Technologies

Fatal Distraction: The VAR Guy Falls for Ubuntu Linux

• May 2, 2008

Can Sun Rise Again?

• May 2, 2008

Sun Microsystems is taking a pounding on Wall Street today. Weak financial results stunned investors, and CEO Jonathan Schwartz’s strategy to transform the company will surely come under fire. Is there hope for Sun? The VAR Guy seems to think so. Here’s why. 1. Software as a Service: Sun is pushing hard into the SaaS […]

Welcome: A Linux Site for the Rest of Us

• May 1, 2008

Update: RightNow Makes SaaS Progress

• April 30, 2008

RightNow, a CRM (customer relationship management) developer, gave skeptics reasons to believe companies can successfully leap from traditional software to newer software as a service (SaaS) business models.

Although RightNow wasn’t profitable in its most recent quarter, the company’s financial results easily beat Wall Street’s expectations. Here’s the scoop.

Welcome Back, Symantec

• April 30, 2008

Better late than never. Symantec, nearly three years after acquiring Veritas, appears to be hitting its stride. At least that’s the spin Symantec gave after announcing surprisingly strong earnings on April 30. Lots of folks have been bashing Symantec lately. A few even predicted that the company would break itself up. But The VAR Guy […]

Microsoft Management Summit: Two Trends Worth Watching

• April 30, 2008

No, Microsoft hasn’t acquired or launched a managed services platform. But the software giant continues to push deeper into the IT management market. In fact, Microsoft this week is hosting an IT management summit in Las Vegas. Here are two key highlights from the event.

Is Cisco Burying Its Rivals?

• April 30, 2008

About a year ago, Cisco CEO John Chambers predicted his company’s competitive landscape would shift from networking firms to software and Web 2.0 companies. Apparently, Chambers was right: Recent financial results from numerous networking companies suggest many of Cisco’s old rivals are falling off a cliff. Here’s a look behind the numbers.

Interop Las Vegas Update: 6 Trends to Watch

• April 30, 2008

Last week, The VAR Guy outlined six trends he expected to generate some buzz at this week’s Interop conference in Las Vegas. Now that the show is in full swing, let’s take another look at those six trends to see how they’re shaping up. In his April 24 entry, The VAR Guy pointed to the […]

Managed Microsoft SharePoint Services Continue to Proliferate

• April 30, 2008

Anecdotal evidence suggests that managed service providers are pushing deeper into the Microsoft applications market. Most of the Microsoft-centric initiatives seem to involve hosted Exchange Server, Dynamics CRM and /or SharePoint applications.

RightNow: Will SaaS Sales Shine Today?

• April 29, 2008

RightNow, a CRM provider that has been shifting to a software as a service (SaaS) business model, is scheduled to release financial results after US markets close today. RightNow’s results could give managed service providers and SaaS enthusiasts a few hints about the overall health of the on-demand software industry. Also, RightNow may help other […]

Will Apple Need A Tiny Notebook?

• April 29, 2008

Low-cost mini notebooks like the Asus Eee PC continue to win rave reviews. And now Fortune is praising a Hewlett-Packard mini-laptop that “packs a lot of punch.” You can almost see Steve Jobs writing on an white board somewhere at Apple, weighing the pros and cons of launching his own tiny notebook offensive. But does […]

Dell Prepares to Brief Managed Service Provider Partners

• April 29, 2008

Dell Prepares to Brief Managed Service Providers

• April 29, 2008

Dell on May 1 is set to host a webinar for its certified managed service provider partners. The company is working overtime to brief press (including MSPmentor) about the webinar. I will certainly welcome the briefing. I beat up Dell a bit on April 25 for issuing a press release in which the company described […]

Interop Las Vegas: Where’s the Jackpot?

• April 29, 2008

The VAR Guy is watching Interop Las Vegas from the comfort of his home office this year. The Interop news wire appears a bit lighter than previous years. And the keynote speaker lineup — while impressive — lacks Cisco CEO John Chambers and other industry titans. Is Interop still popular? Sure. But competition from a different type of event may be stealing some of Interop’s thunder. Here’s the scoop.

Kaseya Extends Safety Net to Managed Service Providers

• April 29, 2008

Sometimes, managed service providers (MSPs) struggle to scale their business while fulfilling service level agreements (SLAs) with customers. With that challenge in mind, Kaseya has launched Network Operations Center (NOC) Assist, which allows MSPs to leverage Kaseya’s talent pool without hiring more full-time employees. From where I sit, NOC Assist is part of a bigger […]