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Cisco's Partner Summit was held the week of April 7 in Honolulu. Here is a look at some of what we saw.
The editorial team at Channel Insider have selected the executives in the channel they think deserve a special mention for everything they did in last year for the channel. Find out now who made the grade.
Finding your way around behemoth vendors such as Microsoft can be a daunting task for a business partner. We've put together a list of the top six channel executives who you should know to help build your relationship with the software giant.
Under CEO Robert Dutkowsky, Tech Data has aggressively expanded its services, support and solutions offerings for its more than 100,000 reseller customers worldwide with new divisions and channel initiatives for SMBs (small and midsize businesses), large enterprises and government agencies. These are the top five initiatives for 2008 and the channel execs behind them.
IT directors and managers are looking for value when hiring a solution provider, according to Channel Insider research. While 62 percent cite "best value for the money" as an influential factor when selecting a solution provider, only 12 percent cite low price as a consideration.IT managers also want solution providers to better deliver technical analysis, recommend technologies they can investigate and demonstrate better ROI.
Here's a look at how some businesspeople are using free online social networks as tools for networking, business leads and marketing.
Earth Day is no longer just about planting a tree and forgetting about
it until next year. While the general public's awareness of
environmental issues has been steadily on the rise, more companies are
beginning to jump on the bandwagon as well, selling their end customers
on both the positive PR and the cost savings gained by going green.
Here are some ideas VARs can take to their end customers.
As
the world's largest technology distributor, Ingram Micro has held a unique
position in the technology marketplace, and has been serving both vendors and
resellers through marketing programs, outsourced logistics services, technical
support, financial services, and product aggregation and distribution since
1979. The company serves about 170,000 resellers in 150 countries with hundreds
of thousands of IT products worldwide from nearly 1,400 suppliers. Here are the
top five channel executives you need to know at Ingram Micro.
Whether you want routers or switches or teleconferencing or Telepresence, Cisco is a go-to vendor for most networking needs. The company sells 80 percent of its products and services through channel partners and claims more than 30,000 partners as part if its channel program. Here's the lineup of Cisco executives making decisions about the company's channel program.
Gaviri Universal SearchOS lets users search for files, e-mails and multimedia on portable devices, desktops and network drives.
The Lifebook A6120 is solid
desktop replacement system.
Too big to comfortably lug around, Fujitsu’s E8410 LifeBook is aimed
directly at the desktop user who wants some portability when necessary.
By Frank Ohlhorst
Celebrate St. Patrick's Day by building a green PC! There is more to being green than just power usage. System builders will need to consider how components are manufactured and whether those components meet ROHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) and WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) requirements, which reduce the effects of hazardous waste. Energy Star compliance is another good indicator of power efficiency, but, in the end, it comes down to selecting the right components and making them work together. After all, a poorly functioning PC can never be green.
By Frank Ohlhorst
Here are the 10 coolest things I saw at CeBIT this year.
By Sara Driscoll
If vendor services programs are at odds with the services that
solution provider partners offer, what can be done to smooth out the
rough edges in the relationship? Here, we offer insight into how
vendors and solution providers can diplomatically—and
profitably—navigate through these murky waters.
Sure, you sell them hardware and software licenses, but your customers could get that stuff anywhere. Here are the real reasons why the CIOs at your client companies keep you around, and what they want more of from you—based on a survey conducted by Ziff Davis Enterprise Research.
Based on Ziff Davis Enterprise Research, IT Executives Service Provider Study, February 2008
It's hard to avoid the gloom-and-doom predictions of a crashing economy, tightening IT budgets and a looming recession. But Channel Insider research shows that 63 percent of CIOs are still willing to shell out for critical technologies, and they're looking for new solution providers to bring them those technologies and services. So, solution providers, take heart—we've compiled a list of the top services that CIOs want you to offer.
According to Ziff Davis Enterprise Research, which conducted online surveys with 245 IT directors and managers, there are a number of influencing factors when it comes to selecting a service provider. Find out what the top 10 factors are here.
Building Business Through Profitable Partnerships
Choosing a vendor partner is vital to the success of every VAR. But selecting the correct vendor for you and your customer base can be tricky. Channel Insider explains how to get it right.
The Konica Minolta MagiColor 2590MF brings excellent output and a
plethora of capabilities to the SMB market, despite some quirks.
The USBConnect 881 eschews the traditional PC Card interface for USB 2.0 and opens up the world of 3G to most any PC.
When it comes to optimizing the WAN, Exinda Networks has an appliance-based approach that offers more than just bandwidth control.
eWEEK Channel Insider names the top challenges facing the channel this year.
With the reorganization of IBM's SMB group into its General Business Group and the restructure of the company's hardware unit, it can be hard for VARs to know who to go to when they need something done. Here is the Channel Insider take on the top five IBM execs VARs should get to know.
New displays grow in size and features, yet shrink in prices to woo consumers. International CES 2008, in Las Vegas, is all about new products and what they mean to consumers, but that does not mean the channel should be left out! After all, who will sell
The Konica Minolta 8650DN moves printers beyond commodity status.
Marathon Technologies provides a different approach to high availability and failover with EverRun HA 7.1.1 for physical and virtual Windows Server environments.
A Ziff Davis Enterprise online survey finds that VARs and solution providers are optimistic for next year, with vertical markets and mobile technology being seen as key drivers.
An online survey was conducted among a sample of technology decision makers selected from the Ziff Davis Enterprise Service Provider database from Nov. 27 to Dec. 10, 2007. In total, 393 ZDE subscribers qualified for and completed the survey. Qualified re
Toshiba's AMD Turion-based portable combines value with features for the channel.
The latest PCs in the Lenovo ThinkCentre family include the M57p, a model that offers a small footprint, energy efficiency, good performance and enhanced management capabilities.
After more than 20 years touting a direct-only philosophy, Dell announced earlier this year it would formalize its relationship with the channel. On Dec. 5, Michael Dell revealed details of that program, which will contain two tiers, a deal registration p
Dell and direct sales have been synonymous for years. But now the company is launching its very own indirect channel program, complete with deal registration. Further, Dell says it's been quietly working with the channel for years. Here are some facts ab
Lately, it seems that Dell makes something for everybody. However, many of Dell's products are destined for direct sales or even retail distribution. What's the channel to do? The Channel Insider picked five products from Dell that could prove to be chann
In fiscal year 2006, IT distribution enjoyed its biggest sales year since the record-setting year of 2000, before it all came crashing down in the dot-com bust. Here are some of the technologies that led the pack, courtesy of the Global Technology Distrib
Intel reshuffled some of its channel ranks in 2007, offered partners a suite of Google advertising tools and new options around market development funds, and generally gained more momentum against rival AMD. Here are the people who made it happen—Int
In the 2007 Vendor Value and Satisfaction Survey, conducted by Ziff Davis Enterprise Research, 472 qualified respondents were asked to rate vendors on value, reliability and loyalty. Of these respondents, 170 were from companies with revenues of between $
During the last two years, Hewlett-Packard has stabilized its PartnerOne channel program and made its channel partners a larger part of its go-to-market strategy. But because it can still be tricky to navigate HP’s numerous divisions—and even harder
As this season of giving thanks arrives, VARs have a lot to be grateful for.
Eset’s ESS (Eset Smart Security) is a desktop suite that provides anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-spam and firewall features in a single, easy-to-deploy and easy-to-manage package. ESS is designed to protect consumers and small and midsize businesses from
The transition from solution provider to managed service provider can be tough. Here are the top five challenges your company is likely to face, based on a survey of 325 channel professionals.
The Computing Technology Industry Association focused on finding the major opportunities within the convergence market for the small and midsize business sector in the United States and Canada.
Channel Labs offers a step-by-step guide for providing your customers with Linux on Windows Vista PCs.
Findings from a Computing Technology Industry Association survey suggest how small and midsize businesses will spend their money on technology in 2008.
eWEEK has found seven backup service providers that are looking for partners.
IBM's new online Grow Your Business with IBM Software portal spoonfeeds SMBs information from the vendor's enormous product catalog and uses wizards to plot out logical steps to growth.
Gartner lays out some ground rules for getting into software as a service.
(Source: Gartner)
Gartner stats show that the growth rate of software as a service is overtaking that of software in a number of technology categories.
,B>Slide show: Resellers rate their vendor partners and key channel programs elements.
The year may not have been stellar, but the channel fared better than other sectors of the economy, and some thanks and praise are due to the following groups and events this year.
Slideshow: Plenty of VARs are excited by the prospect of overnight success in Managed Services. But leaping into the market can be a recipe for failure. Here are the key steps successful MSPs have identified to improve their chances.
Each year the channel sees a mind-boggling variety of new products and technologies that invariably carry the promise of higher profits. Here are 10 we found most promising.
IDC software analysts share their predictions for the channel in 2007.
The 110th Congress is facing a number of issues that could benefit or upset VARs, from small-business tax credits to more H-1B visas. CompTIA and ChannelInsider.com propose a legislative agenda VARs should note.
Whether it’s the price of real estate in Manhattan or engineers trying to squeeze another year out of an oil well in Alaska, these ten verticals are driving opportunity for VARs that can reduce their power and cooling needs.
Vendor leads can be useful if you follow the right steps. From the editors of eWEEK Strategic Partner, here are 10 tips that will net you the best leads.
Avoid bleeding edge technology and ensure you get the best return on your time and money. Here are some tips that will help you sidestep pitfalls when selecting an emerging technology.
Here are some quick tips to make sure users are on the road to going green.
Solution providers choose 2006's channel products of the year in 26 categories.
by Chris Preimesberger
VARs weigh in on who tops the list of the best vendors for small and midsize businesses.
From the Dell effect to Cisco’s new footing, Ziff Davis Editorial Director Mike Vizard delivers his mid-term channel report card.
Emerging technologies promise greater margins and opportunities to build services, but not all are ready for the channel.
eWEEK Labs picks out 50 channel products worth keeping tabs on from the categories of Enterprise Software, Mobile & Wireless, Security, Management and Infrastructure.
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