Technologies

Why Apple Doesn’t Need Business “Push”

• May 12, 2008

BusinessWeek and some Web articles are speculating about Apple’s future in the business market. Is Apple finally ready to “push” deeper into business? That question may be moot. Fact is, Apple is creating business “pull” rather than business “push.” Here’s what The VAR Guy means.

The Most Abused Word In High-Tech: “Innovation”

• May 12, 2008

Memo to high-tech companies. Stop talking about innovation, and instead focus on sustainable innovation. What’s the difference? Glad you asked. Here’s The VAR Guy’s view. Innovation is what happens every few years at Motorola. Sustainable innovation is what happens every day at Apple. Still confused? The Motorola RAZR was an innovation. It came. It went. […]

Who Sits At the Center of the MSP Universe?

• May 12, 2008

When ConnectWise and Kaseya announced new cross-company efforts earlier today, it made me wonder: Which managed service platform providers are best positioned to sit at the middle of the MSP universe? First, let me tell you a little about the ConnectWise-Kaseya relationship. Then, I’ll share a few theories about how the MSP platform universe is […]

You’re Invited: June 12 Managed Services Webcast

• May 11, 2008

Blackboard Reveals SaaS Financial Trends

• May 7, 2008

Evidence is mounting that the software as a service (SaaS) industry is doing well — but not quite as well as financial analysts had expected. The latest anecdote comes from Blackboard Inc., a company that offers hosted applications to colleges and universities.

Microsoft Mulling Facebook Bid?

• May 7, 2008

Reports are circulating that Microsoft may make a run at acquiring Facebook. If true, this would be more than a consumer social networking move for Microsoft. In recent months, several Fortune 500 companies — including a major bank — have begun using Facebook to enhance employee communications and collaboration. Here’s the scoop. During a conference […]

Five Trends to Watch At Ubuntu Live Conference

• May 6, 2008

The Ubuntu Live conference doesn’t kick off until July 21, but The VAR Guy is already booking his flight to the Portland, Oregon-based event. Here are five key trends our guest blogger expects to track at the event.

Blogging Live From Ubuntu Live 2008

• May 6, 2008

Generally speaking, The VAR Guy is a procrastinator — except when it comes to timely blogs. In fact, he’s already confirmed plans to blog live from Ubuntu Live 2008, scheduled for July 21 and 22 in Portland, Oregon. Here are five reasons you should care about the Ubuntu distribution of Linux, and the Ubuntu Live […]

Digital Fuel Promotes ITIL Service Management

• May 5, 2008

Finally, the phone call happened. For several weeks, I’ve been playing phone tag with Digital Fuel President and CEO Yisrael Dancziger. We finally connected a few days ago, and Dancziger took the time to walk me through Digital Fuel’s business strategy and latest platform release.

Master MSP Mixes Onshore and Offshore Strategy

• May 5, 2008

James Zachman is adding another twist to the Master MSP business model. As president of Real Time Data Services LLC, Zachman is leveraging offshore support in New Delhi, India, while continuing to build out his managed services business in Newport Beach, Calif.

Zachman says his company is blending:

• MSP platform hosting;
• software as a service (SaaS);
• 24×7 network operation center (NOC) initiatives; and
• help desk support services.

Cisco’s Latest D-day: May 6

• May 5, 2008

Everybody hold your breath. Cisco Systems is set to announce financial results on May 6. Most observers are cautiously optimistic. If everything goes as planned, Wall Street will breathe a collective sigh of relief. But if CEO John Chambers is in another “lumpy” mood, things could get really ugly real fast. For The VAR Guy, […]

Ubuntu for My Boss

• May 4, 2008

For as long as I can remember, Linux was “marketed” and pushed towards the younger crowd—the computer-savvy, self-described “geeky” community that had no problem getting Linux to work on their system. But now, even my boss is running Ubuntu. Here’s our story. This has typically involved a good amount of command-line interaction and tweaking to […]

Dell Talks Up Managed Services With 75 Partners

• May 4, 2008

Dell, in its latest bid to build trust and profitable relationships with managed service providers, hosted a Web seminar for about 75 partners on May 1. More Web seminars are planned, but something far more interesting caught my attention: It seems like some Dell managers truly do have the channel in their DNA. In fact, […]

Wall Street: Turning Sour On NetSuite, SaaS?

• May 4, 2008

Talk about role reversal. A few months ago, RightNow was plummeting and NetSuite was skyrocketing. But the two software as a service (SaaS) companies appear to have traded places. Only a day after RightNow announced financial progress, NetSuite delivered growth projections that disappointed Wall Street. The bottom line for SaaS — and the people who […]

Microsoft-Yahoo Is Dead, Long Live Zimbra

• May 4, 2008

Now that Microsoft has ended its pursuit of Yahoo!, a lot of folks are analyzing the big picture at both companies. Yada, yada, yada. But instead of focusing on the forest, The VAR Guy would prefer to focus on one tiny tree: Zimbra, the open source email platform that Yahoo owns, can now breathe a little easier.