Pedro Pereira

Dell will have to conquer a mountain of skepticism and distrust as the vendor prepares to formalize its relationship with the channel. Dell’s new channel chief, Gregory Davis, got a taste of the challenge during an appearance Sept. 19 at Channel Summit, a one-day solution provider event organized by Ziff Davis Enterprise, which publishes The […]

Platform vendor Kaseya International wants to empower its partners to become more well-rounded managed services providers with a newly launched set of support services. The initiative, which the San Francisco-based vendor has dubbed emPower, consists of three separate elements. The components, called emPower Out-Tasking, Toolkit and Education, are meant to help Kaseya partners successfully implement […]

Before the dot-com revolution came to a screeching halt, many IT company valuations hit the stratosphere. In some cases, even what were essentially virtual companies with no prospect of ever turning a profit could send investors swooning. You got the sense some folks believed all you really needed was a great idea, no matter how […]

What YouTube has done for video on the Web seems almost miraculous, but when you think about how much people like to see themselves acting goofy on the screen, it’s not so surprising. After all, ABC’s “America’s Funniest Home Videos” has had a good run. Launched in 1989, it is still going. Fortunately for IT […]

Hosting company The Planet has partnered with software behemoth Microsoft to widen the reach of Windows Small Business Server through a software-as-a-service arrangement. On Aug. 28, Houston-based The Planet will launch a partner program built around hosted SBS whose goal is to make it easier for VARs and integrators to sell the product to their […]

Keeping one’s technical skills up to date is nothing short of daunting for a preponderance of IT workers. Technologies evolve rapidly, customer requirements change and competitive pressures never let up. It’s no wonder that IT channel employers complain about a lack of talent while many job seekers say they can’t find employment. So when you […]

D&H Distributing has expanded its relationship with PC vendor Lenovo to include the ThinkPad Express line of notebooks. D&H, Harrisburg, Pa., has carried the Lenovo 3000 line of desktops and notebooks for a year, but the distributor added the ThinkPad line because its solution providers had been asking for it, said Michael Schwab, D&H vice […]

The concept of hardware as a service has spurred numerous discussions in the IT channel for about two years. And that is where it has mostly remained – in the realm of concept and discussion. Very few solution providers have put the concept into practice. Lending companies remain largely non-committal about this untried model, and […]

It’s been not quite nice to know you, PC. Is there any reason left to use a PC? With the new ability to run Windows off a Mac, you might as well clear a place in the attic for your PC. Questions over the Mac’s place in the business office have persisted for years. About […]

It’s not quite a virtual world after all, but if companies such as Tech Data and P&M Computers have their way, it may soon be. Distributor Tech Data, based in Clearwater, Fla., is busily building a virtualization practice while P&M, of Cliffside Park, N.J., is out in the market evangelizing the pros of going virtual. […]

It occurred to me recently that I haven’t heard any dire prognostications about the state of channel business for quite a while. Last year at this time, quiet-but-persistent prophecies of an impending economic slowdown, which could have affected the IT channel, were making the rounds. In hushed tones, some event uttered the “R” word—”recession”—saying it […]

As the federal government’s buying season kicks into high gear, distributor Tech Data wants its solution providers doing business with government agencies to take full advantage of it. To that end, the distributor on July 30 launched a service that offers solution providers a 48-hour turnaround for preconfigured solutions destined for federal agencies. The service […]