Larry Walsh Posts

National Public Radio recently aired an hour-long program devoted to the debate of one simple question: “Whose world are we living in – Apple or Google?” The implications of this question to the channel are significant on many levels. Here’s a hint: consumerization.The premise of the news show, “On Point”, is that these two titans are at the pinnacle of two technology philosophies and business models. Apple sits atop a closed-development, device-driven and application-powered ecosystem. Google, ...

Channel-Lands was rocked by HP’s choice for new CEO; it wasn’t an obvious pick by a long-shot. Also in this week, Microsoft renewed its efforts to measure partner and customer satisfaction, Stuxnet proved the malware threat continues to evolve, and Skype is making sound waves in the channel.HP Gets a New Boss, Herr ApothekerThe list of potential successors for Mark Hurd’s chief executive post at Hewlett-Packard was long and included several industry luminaries. Inside HP, Personal Systems Group ...

You couldn’t miss the Vu TelePresence booth at the Channel Partners Conference in Washington, D.C. last week. It practically blocked the entrance to the exhibit hall. And, being a telepresense vendor, it has the standard 50-inch flat panel running a live, high-def feed with a couple of India-based engineers.In fact, the interface and equipment weren’t so unfamiliar from similar offerings by larger vendors. The exception: price. The Vu Telepresence solution costs about as much as a conventional s ...

In ordinary years, 2010 would go down as a relatively good year in the IT market. Market analysts say IT spending will increase roughly 3.5 percent. Not bad, considering nearly 40 percent of that money flows through the channel. And the expectation is IT spending will continue to rise in 2011.Check out these fresh numbers. According to a survey of the Society of Information Management, 38 percent of IT managers say their spending will increase over this year’s expenditures. Overall, 72 percent s ...

In case you haven’t heard, the recession is over. While many of us are still feeling the pinch of economic contraction, there are several sectors where there’s growth for the channel, in particular with SMB and communications. And that’s the focus of this week’s Channel-Lands: vendors and entire sectors are seeing opportunities in SMB sales, converged communications and cloud computing. Here’s this week’s scoop.SMBs to the Recession RescueChannel-lands can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that e ...

IT solution providers see green IT – the art of making data centers and computing devices more energy efficient and eco-friendly – as a potential boon for business. As energy costs rise and resources constrict, they are being called upon to consolidate rack space, create less power hungry data centers and install better cooling systems. While being “green” is often a derivative of smart IT projects, it is nonetheless a differentiator for solution providers who can deliver.Ah, but is being green ...

Many people believe cloud computing is changing everything about the way we use IT. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, some solutions coming to fore in the cloud are tools and services that have been around for some time. Take for instance the new authentication services offered by Google and Microsoft.In June 2009, Twitter cofounder Biz Stone was shocked to discover sensitive business documents of the microblogging service were compromised. An investigation revealed Twitter’s sys ...

Apple iPads are popping up across the channel, but they won’t be alone. Other PCs are racing to get their tablets out to market. The question is whether tablets will displace PCs. It’s just one of the many issues solution providers and vendors in the channel are wrestling with this week. Beyond tablets, this post from Channel-Lands looks at the benefits of virtualization, increasing demand for custom servers and growing opportunities in professional services.iPad Cannibalizing Notebook SalesYou ...

In a week consumed with stories about burning Qurans and mosque protests in New York City, it was easy to overlook word of a new mass-mailing worm fouling in-boxes across corporate America. But could there be a connection between the prolific attack and the high-profile debates regarding Islam in the Unites States?The worm dubbed “Here You Have,” a nod to the subject line of the offending email, started rolling in on Thursday, Sept. 9, and quickly ensnared machines at corporate heavyweights such ...

Dell has taken the temperature of the healthcare market and has written a prescription for its five-inch Streak tablet as an electronic medical records solution. It’s part of Dell’s big push into healthcare with hardware, software and professional services solutions to digitize and support health care delivery. This is not an unusual strategy. Geoffrey Moore’s book “Crossing the Chasm” codified the wisdom of targeting vertical markets or similar-type companies to ...