Channel Beat: PC Sales Hit Lowest Mark Since 2007

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Despite the holiday season and the launch of Windows 10, PC sales in fourth-quarter 2015 hit their lowest point since 2007.

Overall sales were down 10.4 percent for the entire year, according to IDC. Apple was the only manufacturer that showed any growth, at 2.8 percent. HP Inc. and Dell sales fell by 8 percent and 5 percent, respectively. Analysts expect the market to pick up 2016.

Dell Security stole a major executive from FireEye this week, global channel chief Steve Pataky.

Pataky will be vice president of worldwide security sales in his new post. Dell confirmed the move and said he started this week.

In recent months speculation has circled around a possible buyout of FireEye, and the company's stock has dropped more than 50 percent since September.

Cisco is pushing partners to become cloud service providers with a new Cloud Consumption as a Service Offering.

The offering is being sold exclusively through the channel, and Cisco said the service presents a new $5 billion opportunity for U.S. solution providers.

The offering is part of an overall move from being a reseller to becoming a strategic adviser, which Cisco would like its partner community to undergo.