Briefs: June 26, 2006

HP'S LIVERMORE WANTS MORE SERVICES

Services, regardless of whether they are provided by HP or its channel partners, is the key area where solution providers can improve both their revenue and margins, Livermore said. "We want to work closely with you to make sure you use our services to extend your reach and we use your services to extend our reach," she said.

HP is also preparing to roll out new services aimed at the desktop space this fall but is not yet ready to discuss specifics, Livermore said. "There isn't as much support and services sold around the PC environment compared to what customers need," she said. "But we find customer examples where their cost of ownership is awfully high because they don't support their PC environment very well. So we think there are a lot of opportunities to improve that working through our channel partners."

INGRAM'S NIMAX DIVISION GOES VERTICAL WITH POS SOLUTIONS
Ingram Micro's Nimax Division has created a lineup of point-of-sale (POS) and automatic identification capture (AIDC) bundles for several vertical markets.

The distributor is offering bundles for the accounting, field service and logistics, health-care, manufacturing, specialty retail, restaurant, transportation and warehousing markets, said John Soumbasakis, vice president and general manager of Ingram's Nimax arm. Designed for customers in those sectors, the bundles include products from Cisco Systems, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Symbol Technologies, Zebra and other vendors.

"Specifically in AIDC/POS, vertical markets are very important. Often it's what drives the sale," Soumbasakis said. "We did a survey, and 80 percent of our customers late last year told us it was valuable to get solutions that incorporate adjacent technologies in one place. They were sourcing them from three to five places. What we've done with the bundles is made it easier for VARs."

SYNNEX SALES RISE 12 PERCENT, SIGNS DEAL WITH BROCADE
Synnex reported a 12 percent increase in sales in the second quarter ended May 31, but earnings fell compared with the same period last year due to a onetime gain in the year-ago quarter.

The distributor also announced that it has signed a deal to carry SAN connectivity solutions from Brocade Communications Systems. Brocade's SilkWorm SAN switches and directors are available through Synnex.

Synnex earned $11.3 million, or 36 cents a share, during the second quarter, compared with $22.4 million, or 72 cents a share, in the same period last year. The company attributed the drop to last year's onetime gain of $13.1 million on the sale of the company's Japan operation.

Revenue in this year's second quarter increased to $1.51 billion from $1.35 billion.

N-ABLE REPACKAGES AUTOTASK'S HOSTED CRM SYSTEM FOR MSPs
MSP platform vendor N-able Technologies now offers a rebranded version of AutoTask's services optimization product. AutoTask, a hosted, Software-as-a-Service business optimization platform for MSPs, is now available as an N-power service for customers of N-able, said Bob Vogel, chief marketing officer at AutoTask.

It is the first time an MSP platform vendor has privately labeled the AutoTask service, said Vogel. AutoTask continues to host its platform for N-able, he said.

"N-power is pure, 100 percent AutoTask," said Vogel. AutoTask gives MSPs a CRM system designed for managed services, one that can help identify and plug leaks in profitability caused by inaccurate billing for field services, help-desk services, and other project-related activities, according to AutoTask.

AutoTask has marketing partnerships with some of N-able's fellow MSP platform vendors, including Silverback Technologies, Cittio and LPI Level Platforms, said Vogel. These partnerships, however, do not share the close product integration that the N-able OEM deal provides for, he said.

Available as a component of N-able's flagship Velocity System MSP platform, pricing for N-power starts at $50 a month per user, plus setup and training fees, according to N-able.

NORTEL TAPS JOHN ROESE AS CTO TO OVERSEE RESEARCH
Nortel Networks last week named networking industry veteran John Roese as its new CTO to oversee its research and development strategy.

Roese's nearly 20-year career includes experience in networking, security, VoIP, wireless and machine-to-machine communications technology, according to a Nortel statement. He most recently served as vice president and CTO for networking technologies at semiconductor vendor Broadcom. Prior to that, he served as executive vice president and CTO at Enterasys Networks and as CTO of Cabletron.

Roese's appointment becomes effective June 28. He will report to President and CEO Mike Zafirovski. He takes over for interim CTO Peter Carbone, who will remain with the company, a spokeswoman said.

At Nortel, Roese is tasked with overseeing the vendor's R&D strategy and execution. He will also work closely on emerging technologies, market opportunities and strategic partnerships with Chief Strategy Officer George Riedel, who joined the company in February. Other recent Zafirovski appointees include Chief Marketing Officer Lauren Flaherty and President of Global Services Dietmar Wendt, who both joined May 1.

WESTCON GROUP CREATES NEW SECURITY-FOCUSED DIVISION
Westcon Group has launched a new business unit focused on security solutions. The division is spun off from the Nortel Networks-focused unit, which had a strong security practice that accounted for 55 percent of the division's sales, said Laurie Usewicz, vice president of the security division. The new unit will be available to all Westcon Group solution providers, including those that buy Cisco Systems or Avaya products through the Comstor and Voda One divisions, according to Usewicz. "With no ties to Cisco, Avaya or Nortel, we can create best-of-breed security solutions," she said.

Check Point Software Technologies and Nokia are the lead vendors, but the product mix is evenly distributed between all 14 vendors, she said. "That renders to the successes of selling a total solution. Resellers are really focusing in on selling more opportunities into their customer base. I think that's why we have been successful in the diversification of our portfolio," she added.