Channel Insider Staff

Distributor Ingram Micro Inc. has enlisted a dozen software developers to participate in a program designed to put VARs together with software makers to increase sales for both in niche application markets. Enrolled in the program, which officially launches next week, are a plethora of developers, offering everything from document imaging to software that handles […]

Come on, can’t anyone just call a betrayal a betrayal? Take, for example, Microsoft’s plans to continue to expand its specialized, vertical-solutions direct sales force. Simon Witts, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s enterprise and partner group, said that this won’t cause any business conflict with its partners. Mind you, Witts said that Microsoft is moving […]

The SCO Group, the beleaguered Unix-on-Intel company, announced Tuesday that it is partnering with distributors DTR Business Systems and Terian to provide SCO resellers with customized, preconfigured white-box servers. While best known in recent years for its Unix/Linux litigation, The SCO Group Inc. has continued to invest in its Unix operating systems and its reseller […]

I wasn’t always a journalist. I spent years in IT doing everything from help desk (the horror! The horror!) to programming to system administration to network integration. I was, if I say so myself, pretty darn good at all of it. I’m also 48, and from what my friends tell me, I’d have a heck […]

The following is a list of hiring tips to help channel employers looking for solid technical skills: • Create a clear and complete job description for newspaper and online classifieds • Consider using an industry-specific recruiting Website • Tap existing employees for referrals and recommendations • Attend local user and industry association meetings • Develop […]

When hiring technical staff, channel employers may be tempted to focus only on technical knowhow. But they will be best served by also looking for business acumen and communication skills. “It is more important to have a well-rounded person, someone with not just technical competencies, but also good communication skills, an understanding of the business […]

The developers behind the popular open-source distribution of MEPIS Linux are expanding its reach beyond the Linux fan base to the business world with a new business desktop, server, and its first channel and support partner, Technalign Inc. In June, Morgantown, W.Va.-based MEPIS LLC, a commercial spin-off of the volunteer organization that developed MEPIS, will […]

A wave of recent channel changes at BMC Software Inc. reached a crescendo this week when Lori Cook was named vice president of global services, channels and emerging markets at the enterprise management software provider. Cook joins Houston-based BMC as vice president of global services, channels and emerging markets. Cook is a 24-year veteran at […]

Remember when President Clinton came to Spring Comdex? When Microsoft launched Windows 95 with 20,000 of its closest friends at the Omnidome in Atlanta? Or perhaps you can recall when Comdex was the biggest show in Vegas? Things have changed. The day of the mega-tech tradeshow is over. Oh, the guys behind Comdex still say […]

Any VAR or integrator planning to sell the business should consider the following: Have realistic price expectations. Be able to prove your company’s worth. Have contracts with key employees. Have contracts with a diverse group of clients. Underscore future growth opportunities that could be achieved with a cash infusion. Make sure you are not liable […]

Like it or lump it, your staffers are using instant messaging. For years, no one has cared about managing IM (instant messaging). But security risks such as the Kelvir worm, which temporarily put Reuters IM out of business; IM-based phishing attacks; and Sarbanes-Oxley Act IM requirementsare making instant-messaging management a priority. How big is the […]

After backing off, way off, from Longhorn, Microsoft is once more making noise about how wonderful the next generation of Windows will be. Yeah. Right. I’ll believe it when the boys from Redmond ship it. Even after Longhorn’s been gutted of its most innovative feature—WinFS (Windows File System)—I really doubt that Microsoft will make its […]