October 2008 Archives

The channel has a lot riding on the results this Tuesday -- the results from the Federal Communications Commssion meeting, that is. No matter who wins the presidential election, it's pretty likely that current FCC Chairman will be moving on.

Distributor Ingram Micro recently handed out a few kudos at its Venture Tech Network conference that are worth noting, including inducting Juniper Networks'  executive Frank Vitagliano into its VTN Hall of Fame, the first and only such vendor rep to be included.

A VAR has won a lwsuit against Cisco Systems and been awarded $6 million in damages in a case that has attarcted wide channel interest because of its ramifications on existing agreements between resellers and vendors.

Electronics distributor Avnet, whose Technology Solurtons division is a strong force in the channel, has become the latest technology company to report disappointing earnings and take a more cautious stance going forward. The company reported that profit in its fiscal 1Q dropped 12 percent, while revenue grew about 10 percent.

Back in August, a new IT services company called Sparxent was formed, with officials promising future growth  through channel acquisitions in the U.S. and overseas. Sparxent has now broken its silence with the news it has hired Andrew Hyde as its CFO.

The tech sector certainly is suffering the effects of the overall economic slowdown, but the impact is nowhere near the severity caused by the dot-com meltdown of 2000 and 2001. At least, that's what the experts are saying this time around.

Sales of mini-notebooks, the popular, scaled-down inexpensive version of the traditional laptop, helped Acer gain market share in Europe against channel rivals Hewlett-Packard and Dell, according to research firm Gartner. The research shows netbooks are growing in popularity, comprising about 5 percent of total PC shipments.

Despite the objections of large service providers, a plan for a free, advertiser-supported national broadband network is gaining steam. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin backed the proposal, which would use a large chunk of spectrum that is soon to be freed up, earlier this year.

Tech Data has opened a $1 million solutions center featuring Cisco products in an effort to help channel partners sell networking and unified communications solutions. There are several solutions stations within the center that can be equipped or reconfigured with any Cisco product stocked by the distributor.

The long-awaited WiMAX wireless technology may finally establish a toehold in the channel. Channel vendor Acer America is released its first WiMAX-enabled 4G notebooks in the U.S. market, the Aspire 4930 and 6930. Right now, Baltimore is the only city with a functioning WiMAX network.

Is Hewlett-Packard gearing up for a smartphone battle? Reports, including one from InternetNews.com, say the channel vendor is about to launch its first consumer smartphone. HP isn't commenting, but at least one analyst says he is being briefed about the device this week.

Sometimes it's beneficial to have a Governor with Hollywood buzz. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced yesterday that California has become the first state to be an official partner in the large CeBIT high-tech trade fair held annually in Germany.

Helped by its strong reputation with channel partners, Hewlett-Packard Co. has retained its global lead in PC market share, according to a new report by research firm iSuppli Corp. However, rival Dell continues to gain ground on HP, the survey found.

Tough economic times pose special challenges, but they also pose opportunities for channel companies looking to enhance their competitive position in the IT industry. Chinese manufacturer, Lenovo, for example seems poised to enter acquisition mode.