CRN Channel News


  • Expectations are for continued price drop, so what's in store for VARs?


    Lowdown On LCD Prices
    LCD monitor prices are expected to continue declining through the fall, which may make it easier for solution providers to switch customers away from CRT monitors.
  • Ingram Micro Tries To Keep Channel Relations Steady
    With four executives gone in the past four months, Ingram Micro has many channel observers wondering whether something is afoot at the company. Kevin Murai, co-president of the Santa Ana, Calif.-based distributor, shed light on the impact of the executive departures and the rollout of A NEW channel program in an interview with CRN Distribution Editor Scott Campbell. For the full interview, go to CRN.COM/EXTRA.
  • Riding Web Train To Get Certified
    With all the attention focused on the growing role of vendor-neutral certifications in this week's cover story, one important finding may have slipped under the radar: Web-based certification training has come of age.
  • Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator
    Solution providers value the Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator certification as a must-have for their business, but not necessarily because they are counting on it to take them into new territory.
  • Certified Information Systems Security Professional
    The Certified Information Systems Security Professional is a vendor-neutral certification whose time has come. Not only is it the only vendor-neutral certification among the Big 8, but it vied with Cisco certifications for top honors, placing No. 1 in return on investment with a whopping 36.8 percent ROI and second as a generator of new business.
  • Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer
    For the third straight year, solution providers in the Certification Study deemed the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer the No. 1 most important certification to their business.
  • Red Hat Certifications
    Red Hat’s certifications continue to grow in prominence and dividends, but solution providers believe they will generate even stronger returns as the Linux market grows.
  • Selling Certifications
    One of the dominant themes for several years running in our annual special report on certification has been the rise of the vendor-neutral mind-set. The exclusive research upon which this week's related cover package is centered further underscores this trend.
  • Experience Counts
    Manuel Villa doesn't put all that much weight on certifications. For Villa, president of Via Technology, a nine-year-old solution provider in San Antonio, the real test is a service professional's ability to perform in the field and to deliver powerful solutions to satisfied clients.

  • Mercedes Ellison, senior VP of marketing, calls it quits


    Revolving Door Continues At BEA As Another Channel Exec Departs
    One of BEA Systems' channel executives will be the latest to leave in a slew of executive departures over the past two months. A BEA spokeswoman confirmed Mercedes Ellison, BEA senior vice president of marketing, has resigned.
  • NEC Exec Sets Sights on Server Rivals
    NEC has been quietly recruiting channel partners, and is offering servers that feature fault tolerance at prices that rival competitors' standard server offerings. Leading that effort is Larry Sheffield, who talks about what NEC has accomplished since it began its channel push in the U.S. 10 months ago and what it hopes to do next.