly enough time on the subtleties of their position. Some of that comes from the fact that VARs and integrators are poor marketers. They are terrific at selling technology, but marketing comes about as naturally to a VAR as golf does to Charles Barkley."

Good advice, not only for companies, but for individuals. What do you do that's unique, valuable and future-facing?

Posted by Joe Caponi at 11:14 AM, January 22, 2008
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Rating E-Health Promises

At InformationWeek, Marianne McGee looks at the presidential candidate's promises of healthcare infrastructure investments, particularly on Barack Obama's $50 billion electronic health records promise:

"Wow. $50 billion? To date, federal government spending on e-health initiatives has been in the millions of dollars, not billions. Most government money so far has been in the form of grants and demo projects...

In 2004, President Bush set out the goal for "most" Americans to have e-health records by 2014. And while deployment of those systems have ramped up, it's estimated that less than 10% of U.S. doctor practices -- and 5% of solo practices -- are using e-health records today."

If you can think of two more challenging markets to enter than healthcare and the feds, I'd like to hear about it. But they sure provide a lot of solution provider opportunity.

Posted by Joe Caponi at 12:08 PM, January 17, 2008
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How To Score With The Channel, 2008

Yesterday's CRN issue features three looks at the problems facing vendors and solution providers in the new year:

Loyalty. It's such a lonely word. Robert Faletra outlines five key elements for vendors seeing the loyalty of their channel partners:

"Thinking through partner programs with a mind-set centered on maximizing partner profitability is important. This often isn't as easy as it sounds given the many different partner models out there. The first action is to truly understand how and what drives partner profitability."

Key to building a healthy channel program is selecting the right channel chief. Steven Burke says it's a challenge many organizations are botching:

"At the end of the day, what all this turnover madness comes down to is a serious disregard for just how important a channel chief is in driving sales and brand influence among the channel sales force in the field."

One company that's looking to get it's channel engine running again is IBM. Robert DeMarzo examines their latest efforts:

"IBM's plan boils down to focusing marketing dollars and inside salespeople on generating leads for partners or working with them to help close sales. For the most part, IBM will no longer sell directly to SMB customers. However, the missing piece is an expansion of IBM's product portfolio for midmarket and small-business customers."

Posted by Joe Caponi at 10:06 AM, January 15, 2008
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Making Social Networks Work

On bMighty Naomi Grossman rounds up some coverage suggesting opportunities are developing for small business to take real advantage of social networking sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook:

"One of the objections many of us have heard over and over: 'So much of what's discussed online is meaningless. These forms of communication are shallow and make us dumber. We have real work to do!' The response could make a smaller business reconsider: 'If learning how the market feels about your organization, engaging with your customers and driving traffic to your web work - all very realistic goals for social media engagement - aren't work, then I don't know what is.'"

Posted by Joe Caponi at 10:43 AM, January 11, 2008
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Big News For SmallBiz

My old friend and colleague Gayle Kesten is now blogging over at Small Biz Resource, one of our sister sites at CMP Technology. If your customers are small business owners, (or if you're a small business owner) a visit is well worth your time. Tell her I sent you...

Posted by Joe Caponi at 02:08 PM, January 4, 2008
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Holidays '07 Linkfest

I'm out early to get a jump on Christmas, but I've left behind a bunch of links for your Holiday reading:

Robert DeMarzo looks at Dell's new channel program and asks, "Where's The Beef?:"

"If you look under the hood, Dell's got all the typical goodies: two tiers, certifications, credit terms and deal registration. It's a great start but nowhere near as innovative as it could have been."

While Robert Faletra says, "Dell's Program Has Three Problems, All Fixable:"

"But to really push the company into this indirect business, [Dell channel chief Greg] Davis has to convince Michael Dell that direct-sales reps should be compensated more for pushing business through the channel than they will be if they take the business direct. Do that and we will see an accelerated indirect business and an acceptance on the part of the channel that Michael Dell is very, very serious about this move."

Earlier this week, I spoke with the new U.S. channel chief of FCS, an Irish email compliance vendor, about FCS's expansion plans. Their appliance stores all an organization's email, potentially forever. If you've got to do it, you might as well do it right.

The Test Center wrapped up it's World Series of Linux and crowned a champion. Readers have been weighing in, too.

Finally, we've been putting together a series of looks at the year past and the year to come. They include:

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Posted by Joe Caponi at 04:24 PM, December 19, 2007
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Rewinding The Channel Year

Robert DeMarzo looks at The Year's Biggest Channel Stories, including changes at HP, IBM, Microsoft, and, especially, Dell:

"Someone pinch me because I may still be dreaming. One of the biggest stories of the year was Michael Dell's disclosure that the company generates $9 billion in worldwide revenue from VARs, has a loose collection of 15,000 partners and is serious about launching a channel program."

Posted by Joe Caponi at 12:18 PM, December 10, 2007
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To-Do List for Dell

In the wake of this week's channel program launch from Dell, Steven Burke identifies 5 Steps Dell Needs To Take To Be A Channel Leader, including:

"A formal pledge of channel commitment and loyalty by CEO Michael Dell that includes a pledge not to compete with partners, to have best-in-class reseller margins and to affirm that Dell's view of partners is as trusted technology advisers for SMB accounts."

Meanwhile, Ed Moltzen surveys some solution provider reaction. You'll find plenty more in our forums.

Posted by Joe Caponi at 10:37 AM, December 7, 2007
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Will Vendors Fumble Their SaaS Channel Plans?

Steven Burke previews our 2008 State of the Market research report, and finds that it's the vendors that need to learn some old lessons in the new Software-as-a-Service age:

"Ultimately, what the State of the Market SaaS research shows is that vendors are more interested in competing against VARs in this burgeoning market than leveraging the channel to win market share.

Shame on the vendors for failing to learn the proven economic adage that the channel is more efficient selling technology solutions to small and medium businesses than a direct-sales business is."

Posted by Joe Caponi at 10:17 AM, December 5, 2007
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Waiting On Dell To Change

As we await Dell's channel announcements tomorrow, Robert Faletra is reserving judgement until he hears all the details, but he's "not expecting too much":

"You have to give Michael Dell credit in that he fully understands his problem and the fact that the channel is a huge piece of the fix. But Dell has missed so many opportunities to build channel acumen since its announcement it would enter the indirect world, that it is proving the point I made at that time.

That point was that the company doesn't think the way it needs to in order to execute in the channel."

Meanwhile, Larry Hooper says any news may be good news:

"I think another player in the channel PC space is a good thing for VARs, even if all Dell does is make HP or Lenovo more responsive to partners. Competition for VAR business is good for VARs."

Posted by Joe Caponi at 09:55 AM, December 4, 2007
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Dell's Looking For You

In comments on an analyst call Thursday, Michael Dell positioned his company as a terrific alternative to channel leader HP:

"Many [solution providers] are quite excited to have the only full-line alternative to our major competitor out there."

We're anticipating some major channel announcements next week from Dell (the company). Stay tuned.

Posted by Joe Caponi at 10:17 AM, November 30, 2007
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AMD, IBM Deals Good News For Channel

Robert DeMarzo finds good news in AMD's recent cash infusion and, in particular, with IBM's pending acquisition of Cognos:

"Cognos was adept at partnering... with large global integrators like Accenture and Deloitte, but was not as successful with the mainstream channel. Once IBM gets its hands on Cognos, you can bet it will bring more solution providers into the fold as it grows sales to midsize customers. "

Posted by Joe Caponi at 12:55 PM, November 26, 2007
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Benchmark Your Account Growth

Solution providers know it's critical to continue developing new customers. But how many should you have, and at what rate should you be bringing in new clients to ensure healthy operations in the years to come? Robert DeMarzo has been looking at the State of the Market data, and has some answers:

"If you fell short of an 11 percent year-over-year increase [in new accounts], you're clearly underperforming. Half the VARs we surveyed grew their customer base by 24 percent."

Posted by Joe Caponi at 11:16 AM, November 15, 2007
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Apple, Google, and Linux Blogs, Plus One

We've launched four new blogs here at ChannelWeb. The Apple Channel, the Linux Channel, and the Google Channel cover solution provider issues specific to those topics, while The Channel Wire will keep an eye on broader issues affecting the entire channel. All four will enjoy contributions from all our CMP Channel editors.

Among the initial posts, Damon Poerter provides a sneak peek of AMD's Phenom Quad-Core systems, due soon; Jennifer Lawinski looks at discussions between Apple and Salesforce.com; and Scott Campbell previews the Google Phone.

As with any of our other articles, your comments are most welcome!

Posted by Joe Caponi at 11:10 AM, November 5, 2007
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Microsoft Phones The Channel For VoIP Players

Microsoft's VoIP announcements from last week have struck a chord among industry watchers. Our Robert DeMarzo and Larry Hooper were both impressed by the significance of Microsoft's move to enter the unified communications space, and to bring Microsoft VARs along with them.

Hooper says some may smirk at Redmond's track record on new products, but forsees that Microsoft may have the last laugh:

"The scale of Microsoft's VoIP and unified communications launch here in San Francisco made one thing clear: This is not a me-too game for Microsoft. When it comes to VoIP and unified communications, at least, Microsoft is jumping in to change, and yes, dominate, the market."

While DeMarzo says Microsoft has a chance to remake itself into the new Ma Bell:

"Microsoft clearly has an opportunity to leverage the channel to deliver on its vision for unified communications. Microsoft needs a clear channel strategy for its voice products for all of its partners. Even more important, it needs [Microsoft exec Jeff] Raikes -- or someone at his level -- to serve as the channel evangelist for unified communications."

If you're younger than me, you may not know that 'Ma Bell' refers to the big old AT&T, in the days when every dial tone in America came from the same place...

Posted by Joe Caponi at 11:41 AM, October 29, 2007
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Put Your Video On ChannelWeb

If you've been aching to make an internet video (a clean one), the time is now. CMP Channel's own Dan Neel is looking for home videos from solution providers on how they use ChannelWeb and the other tools from CMP Channel. Send us a link, and there's an iPod in it for the best one, along with fame on ChannelWeb.

Meanwhile, at Who Are You?, the newest site from our colleagues over at TechWeb, the secret lives of the technology crowd are being made public. Executive Producer Fritz Nelson (an old boss of mine) calls it "a place to understand who we are when we step out of the work place and into our lives." Whether you photograph sea birds, or blast cans across a lake (to name two early entries), or do something even more interesting--if you have a video camera, they want to hear from you.

Of course, I wouldn't ask you to do something I wouldn't do myself. I just had a chance to sit in and host the latest report from the Channel Test Center on some Panasonic Toughbooks we put to the spill test. For a first effort, I think it came out all right. But I bet you can top it.

Posted by Joe Caponi at 03:33 PM, October 23, 2007
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Underwhelmed By Gore

If Al Gore can win Nobel Price harranguing people about global warming, shouldn't Bob Faletra have one too?

"Over the past two decades, I've sat with virtually every significant CEO in this industry and talked turkey about why they need to invest in you, my brethren and audience. I went toe to toe with Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer in the early days and they came around. I single-handedly convinced John Chambers at Cisco to drop his direct efforts and move it all through the channel. I stood former Compaq CEO Eckard Pfeiffer down when he tried to buy Gateway and forced him to give up. I called Carly Fiorina to task for chasing the direct business...

So please join my campaign and write the Nobel Prize committee and help impress on them all I have done and the fact that I, Bob Faletra, may not have invented the Internet but I did invent the channel and as such deserve the prize next year."

Since Gore's never put a dime in my pocket, I'm voting for Bob!

Posted by Joe Caponi at 11:54 AM, October 15, 2007
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Fighting Spam With Fire (Well, Moderation)

As you may have noticed, from time to time our ChannelWeb forums fill up with some pretty undesirable spam posts. People try and take advantage of our site's reputation to post links to their advertisements -- for products ranging from pharmecuticals to porn to, well, just about anything else.

We're partly successful in blocking spam posts before they go online, but not completely. We delete spam posts that make it through ruthlessly, but having such posts live, even for a short time, is deeply aggravating here, and detracts from the professional environment you expect.

So we're trying something new, starting today. Any user's first post in the community will need to be approved by our moderators before appearing on site. If you make it past that, subsequent posts will show right up, as they do now. We'll be inconveniencing people joining the discussions for the first time, but we think we'll be able to block just about 100% of spam posts before they get on site.

Let us know how you think it's working -- it's very much a work in progress. If you're a regular participant, you shouldn't notice any difference at all. If you're posting for the first time, we'll try and get your legitimate posts live as quickly as possible.

Posted by Joe Caponi at 10:29 AM, October 11, 2007
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Ideas About Clients and Creativity

Recently, Adaptive Path posted some advice on excelling in modern business. The tips apply well to anyone doing creative work with extended client engagements--people like solution providers!

Here's one I like that's very happy and sunny:

"Aim beyond what you think you can achieve: Most of us are content to compete locally, with our neighbors. Change your scale of thinking and compete with the world’s best."

Oh yeah! This one, I'm not nearly as crazy about:

"It’s all my fault... If you have touched something, accept total responsibility for that piece of work."

Ouch. I was recently slightly involved in a major project abandoned by a departing colleague. Should I have jumped in the driver's seat or run away? I ended up trying to split the difference, which wound up being most of the work with none of the glory. What would you do?

Posted by Joe Caponi at 10:23 AM, October 5, 2007
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The World Is Your House

For solution providers of almost any size, working with customers, suppliers and competitors across time zones and in different languages is increasingly the new normal. To help keep an eye on worldwide solution provider news and trends, we've launched our International News Archive page. You'll find ChannelWeb's own coverage of overseas news, along with feeds of local news from our partners in India, Germany and Australia (with more to come). There's opportunity over the horizon. We'll help you find it.

Posted by Joe Caponi at 10:55 AM, October 4, 2007
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Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

Larry Hooper says that's a question you're staff are likely asking themselves. Frequently, money is neither the problem, or the solution. What is?

"A little bit of attention, your employees could become much more dedicated to your business. Even if you don't want to pay any more, laying out clear career paths for your employees not only will help keep them, but will also help recruit new ones."

Posted by Joe Caponi at 12:09 PM, October 3, 2007
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TaaS Mania

Steven Burke has a new acronym for you to chew on: TaaS. That's Technology as a Service, and it's something you need to get familiar with quickly:

"It means acting as a virtual, end-to-end, any-and-all technology provider for your clients. The aim with the next-generation TaaS business model is to cover everything from A to Z for a business from technology consulting to procurement and management of everything from systems to printers to phones to firewalls. It's all about taking control of the IT budget for a business and being the one throat to choke for any and all technology that needs to be managed for the client. At the heart of the TaaS model is a deeper and more intimate knowledge of the client's business."

Don't think you can do it all? Burke says companies like Dell, Google and Microsoft do, and they won't be shy about talking to your customers.

Posted by Joe Caponi at 01:28 PM, October 1, 2007
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Valtech's Onshore Approach

Price. Speed. Quality. VARs are used to explaining the tradeoffs to customers. VARBusiness 500 solution provider Valtech is differentiating itself by focusing on speed. Brad Murphy, Valtech Senior VP, explains how they've found their niche:

"Clients don't think in terms of big projects, but rather as a stream of incremental but strategic changes. It's not a neat, tidy project. How do you outsource that?...

We came up with a two-pronged approach: What if we could build a configuration model that's software on demand. If the customer needs more software, you can buy it incrementally over a period of time... The second prong is to build domestic engineering software 'factories.'"

Posted by Joe Caponi at 01:57 PM, September 28, 2007
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Be Like The Fast Growth VARs

What makes a 'Fast-Growth VAR'? It's a topic we've talked about before, but Bob DeMarzo has been hanging out with a bunch of them, and has compiled a list of ten traits they have in common:

"While the previous generation of VAR was an accidental business person because he was a tech-geek first, fast-growth execs are savvy business professionals first, and technologists second. They understand technology better than most, but have a strong vision of where they want to take their organizations."

Posted by Joe Caponi at 10:10 AM, September 27, 2007
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Should VARs Provide Customer Financing?

This question came in last week from a systems integrator. Certainly distributors have made financing a part of their offerings for quite a while, but is it a worthwhile service for VARs to offer to end-user customers?

"I'm looking for information or data demonstrating the effectiveness of SI's or VAR's offering financing. Is there evidence which suggest companies offering financing alternatives as part of the sales process generate more revenue, or are more profitable? I'm trying to build a case for my company to take a more "Financing" friendly view of the sales and marketing process."

What do you think? Post your opinion in our comments section, below.

Posted by Joe Caponi at 11:26 AM, September 24, 2007
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Sourcing 2007

Distributors are still the key source of products for solution providers, even as alternative sources multiply and the roles of distributors change. In our new Channel Sourcing Study, we asked VARs where they're sourcing product from, and what makes a good sourcing partner. The right product, at the right price, goes a long way...

"Solution providers buying from broadline distributors, specialty suppliers and alternative sources were in agreement: Pricing and availability is more influential than ease of doing business, product knowledge, breadth of product line and even relationships with sales reps."

Editor Scott Campbell also looks at the tricky issue of using charge cards for VAR product purchases, and at upcoming technologies where VARs are looking to distribution for products and support. A slide show provides all the research highlights of our sourcing study, in bite-sized form.

Posted by Joe Caponi at 01:44 PM, September 18, 2007
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Chip And PC Powerhouses Battle For The Channel

Today's CRN includes takes on two major markets where tough competition is bringing prices down and generating new technology and business opportunities for channel players.

Robert Faletra looks at the competition between Intel and AMD in the chip market, and loves what he sees:

"The fact is that the resurrected and more interesting AMD of the past few years has forced Intel to behave differently in the market. Both companies have very astute managers and, as such, we can expect to see lots of innovation in product, pricing and programs in the coming months."

Meanwhile, Larry Hooper examines the dizzying array of PC and OS options out there, and is pleased to report that "PCs Are Cool Again":

"VARs are seeing good service revenues from replacing Vista on business machines with Windows XP. But as XP is phased out, Vista will no doubt lead to a rash of system upgrades.

So what will take XP's place? Will Apple take even more share? Will more companies move to Linux desktops?

Even more interesting is where the hardware will come from."

Keep a close eye on your vendors, present and future...

Posted by Joe Caponi at 11:47 AM, September 17, 2007
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Our Virtual Trade Show, Coming November 8

Mark your calendar: Eight weeks from today, I hope you'll join me at our Virtual Trade Show, online, everywhere. If you've ever wanted to see what an XChange event was like, but couldn't get away, here's your chance. Our big boss, Robert Faletra will host a live Q&A on mid-market solution provider opportunities, and you'll be able to chat in real time with channel vendors and other solution providers. Ted Hunter, general manager of Champion Networks, thinks it'll be especially valuable for the technical folks that may not get out much:

"Technical people are every VAR's first and last line of defense in the technology world, and companies can use virtual trade shows to bring them back into the evaluation process...

Technicians are in the best position to cut through the BS and the hype that can influence resellers to adopt a platform that may not be in their long-term best interest."

There'll be much more information as we get closer to the date. I hope to see you there!

Posted by Joe Caponi at 10:45 AM, September 13, 2007
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On The Trail Of The Hyper-Growth VAR

Our Business Growth Survey, featured in this month's VARBusiness looks at what it takes to kick your business into hyper-growth mode.

"Nearly 12 percent of VARs surveyed said they expect growth rates of 30 percent or more above the market in 2007. In addition, more than 22 percent said they plan to grow 15 percent to 29 percent greater than the market this year...

But as they transition to offering solutions rather than point products, solution providers say most of their focus will be on software."

The feature also examines the strategies VARs are using to find and keep new customers.

Robert Faletra looks at the difference between "lifestyle VARs" and "growth VARs" and concludes that vendors need to stay alert to the differing behaviors of both groups:

"No vendor should realistically expect all of its partners to be in hyper-growth mode. In the same respect, if too much of the base is lifestyle-oriented, it's a problem as well."

Posted by Joe Caponi at 04:07 PM, September 12, 2007
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Labor Day Links

No matter what you'll be doing, enjoy the three day weekend! Some links to take away with you:

VARBusines reports on the top technologies where small businesses are looking for VAR's help. According to our CMP Channel Quarterly Business Spending Survey:

"The respondents highlighted five technology categories where they have sought or received help the most from solution providers: Network security, archiving and backup, client and desktop security, network infrastructure, and accounting and supply-chain applications."

The biggest story of the week? Kevin McLaughlin's Partners to Microsoft: Don't Make Us Licensing Police:

"Several sources told CMP Channel that Microsoft sometimes expects partners to act as foot soldiers in its ongoing campaign against so-called 'unintentional' software piracy by reporting organizations that aren't in compliance, which is threatening their role as trusted advisors to their clients."

Our forums have been really hopping lately. In particular, see the threads on Fakes: Can You Tell The Difference?; Dell's Chief Challenges; and VARs Ripping And Replacing Vista For XP At Breakneck Pace. And don't miss this quote from bhancockcpr at the thread Dell is Stealing Customers From Partners:

"Having just witnessed a Dell representative calling a customer and telling them (We put them on speaker phone) they should be buying direct because they could beat the partners' price... I was appalled."

Next week is the last week to apply for Tech Innovators! If your organization has discovered a game-changing channel product (or if your organization sells a game-changing channel product) let us know, and you could be collecting a major award in October.

GovernmentVAR is hosting State and Local Roadshows in Sacramento, Austin and Chicago this fall. If you're looking for insight into these markets, this is the place to start.

In other news, Barry Ritholtz has a comparison of the recent market volatility with what real bear markets look like. It's not reassuring. The folks at Adaptive Path write that you can learn alot about attracting customers from "The Pick-Up Artist". And David Ewalt pens a homage to an expansion pack that's strangely moving.

Posted by Joe Caponi at 02:44 PM, August 31, 2007
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Wait--Now Hardware's A Service?

So it is. Scott Campbell reports that savvy MSPs are already eyeing a changing marketplace where customers can effectively 'lease' hardware along with services and support:

"Gavin Garbutt, president and CEO of N-Able Technologies, an Ottawa-based MSP platform vendor, says within three years many end users will buy laptops for $170 a year, a price that includes the hardware, software, support and management. It's a price more affordable now than buying a laptop up front and allows customers to better budget their IT needs. 'You'll get the security system, support and at the end of three years, you'll get a new one.'"

And yes, this will be a challenge to many VARs current offerings, and soon. Ingram Micro, for one, is turning this into a business today:

"[Ingram's] Seismic Solution Financing allows customers to finance hardware along with Seismic managed service offerings into one bill to the customer. The program allows solution providers to be paid up front for the hardware but accrue monthly recurring revenue for the services portion of the deal.

Posted by Joe Caponi at 10:29 AM, August 27, 2007
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And I Would Post 500 Posts

The Moveable Type page where I post new Hot Topics items informs me this is the 500th entry. I think you'll find these links worthy of both my modest blog and your valuable time:

It's a story we've been hearing for awhile now--Solution Providers Experience Hiring Headaches:

"A third of solution providers say hiring and retaining sales and technical staff is their biggest pain point, said Carolyn April, principal analyst with CMP Channel's Institute for Partner Education & Development, in a session at XChange '07 Sunday. 'The biggest challenge for solution providers is the lack of qualified applicants, in sales in particular.'"

Jennifer Bosavage looks at The New World Order: Offshoring Today:

"Companies are viewing China and Latin America as expansions of their customer base, not just a way of getting product made inexpensively for export back to the United States. The ready-and-willing workforces in these countries are also the consumers."

Steven Burke finds four answers to the question, Why Is HP Winning?:

"HP is by no means perfect. There are still a lot of solution provider complaints, including frequent HP program compliance audits that raise sales costs and take away from time that could be better spent selling. But no major vendor right now is more aggressively attacking problems. And no one has more channel momentum."

And HP, along with the other key vendors, will need to keep that channel momentum. Robert Faletra says that new research backs up his instinct that Solution Provider Shifts Will Change The Game:

"My take on this... is that the solution providers that are driving the bulk of the business for vendors today are going to change and change rapidly. Many of you are going to drop the vendors you now view as strategic as you shift your business."

Finally, Larry Hooper looks at the man with one of the toughest jobs in technology--Dell's new channel chief, Greg Davis

"The fact that he is a Dell insider with no recent channel credentials sets a stage for conflict. If Dell truly intends to become a major channel player that can compete with HP or even Lenovo, Mr. Davis has his work cut out for him. First, he has to change an internal culture built on decades of experience as a channel-bashing direct-only company. Then, he needs to hire some people who know a thing or two about the channel."

It's been a privilege! Dare I sing, And I would post 500 more...

Posted by Joe Caponi at 03:35 PM, August 23, 2007
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Making Sense of IBM

Last week's CRN took a long look at some of the recent changes at IBM, particularly in terms of their small and mid-sized business offerings:

"The cost of doing business with IBM is going up as sales are going down, and the vendor, once the partner of choice and a clear channel leader, simply doesn't matter anymore [to many solution providers]."

Steven Burke has been speaking to many IBM VARs and hears much the same story:

"VARs tell me HP's PartnerOne program is driving more profitable sales in every market segment. These VARs, which once coveted their IBM partnership, say [IBM's] channel programs have become less lucrative. HP's SMB sales coverage model also is outpacing IBM's and has gotten a lot clearer. IBM's SMB sales coverage model has gotten more confusing and costly."

And Robert DeMarzo says VARs are wise to look elsewhere:

"If you're running a VAR organization today, you should take a hard look at IBM's product portfolio and how it fits into your business. The organizational changes are irrelevant, but the field coverage is extremely important."

Posted by Joe Caponi at 12:16 PM, August 13, 2007
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Data Held Hostage, Company Alleges

Now this customer-outsourcer relationship has gone very bad:

"A provider of spend management services says one of India's largest outsourcers is holding its data hostage at an offshore location and is refusing to return the information unless legal claims against it are dropped."

Though it may provide a marketing opportunity to the competitors...of both companies...

Posted by Joe Caponi at 11:17 AM, August 7, 2007
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The Channel's Leading Women

VARBusiness has chosen their 50 Most Powerful Women of the Channel, a feature that now anchors our ongoing Women In The Channel home page. Each has a unique story to tell about how they rose to the top in tech.

Posted by Joe Caponi at 09:59 AM, July 30, 2007
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Dell Quiets Its Critics

Ed Moltzen says Michael Dell's efforts at creating a "New Dell" have been showing some results:

"Dell has been working hard to fix service issues that hurt it mightily a couple of years ago, it's adding to its brand lineup for small business and it's now touting its plans for working with the channel. Beyond that, the company has also managed to quell very vocal critics... Dell may or may not be hip, but it's certainly the flavor of the month"

But he says Dell is "still looking over it's shoulder" at other issues, particularly two federal financial investigations.

Posted by Joe Caponi at 11:32 AM, July 18, 2007
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Faletra's Rules For Growing Sales

Robert Faletra provides a five step plan to grow your solution provider business:

"Step one is you have to decide that revenue growth is your priority. Capturing new revenue rapidly doesn't necessarily result in better margins. It doesn't mean that this growth is unprofitable, but if margins slip a bit as revenue accelerates, it's not a bad thing. Anytime you are acquiring new customers, you are building a stronger business for the long haul."

Posted by Joe Caponi at 10:29 AM, July 16, 2007
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Whose Lunch Is Dell Eyeing?

Our parent group, (now simply called CMP Channel) has been researching how Dell's foray into channel sales may affect current channel vendors. Robert DeMarzo has news for Viewsonic, Acer, Lexmark and HP.

Posted by Joe Caponi at 10:04 AM, July 16, 2007
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Introducing Solutions Inc.

At ChannelWeb, we're digging deeper into what's involved in partnering with the largest vendors. In Solutions Inc., we focus on Microsoft. Eighty percent of solution providers have some relationship with the software giant, and, of course, just about everyone encounters Windows, among many other Microsoft technologies, every day. Frank Ohlhorst cites key opportunities detailed in the initial Solutions Inc. coverage:

"...two areas that are potential gold mines for solution providers: building appliances and providing business continuity"

Posted by Joe Caponi at 10:56 AM, July 12, 2007
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Talk Talk... Begins With Microsoft

This week we welcome ChannelWeb editor Larry Hooper to our crew of bloggers. The first entries in Talk Talk put the doings at Microsoft's Partner Conference into perspective:

"I keep thinking that with RIM and its BlackBerry not exactly channel-centric, and now Apple and the iPhone jumping in, the mobile space just became a lot less channel-friendly. Microsoft Mobile seems like the channel's biggest chance in the mobile space."

Posted by Joe Caponi at 12:59 PM, July 11, 2007
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CA Takes Another Swing At The Channel

Robert DeMarzo thinks CA may finally have the commitment to building a true channel program:

"It's got the executives, it's got the products, and it's got channel partners who, despite all the past insanity, still believe they can make money selling CA products... But what it does not have yet is a message for the channel. "

Posted by Joe Caponi at 10:00 AM, July 6, 2007
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Franchised IT: Beat Em Or Join Em?

CRN looks at the new wave of franchised IT service operations gunning for a piece of the MSP market. For better or worse, they're everywhere:

"MSP franchisors are sprouting up like mushrooms in the IT world. Established franchise companies like 1 800 905 GEEK, Computer Renaissance, Fast-Teks, Data Doctors, CMIT Solutions, RescueCom and Computer Troubleshooters are stacking managed services onto their break-fix offerings. Upstarts like the Utility Company, Concerto Networks and Team Logic IT have entered the market in the past few years with MSP strategies firmly in hand. Those 10 companies boast 1,138 North American franchisees between them."

Posted by Joe Caponi at 10:53 AM, July 3, 2007
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When Your Project Is Doomed

Were you ever sure a project you were working on was destined to fail? Were you afraid to share that information with your boss? According to VitalSmarts, a corporate training company, if you answered 'yes' to either, you're in a very big crowd:

"Among the project managers polled, 92 percent said they currently work on projects that are unlikely to be successful, and 81 percent have already concluded that they won't be able to convince key decision-makers to take the steps required to bring their projects back on course. More than three-quarters of the project managers admit they won't even try to convince those decision-makers."

It's quite a wake up call. The article includes tips for both project managers and senior executives to take to avert project failures and build an environment more suited for success.

Posted by Joe Caponi at 10:55 AM, June 28, 2007
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Private Equity Makes Its Channel Mark

Lawrence Walsh says "Private equity is washing over the channel, and that's good news:

"Private equity, CEOs say, provides funding for acquisitions and expansion, as well as management experience and leadership for business growth....
For large public companies like CDW and ACS, private equity is a means to escape the expense associated with being a public company. For small companies with low growth but solid cash flow, private equity can provide the capital for operations and expansion without having to go public. "

Posted by Joe Caponi at 10:40 AM, June 7, 2007
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903 E-Mails

That's the project for this morning, now that I'm back from a terrific week's vacation. Thanks to Gayle Kesten for filling in at Hot Topics!
I see there's a new TechBuilder recipe this morning, The 11 Tools Every System Builder Should Own, and it looks like something happened with Dell last week. Gotta check that out...

Posted by Joe Caponi at 10:26 AM, May 21, 2007
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Dell Sees the Channel Light

Call it our scoop du jour: Huge kudos to CRN's Ed Moltzen, who caught up with Michael Dell for an exclusive interview that reveals his company's plan to embrace the channel in what's nothing less than a major strategy shift:

"We're going to work on a number of different program elements and reach out to these partners because, actually, this part of our business has been growing faster than the overall category," Dell told Ed. "We take that as a positive affirmation that there is a great interest here. We're going to ramp it up quickly."

BTW, Dell's just the latest hard-to-get, big-name exec we've scored. In recent weeks, VARBusiness also spoke to IBM CEO Sam Palmisano and Microsoft channel chief Allison Watson.

Posted by Gayle Kesten at 10:40 AM, May 16, 2007
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So, What Is Your Job?

Adaptive Path (an interface design consultancy) struggles with the issue of explaining what it is they actually do. It's a topic familiar to VARs, and one I've discussed before. But they've come to realize that difficulty is a strength, not a weakness:

"Most organizations are stuck in classic mid-19th to 20th century thinking, borne of a manufacturing economy, where optimization arose when people were as interchangeable as the parts of the machines they built.

21st century work is going to have to be much more synthetic, mixed-up, and uncertain...

As Bruce Sterling said on his blog... 'this is the enterprise of the future: if you can explain what you are doing with any conventional terminology, you’ve already been outsourced to India.'"

Posted by Joe Caponi at 11:22 AM, May 10, 2007
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Tuesday. Second Life. Be There

Looking for a reason to dip your toe in Second Life? Next Tuesday, VARBusiness editor Lawrence Walsh goes virtual, hosting a Channel 2.0 town hall in Cisco's Virtual Campus' Bandwidth Amphitheater, in Second Life. He knows you're sceptical, (Shadowram certainly is) but Larry's confident:

"Vendors leading the charge into Second Life say this is very different from the conventional conference call, Web site or Webex meeting. Participants can interact with the presentation and each other in real time. It's not uncommon for people attending Second Life events to spin off into a private meeting to discuss mutual challenges, exchange ideas and forge partnerships."

Meanwhile, Jill Aitoro reports that Second Life might just be the place to track down your next government contract, as well:

"The opportunity to get in front of government customers in Second Life is huge, and programs like Safecom that require collaboration will be more apt to accept pitches in the virtual world than via telephone, e-mail or in-person meetings. It's a safe harbor, in a sense, for solution providers to approach government with ideas without necessarily having an initial in, or struggling through the red tape to get a formal bid submitted."

Posted by Joe Caponi at 12:15 PM, May 9, 2007
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Sun Puts Out Channel Fire

It must have seemed like a great idea. Last week Sun launched its 25 Anniversary Sale, offering direct pricing on some products at half the partner cost. Sun partners were stunned, and responded, in part, by venting their displeasure in our forums. Within three days, Sun had relented and opened the sale up to channel partners. Steven Burke says it's better late than never:

"Ultimately, the sales promotion is a Harvard Business School case study on corporate marketing run amok. Sun pulled back and did the right thing. But why did it have to reach a breaking point?"

Posted by Joe Caponi at 02:02 PM, April 30, 2007
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New Blogs On Tech and Government

At long last, we've moved Jill Aitoro's Public Eye blog out of it's cramped apartment in Columns and into a shiny new space all her own. She'll continue to look at issues critical to public-sector VARs, including recent posts on E-Filing, the changing role of distributors in the public sector, and possible technology responses to sudden emergencies such as the Virginia Tech shooting:

"Plenty of audio systems, including a couple offered by Sarasota, Fla.-based MadahCom, are capable of broadcasting safety sirens, live and recorded voice messages, and visual alerts via secure networks. An emergency notification system automatically contacts people by phone, pager, fax and e-mail, and delivers incident-specific information and instruction."

Meanwhile, VARBusiness executive editor Carolyn April has launched Channel Surfing, a new blog focused on technology issues and opportunities in the channel. Early posts include looks at IT Staffing, the growing complexity of channel IT solutions, and an MSP horror story:

"Grocery chains open for the day, employees there boot up the inventory-control software being provided as a service by their MSP and, well, system crashes ensue. The MSP then spends two days putting out fires and placating angry customers whose systems were offline...
It's a true story."

Try them both out. Of course, you can track both blogs via our expanded RSS Feeds service, as well.

Posted by Joe Caponi at 11:00 AM, April 24, 2007
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A New King of the VARBusiness 500

Can the VARBusiness 500 get more VAR-focused? Hard to believe, but yes. This year's listing will move the top vendor-services divisions to a separate list, including perennial VAR 500 leader IBM Global Services, ensuring this year's top company will be a full time VAR. Lawrence Walsh has all the details:

"More than 50 companies will move to our new top Vendor Services list. Additionally, we are a lot clearer on the difference between a pure-play IT vendor and an independent software vendor.

Between these changes and a healthy year for mergers and acquisitions, the 2007 VARBusiness 500 will welcome more than 100 new companies to the list and crown a new king of the channel hill."

Posted by Joe Caponi at 11:08 AM, April 23, 2007
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What's Infor's Game?

This move by Infor is just stunning:

"A few weeks ago, partners received new contracts and were given 10 days -- until April 13 -- to sign. Those failing to do so would be docked a point of margin per day of delay, starting April 16, according to Infor partners with the documents. And should a partner still not sign, Infor would take the maintenance and support business of the partner's customers direct."

It's rarely a good move to put all your eggs in somebody else's basket, and it's hard to see this as sound strategy for Infor's partners to follow.

At the Channel Mavens blog, they're speculating it may be a psychological game on Infor's part:

"We wouldn't begin to suggest that Infor's (or any other vendor's) relationship with its channel partners replicates the ultimatum game, but we're thankful for the opportunity to consider how they might be connected."

Or, they suggest, maybe just too much testosterone.

And at the ERP Graveyard game, they're simply calling it a 'loyalty oath', that's...

"really putting the screws to its partners."

Posted by Joe Caponi at 10:44 AM, April 19, 2007
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State of Technology--Storage

VARBusiness has a harsh message for storage solution providers--wake up! In the latest State of Technology report, VARBusiness finds that most solution providers are missing out on robust growth opportunities:

"Storage solution providers of all sizes generated an average of only 18 percent of total revenue from storage-related solutions and services."

"Seagate and Western Digital are front and center in the storage vendor ranks--primarily because of their high-end products and history with the channel. But if you ask me, neither company has really seized the opportunity to move upstream against the likes of EMC, Hewlett-Packard and IBM. They're not crafting a channel story around storage services and higher-margin solutions. It seems like a rather obvious opportunity, don't you think?"

As with all State of Technology reports, this one includes exclusive research on solution provider business and technology plans, gleaned from interviews with hundreds of solution providers of all sizes. Topics include:
How VARs sell storage products;
Top-ranked storage hardware vendors; and
What customers are looking for in storage solutions.

Check out the complete report.

Posted by Joe Caponi at 12:40 PM, April 17, 2007
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Getting Started In Managed Services

Lawrence Walsh lays out the hows and the whys of adding managed services to your business portfolio. The why is to build a recurring revenue stream. The how part is trickier:

"Those who go the partnering path can graduate to be standalone managed services providers. Those who refer business can always invest in the services infrastructure. And those who build can always look to their peers for technical and sales support."

Posted by Joe Caponi at 10:31 AM, April 12, 2007
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Taking The MSP Plunge: Prepare For Cold Water

Lawrence Walsh talks to one VAR that turned his business upside down to achieve success in managed services:

"Scaling is just one lesson Shulman has learned through his metamorphosis. The larger lesson is about business. He's no shrinking violet and readily voices his opinions. One that he vehemently pronounces is the need for solution providers to become better businesspeople."

Posted by Joe Caponi at 10:40 AM, April 2, 2007
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CRNTech Caught Live

Stacy Cowley reports from the first CRNTech Live, held today in New York:

"Vendors, solution providers and CRN editors gathered to kick the tires of new products and chat about evolving business areas, like the growing market for disaster recovery and business continuity services."

Posted by Joe Caponi at 08:21 PM, March 28, 2007
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The Next Step In Security: Reputational Analysis

Lawrence Walsh sits down with Trend Micro CEO Eva Chen and examines the company's vision for the future of internet security:

"The next stage in the antivirus evolution, according to Chen, is "reputational analysis." The newly released OfficeScan 8.0 will include endpoint security features that will block access to Web sites that have a reputation as sources for malicious activity... It's security software that will automagically tell you that you're in a bad neighborhood of the Internet."

Posted by Joe Caponi at 04:13 PM, March 26, 2007
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Google Looks To VARs To Open Federal Doors

Over on Public Eye, Jill Aitoro has word on Google's recent sales meeting with 200 federal contractors:

"The size cand omplexity of the government market alone could lead Google to solution providers and systems integrators. Perhaps Google will take its cue from Dell, limiting support of the channel in the commercial space, but engaging partners in its efforts to win government contracts. Or, perhaps channel support in the government market will trickle into its commercial strategy."

Posted by Joe Caponi at 08:50 PM, March 14, 2007
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Channel Chatter: The New Forums

As I've mentioned, our upgraded Forums are one of my favorite elements of the site redesign. At the beginning of this week, though, they did feature mostly our own test postings and a couple spam messages. But now, real readers are weighing in on real issues. Check out threads on:

HP's Linux Deals:

"It's great to see the box vendors giving pre-installed GNU+Linux another try after some early false starts. Vista's created an opportunity there, but the window won't be open for long."

10 Things Partners Are Saying About Cisco:

"Cisco acted like they were trying to help us with pricing, etc. then came in at the last minute and undercut us, selling directly to the customer at a huge discount."

Microsoft: Influencer Program Coming This Month:

"The Influencer program is a very significant step in the evolution of the Microsoft Partner Program."

HP's Booth: Resignation Not Tied To Sales Results:

"You seldom find senior executives that give so much consistently and are even wiling to help the little guys in the industry."

Join in and let us