The 10 Big Stories Of 2007

You can say one thing about 2007: few in the IT channel were bored.

Big-name vendors entered new markets, though partners had to get creative as some splashy product releases failed to live up to expectations. Solution providers found hot new technologies to latch on to, but also sought other ways to spur growth.

There certainly was no shortage of big stories to keep ChannelWeb readers tuned in. Here are the 10 that grabbed the most attention.

#10 Private Equity is the New Black

The channel watched in awe as one of its own -- CDW -- was snapped up by private-equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners for more than $7 billion in cash (a move spearheaded by Madison Dearborn Managing Director Benjamin Chereskin, pictured left) . Some wondered whether new ownership would drive the box-pusher to put more emphasis on value and services. Others questioned whether the investment company had paid too high a price.

Solution provider CompuCom also proved to be an attractive investment, as one equity firm sold it to another for $628 million. Such deals led to some soul-searching as channel players tried to decide how to respond to private equity's call. It was a question several vendors had to answer as well, as companies such as telecom player Avaya and networking vendor 3Com saw the benefits of going private.

#9 iPhones, GPhones, We All Scream for Smartphones

In one of the most highly anticipated product launches of the year, Apple CEO Steve Jobs blessed the masses with the introduction of the iPhone, perfectly timed to trump everything at January's Apple-free Consumer Electronics Show. Solution providers clambered for a sneak peek at the sleek and shiny device, which finally hit the streets on June 29. It wasn't long before hackers found flaws, and even more controversy was stirred when the company cut the price by $200, prompting criticism from Apple legend Steve Wozniak.

Meanwhile, Google made a foray into the mobile market with the unveiling of Android, its planned Linux-based operating system for cell phones. When it came to rolling out smartphones for the enterprise, solution providers had a lot of options, but when all the iPhone hype had cleared, it was the RIM BlackBerry Curve that really stood out for business users.

#8 Retail Evolution

Retailers grabbed a piece of the spotlight in 2007 with big partnership wins and plans to work with solution providers. Best Buy set its heart on the channel with a two-pronged strategy to build a partner program to supplement its Geek Squad home integration service and to convince vendors to allow it supply their products to partners.

But solution providers still carry memories of the retailer's bumpy relationship with the channel. While the channel wasn't easily lured by the prospect of linking arms with retailers, Dell was. The vendor signed on to sell products through Best Buy and Wal-mart, marking its first appearance on retail shelves in about 15 years. As Best Buy and Wal-mart moved more computers, the last remaining bricks-and-mortar PC-focused national retailer, CompUSA, struggled, finally disclosing plans to shut its doors after the holidays.

#7 Google Creep

Google went way beyond search over the past year, sticking its fingers in a whole lot of pies. The company launched a fee-based bundle of business applications, snapped up hosted security and e-mail archiving services through its $625 million acquisition of Postini and bought messaging vendor Jaiku.

Plus, you know, all that GPhone stuff. Google made a big enough splash to hit Microsoft's radar, drawing potshots from Steve Balmer over its privacy policy. It also signed its first U.S. distribution partnership via a deal with Ingram Micro, bringing its search appliances to the channel en masse.

#6 VoIP Populi

The channel braced for big fallout in the VoIP world as one big player entered the market and a series of mergers, acquisitions and public offerings infused other vendors with cash, leaving partners to prepare to make the VoIP call.

The VoIP wars heated up big time with the long-awaited launch of Microsoft's unified communications portfolio. Bill Gates said goodbye to VoIP as we know it, predicting that software would rule the voice world. Solution providers spent much of the year bulking up in anticipation of a flood of new business spurred by the Microsoft marketing wave. The SMB space also got into the act, with new products from Cisco Systems and Microsoft hitting the streets.

#5 HP Makes Good

Partners who heeded HP CEO Mark Hurd's advice to stick close to Hewlett-Packard saw a big payoff in 2007 as the company's channel revival hit full stride. HP built up its position as the world's No. 1 PC maker on its way toward surpassing $100 billion in annual revenue. It also took steps to capitalize on the open-source opportunity with pre-loaded Linux on PCs. The company early in the year brought in a new Americas channel chief and ended 2007 by crediting the channel for much of its success.

#4 Viva la Virtualization

Solution providers couldn't get enough of virtualization in 2007 and neither could investors. EMC's plan to sell off part of VMware through an IPO went over big on Wall Street, raising over $1 billion. Even Intel and Cisco caught the fever, making investments in the server virtualization vendor. The channel was hungry for help in choosing the best virtualization suite while vendors like Microsoft hinted that more virtualization plans are percolating, making it a technology that's sure to play big in the new year, too.

#3 AMD Bungles Barcelona

The channel waited most of the year with bated breath for the birth of AMD's Barcelona Quad-Core Opteron chip. It seemed to be worth it when early reviews showed the chip to be a top performer. Solution providers said the chip delivered on all of AMD's promises, even though it was a tad difficult to get a hold of.

But then the bottom dropped out when the company confirmed that a glitch will delay volume shipments until the first quarter of 2008, leaving AMD execs scrambling to repair the company's public image. After a year of hard-fought price wars with rival Intel, it wasn't how AMD had hoped to wrap up the year.

#2 Dell Disses Direct Heritage

There must be ice-skating in the underworld because Dell has finally embraced the channel. After starting the year off by bringing Michael Dell back to the CEO role, the channel's favorite foe waved the white flag with the launch of a partner program that aims to bring solution providers into the fold.

Potential partners showed skepticism, particularly as solution providers wonder how the company plans to handle channel strategy of the storage products it will gain through its pending acquisition of EqualLogic. The vendor's channel chief outlined a point-by-point plan for conquering partners' objections, including promises to give previously direct deals to solution providers. While some channel players are hopeful about the fruit a partnership with Dell could bear, others say the company still has some 'splainin' to do.

#1 The XP Renaissance

It didn't take long for the channel to pick a new favorite operating system in 2007, and it turned out to be an oldie-but-goodie. Solution providers couldn't wait to rev up with Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system, but it soon became apparent that, despite packing in some improvements, it just couldn't live up to the hype. It sucked up system performance, failed to deliver promised security advances and generally came up short.

The result? Partners ripped and replaced Vista with Windows XP at break-neck speed, reminding everyone that newer isn't always better.