Five Companies That Came To Win This Week

AMD Taking On Intel's i5 Processors With New Trinity-based APUs

AMD unveiled a new line of accelerated processing units (APUs) for desktops, positioning them as a less-expensive yet better-performing alternative to Intel's i5 Core processors.

AMD isn't talking pricing yet, but Adam Kozak, AMD desktop product marketing manager, told CRN they'll be aimed at system builders in the entry-level desktop market. "These A series accelerated processors fit within that mainstream segment where our customers are looking at building systems and are looking to prepare these with graphics cards for $100 or less, all the way down to the free graphics that come inside that accelerated processor."

Cisco Adds Wi-Fi Analytics With ThinkSmart Technologies Acquisition

Cisco's acquisition of ThinkSmart Technologies, which develops Wi-Fi location data analysis software, is being hailed by company executives as a move that could help Cisco's mobility strategy. ThinkSmart can help Cisco better manage wireless customers' experience in public venues, Hilton Romanski, vice president and head of corporate business development at Cisco, said in a blog post.

"Together, Cisco and ThinkSmart will enhance the wireless network by providing location intelligence and analytics to service provider and enterprise customers to know what is happening in their environments and to better engage end users," Romanski said.

Enterasys Antes Up With Renewed Channel Push

One year after embarking on a converged networking data center strategy, Enterasys said it has seen sales through partners jump by 25 percent.

By focusing on data center infrastructure partners as opposed to ones with a transactional mind-set, Enterasys said it is able to better serve its customer base. "We're being more selective," Charlie Van Pelt, director of North American channels, told CRN. "About 20 percent of our partners are fully able to sell that way now. We want to have much more presence in our partners, and we're getting that."

Acronis Lands Red Hat Exec To Help Boost Cloud Storage Business

Acronis hired Scott Crenshaw, former vice president and general manager of Red Hat's Cloud Business Unit, to help boost its cloud storage business.

Crenshaw will be tasked with meeting the storage challenges associated with the mix of public and private cloud infrastructure that many organizations are currently using.

"Companies are developing hybrid clouds that mix private and public clouds," he told CRN. "It's a good idea. But it creates a lot of incompatible technologies, especially in storage. The future of the cloud is the ability to access data in any way customers want to. This is what Acronis can solve."

Extreme Networks Heading Into Partner Conference Under Full Head Of Steam

Since taking over as CEO at Extreme Networks two years ago, Oscar Rodriguez has helped get the company headed back in the right direction. Extreme channel partners like what they are seeing so far from Rodriguez's leadership.

"We've been an Extreme partner for nine years, and the last couple, with Oscar coming in, we've seen rejuvenation," Bill Smeltzer, executive vice president and CTO of Focus Technology Solutions, a Seabrook, N.H.-based partner, told CRN. "They've always been a good partner of ours and one of our more profitable partners -- good about protecting our margins. But Oscar and the team have made a strong commitment and they've done what they said they would commit to."