R&D throughout the industry has led to significant steps in innovation this year. VARBusiness Tech Innovator Awards recognize the most innovative of these offerings from several different sectors.
Vendors submitted hundreds of entries for the 2008 VARBusiness Tech Innovator Awards, but only a handful emerged as purveyors of unique, groundbreaking products. Here's a look at the winners.
HP's first touch-screen notebook for consumers has plenty of options for work and play.
Inside This Issue: August 11, 2008
Cover Story
Dell And The Channel: On Year Later
Amidst much specualtion, Dell, has carved out its own niche in the channel. Nine months after launching the PartnerDirect initiative, the company has more than 11,500 registered solution providers, and the buzz from competitors is on the rise.
>> Q&A: Greg Davis, VP And General Manager Of Dell's Americas Channel Group
>> Devil Is In The Details
>> Dell Pilots Account Registration Program For SMB Customers
News Analysis
Pain At The Pump
Ingram Micro and Tech Data are among the many distributors forced to increase prices due to escalating fuel costs. Also, Hewlett-Packard and CDW form an alliance that will merge HP products into CDW accounts.
>> Motorola Bets On A Veteran
>> VARs Wary Of Citrix Move
>> Analysis: Has Cisco Lost Its Edge?
>> SAP Hikes Support Fees
>> HP Funds New VDW Effort To Target SMB Accounts
Fast Growth
Two Ways Up The Mountain
For solution providers Digital River and Incentra Solutions, collaboration and expansion is the name of the game.
>> Channel Chatter: Networking
Market Focus: SMB Voice/Data Networking
A Brave 'New Avaya'
CRN sat down with Raj Sonty, Avaya's new vice president of solutions in the SMB division, to talk about the company's heavy focus on SMB sales and services.
>> Channel Chatter: Networking
Tech Focus: Storage
A Standout Trio
The Test Center takes a look at three new storage offerings from D-Link, ONStor and Western Digital, and even our skeptics were impressed with the findings.
ShadowRAM: August 11, 2008
Silver(light) And Gold; VARs Star In E.R.; Seen And Heard
PREVIOUS CRN ISSUES
These articles were mentioned in this issue of CRN.
• Avaya Looks To Channel For SMB, Services
• Response Point Upgraded
• NetSeminar: Why Power Matters: Trends In Powering Complex Network Environments
• Microsoft Small Bizz VoIP Gets New Features, Hardware
• Juniper Delivers Solid Results Amid Excutive Change
• Video: Create A Honeypot With KFSensor
• Video: The BlackBerry 8830 World Edition
• Former VAR Takes 'Dream Job' As Juniper Exec
• Intel: Centrino 2 Whitebooks Have Back-To-School Edge
• IBM's Linux Push
• Security Sneak Peek
• V-Series Dedupe
• MobileMe Snafu
• Toshiba VoIP Boost
• Torvalds Blasts Developers
COLUMNISTS
Robert C. DeMarzo:
Channel Centric
The Channel's Summer Blockbuster
Vendors need to examine their SMB strategy because the collective VAR community iis their greatest asset and often their weakest link.
Craig Zarley:
On The Front Lines/b>
CDW-HP Alliance: There's Conflict Ahead
The CDW-HP Alliance, set to commence in September, sounds like a terrific opportunity for CDW and a minefield for HP.
Steven Burke:
The Final Cut
The White Label VAR
C.J. Ezell, president of The ASI Group, a fastgrowing VAR that uses the tagline "Powering Digital Healthcare," has given his business a makeover that is a model for solution providers of all stripes.
Larry Hooper:
Under The Radar
More Renewal Flak
My recent column on software license renewals sparked a firestorm of e-mails and phone calls from solution providers weighing in on the rebate..
