The chip giant adds new remote management, encryption and anti-theft tools baked right into next-gen Intel Core vPro processors for commercial desktops and notebooks.
The long-awaited iPad has arrived. But here are 12 other tablet devices that will take aim at Apple this year as the suddenly crowded tablet PC market heats up.
Going green was the rage of 2009, and the buzz in 2010 isn't letting up. Manufacturers are responding to increased demands from their white box makers for more eco-friendly components.
Having a team who has the unbridled ability to explore innovation is nothing new. Some of the greatest innovations came from renegades. Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center gave us the first personal computer, graphical user interface and mouse this way. Bell Labs, now a division of Lucent Technologies, has developed scores of technologies because it was given free reign to innovate. And many of the technologies we take for granted today—such as the switch, router and firewall—are the result of free thinking.
We at VARBusiness recognize vendor innovation, but realize that true innovation happens more on the solution-provider level. Vendors create technologies that become components that serve as the raw materials for the systems divined by solution providers. And building systems that meets customers' needs is the catalyst for solution-provider innovations.
Now, most solution providers don't have the resources or ability to support freelance teams of innovators. With limited staff and resources, anything that distracts from revenue-generating activities is difficult to sustain. But consider this: The key to surviving in the next-generation channel requires free thinking and creativity. Solution providers not only need to create systems that meet customers' needs, but they must create systems that anticipate the future needs of new opportunities. And this means providing the support for fanatical staffers who will pursue ideas even when there's little support, resources or budget.
Consider two of the greatest inventions of the modern era. 3M didn't cook up masking tape and Post-it notes in a lab; they were products built by renegades who bucked conventional wisdom to create a product that no one wanted but eventually became market standards.
The next time one of your people comes up with a crazy idea, don't shoot it down. Give him as much support as you can afford, the encouragement to explore and the latitude to shop his creation to the market. In the end, you may find a genius who will propel your business to new heights and revenues.
Do you support innovation? Share your innovation daring with me.
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