No Holiday for Technology Industry Rumors

The VAR Guy tried his best to fully unplug during the extended US holiday weekend. But his offline nap ended when two rumors landed in his inbox. The first involves a $20 billion Microsoft partner launching a major open source initiative, and the second involves a potential telepresence company acquisition. Here are the early details on both items.

First up, open source rumors that appear to be fact: A $20 billion technology has drawn up plans to help redefine and accelerate the way open source applications and platforms are sold and deployed in customer settings. The VAR Guy has heard some key details of the plan… and he intends to share more details after he gets a few on-the-record comments on May 26.

The open source news is particularly interesting because the technology company involved has generated billions of dollars in revenue selling Microsoft-oriented solutions. Now, that Microsoft partner is trying to hedge its bets and attempting to rally dozens — yes, dozens — of companies around open source sales models. The VAR Guy will pull back the curtain on this breaking story on May 26. And yes, he’ll name names.

Tuning In Telepresence

Meanwhile, a major networking industry company has apparently taken a close look at buying a small telepresence technology provider. The VAR Guy heard the rumor from two VARs who don’t know each other and don’t have a connection to each other. Still, our resident blogger hasn’t been able to futher the story. Plus, The VAR Guy would actually like to unplug a bit more today.

So, stay tuned: The major open source news seems pretty darn firm and The VAR Guy will name names on May 26. And the telepresence news remains a rumor for now, but our resident blogger will share more details — including the alleged vendors names — on May 26.

In the meantime, it’s time to unplug — at least for the next few hours.

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