Enterasys: During its SuperDrive 2012 partner conference in Last Vegas, Enterasys handed out its annual partner awards. The lucky recipients were:

• West Regional Partner of the Year: Network Management Corp.
• Central Regional Partner of the Year: Chi Corporation
• East Regional Partner of the Year: Ideal Integrations
• South Regional Partner of the Year: IK Electric
• Federal Regional Partner of the Year: 4 Star Technologies
• West Regional New Business Partner of the Year: NE Systems Inc.
• Central Regional New Business Partner of the Year: Innovative Technology Group
• East Regional New Business Partner of the Year: Rutter Network Technologies
• South Regional New Business Partner of the Year: Howard Technology Solutions
• Federal Regional New Business Partner of the Year: GovPlace

Congratulations to all the recipients!

BT: The U.K.-based provider of communications services has unveiled what it calls “ambitious plans” to expand its conferencing channel partner program in the United States. The program enables partners to resell BT’s audio, web, streaming and videoconferencing services to their customers globally.

“We believe we can more than double our reseller revenue in the next two to three years,” said Tim Passingham, BT Conferencing’s general manager for the Americas. “We have a unique mix of products and service that will enable us to continue to take market share and benefit from the overall growth in cloud-based collaboration services.”

He added BT’s conferencing channel partner program enables partners to generate new revenue and profits quickly with a relatively low investment.

Interested? Check out the site.

MaxxVault: The enterprise electronic document management systems vendor has added SymQuest as a reseller partner.

SymQuest is a managed services provider specializing in network infrastructure and document solutions technology services. It is ranked No. 15 on the MSPmentor 200 list of top managed services providers.

And that’s this week’s Channel Partner Program Roundup. Join us next week for the latest in partner news. Until then, keep your branding iron hot.

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There can be little question that the Linux crowd constitutes something less than a hardware vendor’s dream, at least from a business perspective. More tech-savvy on average than the regular Joe, Linux users are more likely to want to build their own PCs than pay someone else to do it for them. They’re also harder to deceive into buying upgrades and other hocus-pocus they don’t need. This isn’t to say one can’t sell PCs to the open source community, but in general the profit margins are bound to be thinner and the marketing tougher than in the hardware market at large.

It’s thus all the more remarkable to see OEMs that cater to open source users deploying high-end PCs, thereby betting that Linux aficionados are willing to shell out significant cash in exchange for ready-built, quality hardware. After all, the type of customers interested in high-performance desktops and laptops are also the ones most likely to be power users capable of spotting a bad deal when they see it.

Performance Laptops From System76

But that issue should be of little concern for System76, whose new Gazelle Professional Laptops are well spec’d and competitively priced. The base model comes with an i7 CPU, 1920 x 1080 resolution, 4GB of memory, 500GB of storage, a DVD read-write optical drive and 802.11n wireless. All of these components can be upgraded, with gobs more RAM, an additional hard disk and SSD storage available for those who want them.

And the price for all this is surprisingly reasonable. The base model goes for $899, including a one-year warranty. (Shipping, which is available to 25 countries, is extra.) Ubuntu 12.04, of course, comes preinstalled.

By comparison, Dell’s XPS 17 laptop, which in its basic configuration costs almost exactly the same as the Gazelle, has 2GB more memory and 250GB more storage. But it comes up short in other major respects: the XPS 17′s screen resolution is lower and — yet more important for users interested in seamless performance — it comes only with an i5 processor. Of course, it also ships with Windows preinstalled, along with an ad-infested, reduced-functionality version of Microsoft Word and Excel. Personally, I’d pay extra to be able to get rid of this Office bloatware altogether, an option that Dell unfortunately does not offer.

All things considered, the Gazelle seems clearly to be the better value, and not only because there’s no Windows tax involved. Regardless of which operating system one plans to run, the Gazelle is simply better hardware for the money.

The one thing I’d like to see in the Gazelle is an option for a better video card than the Intel chip, which is currently the only choice. A System76 spokesperson noted Nvidia chips are unavailable on the company’s laptops “due to architectural changes to nVidia’s Optimus technology” that make them impossible to support on Ubuntu, but System76 hopes the support situation will improve in time for Ubuntu 13.04. The spokesperson added that System76 also plans to evaluate AMD 7000 GPUs for future laptops. In any case, I suspect Intel graphics will work well enough for most people, and have the additional benefit of pretty rock-solid Linux support.

GPUs aside, the Gazelle’s reasonable pricing and impressive specifications should make it a welcome product among open source users, who — despite their stereotyping as miserly techies who would rather do everything themselves than shell out an extra penny for service of any kind — are now one step closer to enjoying the same hardware selection and support as those who opt for proprietary platforms.

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The acquisition will add LaCie’s line of consumer storage solutions, network-attached storage solutions and software offerings to Seagate’s array of mainstream consumer storage products.

LaCie’s iconic Rugged series, which feature a bright orange, shock-resistant case and three connection interfaces, is a great example of the company’s dedication to function and fashion. Oh, and let’s not forget about the company’s collaborations with Porsche, French designer Philippe Starck or industrial designer Neil Poulton.

According to the companies, the combination would accelerate Seagate’s growth strategy in the expanding — not to mention highly competitive — consumer storage market, particularly in Europe and Japan; combine Seagate’s and LaCie’s engineering and software development capabilities; and expand relationships with key retailers.

Seagate competitors such as Western Digital and Iomega already have an eye on enhanced design of consumer hard drives — Iomega’s eGo series come in a variety of flashy colors, while WD’s sleek My Passport models are slim and sexy. Yes, storage can be sexy if you try.

LaCie Chairman and CEO Philippe Spruch will lead Seagate’s consumer storage products organization. Reporting to him would be Patrick Connolly, who currently serves as vice president and general manager of Seagate’s retail group, as well as Pierre van der Elst, who currently serves as deputy general manager of LaCie.

Seagate, which will take a controlling interest in LaCie by purchasing shares owned by Spurch and his affiliates, would give the company a 64.5 percent stake. The deal would be neutral to Seagate’s fiscal 2013 earnings per share, the company noted.

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Each model features “white edge” LED panel technology, which uses a special diffusion panel to spread the light evenly behind the screen, and connectivity options including an HDMI input, PC, traditional RCA composite and YPbPr (the green/blue/red coded cables) component video connectors.

Ranging in screen size from 18.5 inches to an eye-grabbing 42 inches, the displays all can be wall-mounted via any standard Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) mount. The widescreen VT1901LED, at 18.5 inches, offers wide viewing angles and a low price of $199.

The 27-inch VT2755LED ($379), paired with dual HDMI inputs, allows internal programmability through RS232 and IR inputs. The display also features Advanced ClearPicture image processing, which eliminates noise, increases contrast and detail and optimizes color.

The 32-inch VT3255LED, priced at $429, features WLED panel technology with HD 1366×768 resolution and supports SD, ED, HD, and Full HD inputs up to 1080p, as well as PC content up to 1920×1080. Once you get past the alphabet soup of tech terms, this all means you’re pretty much covered for content formats.

For a larger business display option, ViewSonic offers the 42-inch VT4236LED full-HD 1920x1080p WLED panel, priced at $599. Both the VT3255LED and VT4236LED come standard with ViewSonic’s three-year limited warranty.

All models feature USB and audio inputs for displaying JPEG media files, and a USB cloning feature makes internal programming and content duplication possible.

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HP’s software business is growing but struggling, and HP can’t afford any more drama at a time when the company is striving to diversify beyond PCs and printer (er, ink-driven) profits. HP paid $10.3 billion to buy Autonomy in 2011, vowing to push deep into the enterprise search and data management markets.

Fast forward to the present and Autonomy is already stumbling while the broader HP shrinks on multiple fronts.

• HP CEO Meg Whitman has announced a plan for HP layoffs totaling 27,000 employees.
• HP’s Q2 revenues fell three percent to $30.7 billion, according to an earnings announcement today. But the results did beat analysts’ conservative expectations.

Back in the software business, HP insists “the market and competitive positioning for Autonomy remain strong, particularly in cloud offerings.” Based on that statement, HP seems to be suggesting Autonomy’s problems involve mismanagement and poor execution.

Now, it’s up to CSO Bill Veghte to fix Autonomy while Whitman focuses on the broader HP.

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1. Staying Out of Services: Lenovo has repeatedly stated that it will never, ever buy a big IT services company. That firm statement gives Lenovo channel partners peace of mind, and it makes partners more inclined to push Lenovo’s desktops and laptops. In stark contrast, HP acquired EDS and Dell acquired Perot for services initiatives that may compete with some larger channel partners.

2. Easy to Remember Brands: Lenovo ThinkPad (corporate) and IdeaPad (consumer). Simple, right?

3. Innovating On Windows: Too often, the PC market depends too heavily on R&D from Intel and Microsoft. But Lenovo’s security, boot time optimization and data protection innovations prove PC makers can still innovate in the world of Windows.

4. Incubating (Not Hyping) New Products: Lenovo has been building and promoting a range of consumer-oriented devices in China before rolling those devices out worldwide. So far Lenovo doesn’t have any big tablet hits in North America. But Lenovo has also avoided high-profile setbacks like HP’s WebOS tablet disaster of 2011.

Reality Check

Of course, Lenovo faces its share of challenges. Analysts worry that many of China’s largest cities are reaching PC saturation points. Plus, some analysts have expressed concerns about Lenovo’s margins.

Still, plenty of PC makers would welcome Lenovo’s challenges at the moment. Dell yesterday announced an earnings miss as the company seeks to push far beyond PCs into networking, storage, IT services and cloud computing. HP CEO Meg Whitman, meanwhile, is expected to announce mass HP layoffs later today during an earnings call. The HP layoffs, according to published reports, could involve as many as 30,000 employees. HP has not commented on the alleged layoff plans.

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The company announced 45 vendor and channel partner solutions have achieved “EMC Certified Solution” status, which validates the solution for performance, scalability and interoperability with EMC’s Information Intelligence Group products.

The solutions are tested by both EMC Proven Professional Certified Architects and an independent third-party organization. Wave Technology Solutions, Nantian Software and Trinity Technologies were among the 45 partners receiving certified solution status.

In addition, EMC launched Velocity Solution Provider Practices, a designation that recognizes advanced levels of capability within the Velocity Solution Provider Program, at both EMC World 2012 and its first annual Global Partner Summit this week.

The Velocity Cloud Builder Practice “enables and reward partners who achieve advanced, end-to-end capabilities to successfully design, build and manage cloud infrastructure based on EMC technology,” according to the company. Meanwhile, the Cloud Provider Practice enables Velocity Solution Provider partners with capabilities to design, build and operate branded IT-as-a-Service cloud offerings based on EMC technology.

EMC partners also got a new channel-only piece of hardware with the VNXe3150, an extension to the company’s VNX family of unified storage solutions, which is optimized for companies building virtualized, private cloud environments

There was time for some high-fives as well: The company gave out Americas’ partners awards for innovation in solution development and best practices in implementation, and the first President’s Award for Customer Satisfaction, which recognizes partners for delivering high levels of customer satisfaction in a services or solution implementation, was presented to IT services and business consultancy firm Capgemini.

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OPN now offers more than 1,000 free online implementation-focused training courses, and partners can also access more than 23 instructor-led training implementation-focused courses through Oracle University.

Fusion Applications offer built-in social and collaboration capabilities and embedded business intelligence (BI) capabilities, and are available through a choice of deployment options — on-premise, in a hosted environment, in the cloud or a mix of each option.

The goal is to allow Oracle partners to differentiate their offerings and gain a competitive advantage with a Specialized distinction. Partners can begin applying for Fusion Applications Specialization in summer 2012 and can begin taking the Fusion Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Oracle Fusion Human Capital Management (HCM) and Oracle Fusion Financials implementation Specialization beta exams immediately.

Let’s take a look at some of Oracle’s app offerings, shall we?

Fusion Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is one component of the applications suite and allows sales teams to create optimized sales territory, incentive compensation and quota recommendations, and centralize order orchestration across multiple capture and fulfillment systems.

Oracle Fusion Financials, which meet a range of corporate, management and reporting requirements such as U.S. GAAP, IFRS and local statutory requirements, are designed to work alongside existing the Oracle Applications portfolio through the company’s Fusion Accounting Hub.

Finally, Oracle’s Fusion Human Capital Management allows HR departments to forecast future workforce needs, manage recruiting and analyze employee productivity.

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On the upside, Dell continues to diversify beyond the PC market — focusing far more on storage, security, networking and even cloud integration platforms for partners. But on the downside, Dell’s overall revenues for Q1 2013 slipped 4 percent and quarterly earnings fell 27 percent.

When it came time to discuss the notebook vs. tablet market, Dell CFO Brian Gladden  said:

“Our notebook business contracted 10%, as we saw a more aggressive competitive environment, particularly in the entry level and emerging markets. We believe some of the tougher competitive environment can be attributed to channel inventory rebuilding, following the hard disk issues of the past 2 quarters. In addition, we’re seeing more consumer IT spending diverted to alternative mobile computing devices. These dynamics impacted both our revenue and margins for the quarter. In the short term, we believe our client business is well positioned on cost, and we’ll focus our efforts on growth on higher-margin, higher-value segments, with a priority on profit over unit share.”

Just Say It

Hmmm… Alternative Mobile Computing Devices? Can’t we all address the elephant in the room? Apple’s iPad remains the dominant tablet, major PC makers have yet to see tablet upside from Google Android, and tablets leveraging Microsoft’s Windows 8 remain months away from official launch.

With all those factors in mind, it’s no surprise that Alternative Mobile Computing Devices (aka iPad sales) continue to eat away at some traditional PC sales.

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During a television interview with Charlie Rose earlier this week, Google CEO Larry Page reiterated a common theme: To give customers a fantastic end-user experience, you sometimes need to control the hardware and the software… the entire system.

Will Page update that statement during the Google I/O conference in June 2012? The VAR Guy and most rational Google followers would certainly bet yes. Google’s $12.5 billion buyout of Motorola Mobility became official this week. Google needs to maintain solid relationships with hardware partners like Asus, Samsung and HTC, so The VAR Guy wonders how aggressively Page will evangelize the Motorola Mobility buyout at Google I/O.

Google will also need to update its Chromebook strategy at Google I/O. Chromebooks run ChromeOS and are essentially cloud-based notebooks that schools and businesses can use for a flat monthly fee. Chromebooks, backed by Acer and Samsung,  have not been big sellers to date. Will Google double-down on Chromebooks are reconsider the strategy entirely? Hmmm… Again, stay tuned for answers at Google I/O.

Oh, and don’t forget about the next wave of low-cost Google Android tablets. Google apparently is working with Asus on a 7-inch tablet that would cost about $199 or $200. Here again, The VAR Guy expects updates at Google I/O.

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Hewlett-Packard spent most of 2011 wrestling with its hardware and software strategies, killing WebOS tablets and even considering a PC business unit spin-off before deciding to remain in that market. The turmoil led to former CEO Leo Apotheker’s outster. Now, it appears CEO Whitman has concerns about HP Enterprise Services, where business hasn’t been growing. Numerous published reports suggest HP’s services business, built atop the EDS foundation, could be particularly hard hit by layoffs.

Whitman is expected to discuss the layoff plan when HP announces earnings on May 23.

How deep are HP’s problems? On the one hand, the company remains profitable and a major force in the IT channel. But on the other hand, an 8,000 word expose in Fortune reveals how 10 years of missteps are now undermining HP’s influence in the hardware, software and services markets.

So how can HP pick up the pieces? Perhaps HP needs to get smaller again before it returns to growth. And The VAR Guy isn’t just referring to staff headcount. HP needs fewer, better defined products.

Check HP’s portfolio of PCs and tablets and you’ll find so many options that HP might be creating customer indecision. Meanwhile, rival Lenovo appears ready to take the PC market share crown from HP within the next few quarters or so.

Hopefully, the HP Labs folks are cooking up some new technologies that are disruptive, empowering and just plain old amazing. But The VAR Guy isn’t hearing much out of the HP garage…

Ultimately, Whitman’s top four priorities need to be:

• Calm, focused leadership that replaces HP’s revolving door CEO challenges from the past decade.
• Keeping all family business discussions inside the halls of HP. News and rumor leaks have undermined HP for several years now.
• Buying time and assuring customers that HP has the right mix of products (servers, storage, networking) and services (IT support, consulting, cloud) until the Next Big Opportunity surfaces.
• Rewarding channel partners for their loyalty amid all the HP-related stress the past few years.

HP’s earnings call on May 23 should supply more answers. But will it raise new questions about HP as well? Hmmm…

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Simply put: Kaspersky and Sophos, rivals in the security software market, have built intimate events that involve no sponsors, no tech fairs, no fireworks. Instead…

• each morning typically involves a general session to review technology trends and partner program milestones.
• each afternoon typically involves breakout sessions running in parallel, focusing on new technologies, marketing and sales guidance. And those breakout sessions are repeated a few times on the agenda, so that attendees have multiple opportunities to sit in on key sessions.
• networking dinners and/or a networking event like golf.

That’s it. That’s the entire conference. And ya know what? It works.

Sure, The VAR Guy still loves massive and midsize channel events (see a complete list of channel partner conferences). But smaller events with agendas that fit on a single sheet of paper — indeed, no Event App necessary — offer a nice change of pace for attendees… and The VAR Guy.

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