Distribution - Channel Insider
Empowering the next generation Channel
 
security
Surprising Security Shortcomings After nearly a decade of threat warnings, evolving threats and billions of dollars in technology investments, you’d think that businesses have at least a baseline of IT security protections. Recent reports reveal some surprising security shortcomings in the business community.



Sponsored Links
  • SonicWALL VS Status Quo Solutions. No Contest
  • Sell BlackBerry® Technical Support and earn
  • Ready. Set. 7. See who’s building with Windows 7.
  • Special support for Microsoft partners in today’s economy
  • Green is a huge opportunity with HP PartnerONE



  •  

    Distribution

    IBM, Ingram Micro Bring Simplified Technology to Small Business
    IBM will distribute its IBM Smart Cube through Ingram Micro. Designed for small business and midsized business, the IBM Smart Cube combines server hardware together with standard software applications that every business needs, such as e-mail, finance and security. The IBM deal with Ingram Micro is viewed as a move to tap into resellers and channel partners to take the solution to small business customers.
    Technology Spending Growth to Return in Q4
    Forrester Research says that IT spending took a harder hit than expected in the first half of 2009, but IT spending growth will return in Q4 and will continue in 2010. The report aligns with another recent report from Gartner that shows a return of PC sales growth in Q4. Declines are still forecast for the full year of 2009.
    Technology Resellers Get Credit Help from Fujitsu, GE Capital
    Fujitsu America and GE Capital are partnering to offer 60-day payment terms to technology resellers who source select Fujitsu America products through technology distributors D&H, Tech Data and Synnex. The offer is one of several special credit and finance offers extended by vendors and distribution companies in cooperation with third-party financing firms to help jump-start technology spending as traditional sources of credit have dried up.
    Westcon Places Big Bets on Managed Services
    Collaborative service intended to enable VARs to develop and brand a service and support capability with network level support to help foster long-term, strategic relationships with end-user customers.
    Desktop, Laptop PC Refresh on the Way, Eventually
    Businesses large and small have delayed their desktop and laptop PC refresh plans anywhere from six months to 18 months, a trend that has hurt companies such as Dell, HP, Acer and Lenovo. But the delay can't last forever, and some resellers, vendors and distributors say that the great PC refresh is coming.
    Distributor Westcon Brings Microsoft into the Fold
    The two companies will focus on service-oriented offerings, which include unified communications, virtualization, Microsoft BPOS hosted services and security solutions integration.
    Arrow to Aim for Multivendor Deal Registration Portal
    Distributor Arrow is looking to create a multivendor deal registration portal--something considered by some to be the holy grail of deal registration. Initial participating vendors include VMware, Fortinet, McAfee and Lakeside Software. Arrow says resellers can earn more points by registering deals with multiple vendors at one time than by registering with each vendor separately.
    Tech Data Chief Expresses Confidence Amid Slump
    Tech Data CEO Robert Dutkowsky tells shareholders that the technology distributor is growing and has a healthy balance sheet despite the economic downturn.
    Good Sign? IT Distribution Downturn Levels Off, GTDC says
    Strong growth categories this year include netbooks, multifunction printers, solid-state drives, wireless products, network attached storage solutions and storage area networks.
    Distributor Tech Data's Q1 Net Income Soars 49% as Deal Pricing Stays Competitive
    IT Distributor Tech Data's net income soared 49 percent in Q1 compared with last year's quarter. But the company did that on revenues that fell 17 percent year over year. CEO Bob Dutkowsky tells Channel Insider that Tech Data delivered that kind of bottom-line performance in a market where pricing on every deal remains deeply competitive by walking away from certain deals.
    HP's CEO: Not Ready to Call It Better
    Computer giant HP's sales dipped 3 percent in the second quarter, including its EDS acquisition, but that performance wasn't enough for HP's CEO to call an end to the current economic crisis. Instead, HP took the conservative road, narrowing revenue guidance toward the lower end of what it had previously forecast for 2009, and said we are in for more of the same.
    Tech Data Opens Apple Lab for iPhone, iPod and Apple Computers
    While the iPod, iPhone and Apple computers are considered consumer products, small businesses, medium businesses and enterprise businesses have become more open to integrating Apple products into their technology environments. Now IT resellers and channel partners can demonstrate the value of that to end customers at distributor Tech Data's new Apple Lab. The news comes as speculation rises about whether Wal-Mart will soon be carrying Apple computers.
    Distributor Tech Data to Show VARs the (Economic Stimulus) Money
    IT vendors and IT distributors have been working on programs to help IT reseller and solution provider channel partners find out what they need to know to get access to money available through the economic stimulus package, also known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Distributor Tech Data is now offering its Economic Stimulus Watch -- a resource center to help partners learn what is available and win funds for their customers' IT projects.
    IronKey Signs Distribution Deal with Synnex
    Storage vendor IronKey aims to expand its current partner base and reach into the enterprise market through the distribution deal with Synnex. IronKey already works with D&H Distributing.
    Westcon Helps VARs Find Stimulus Dollars
    Distributor Westcon Group has created a series of Web sites packed with tools and resources to help solution providers identify available federal economic stimulus dollars.
    Distributor Group Says Recession Close to Bottom
    Distributor trade organization Global Technology Distribution Council says that while we aren't even close to uncorking the celebratory end-of-recession champagne, sales declines in the IT industry are slowing. That backs up similar statements recently from Intel and Avnet, but is more optimistic than what Microsoft and AMD have said.
    Acer Pulls Back on PC Builds
    While Acer may have passed its larger rival Dell in netbook shipments in Q1, the victory may be short-lived. Supply chain checks indicate that Acer is pulling back on PC builds for Q2. Plus, the computer processors behind netbooks saw a 33 percent decline in shipments last quarter.
    Tapping into the Economic Stimulus Funds
    IT resellers and solution providers can play an essential role in modernizing government, education and health care IT and infrastructure as called for and funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, also known as the economic stimulus package. To follow is Channel Insider's ongoing coverage of the ARRA and the opportunities it offers solution providers and resellers. Check back on a regular basis for Channel Insider's continuing coverage.
    IT Reseller Economic Stimulus Opportunity: Hospitals and Doctors
    The Obama administration's economic stimulus package--also known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act--provides more than $20 billion for electronic medical records and the technology infrastructure underlying communications among doctors and hospitals. Here's how IT resellers and solution providers can get started with helping health care providers purchase and implement EMR and technology infrastructure solutions.
    Small Business IT Distribution Specialist Reports Sales Growth
    Netbooks, notebooks, mobile devices and the wireless solutions that keep them all connected drove sales higher by 6 percent at D&H Distributing in the first quarter, the privately held IT distributor reports.
     

    SIGN UP FOR CHANNEL INSIDER NEWSLETTERS
    Reliable, timely information on the business of technology. Sign up now.

    RSS SUBSCRIPTIONS
    XML
    Add Channel News, Product Reviews, Trends and Analysis to your RSS newsreader or My Yahoo!

     


    CHANNEL RESOURCE CENTER
     
     
    Best Free Antivirus Apps
    Microsoft isn’t the first vendor to offer free antivirus software to consumers and small businesses. Several vendors have free general available versions of their malware protection suites. Their strategy: get customers interested and open opportunity to partners. Here are few worth free AV packages worth considering.
    View Slideshow

    Top 10 Most Profitable Vendor Certifications
    Solution providers that invest in vendor technical certifications are more profitable, sell more complex systems and have better relationships with their customers, according to the new Channel Insider/Amazon Consulting certification study. But not all vendor certifications have the same ROI. The following vendors have the best certifications for return on their partners’ investment.
    View Slideshow
    The IT industry is in the midst of a mass metamorphosis. Lines are blurring between networking technologies, storage, servers, software and telephony. Vendors that represent the tried and true establishment in one discipline are now making hard-right turns into new, largely unfamiliar and often competitive markets. Read on to see just a few of the major convergence plays of the last year.
    View Slideshow