January 2012

FEATURES

10 Telecom Predictions for 2012

What will next year hold for telco mergers and the mobile device boom? CRN makes its 2012 predictions for the Telecom industry.

10 Security Predictions For 2012

CRN looks into its crystal ball and sees Android, hactivisim and cyber-espionage as some of the top 10 security threats in 2012.

CES 2012 Coverage

CRN was on hand at CES 2012, bringing up-to-the-minute coverage of the biggest keynotes and providing an exclusive look at our favorite tablet PCs, ultrabooks, new cloud technologies and everything else from the show floor.

Solution Providers: Intel Smartphones, 'Wintel' Here To Stay

Intel has announced an alliance with Motorola as it prepares to enter the smartphone and tablet space for the first time ever. Intel's new mobile strategy doesn't signify the demise of "Wintel," though, solution providers said.

F5: Security Stars Are Aligned

F5 Networks graduates from mere "load-balancer" to sitting at the security vendor big kids' table.

Q&A: F5's McAdam On Momentum

We chat with F5 Networks' John McAdam about the vendor's momentum and how he plans to keep it going.

2012 CRN Data Center 100: Part 1

Part one of CRN's Data Center 100, takes a look at some of the top technology vendors in the data center market.

2012 CRN Data Center 100: Part 2

Part two of CRN's Data Center 100, continues our look at the top technology vendors in the data center community.

Will Cloud Computing Kill Distribution?

Distributors look to stay relevant to solution providers as technology shifts underneath them yet again.

How 8 Distributors Are Tackling The Cloud

Eight distributors reveal their plans of action to get themselves to the cloud.

COLUMNS

Are You Ready For 2012?

Burke offers up five tips to success in 2012 culled from top solution providers, UBM Channel Research and CIOs.

The Apple Of My 'i'

Damore makes the switch to iPhone and iPad at work and demonstrates why solution providers shouldn't ignore the consumerization of IT.

High Tech's Toughest Job

For today's channel chiefs, the scrutiny and grind of it all is comparable to a presidential campaign that never ends.

Program With A Double Edge

The pros and cons of volume-based discounting.

December 2011

FEATURES

The Best Products Of 2011

From processors to tablets, from PCs to laptops, this was a great year of great products. Here are what we found to be the best.

Digital Signage Splash: Test Center Reviews Four Displays

The CRN Test Center puts four digital signage products to the test.

Digital Signage Growing As VARs Eye Recurring Revenue, Back-End Opportunities

For solution providers, the most important parts of digital signage are in the back-end integration opportunities and recurring revenue streams.

The Most Innovative Products of 2011

From tablets to high-end storage, here are the 2011 Tech Innovators.

Video Vendors You Need To Know

Check out CRN's list of the vendors in the videoconferencing space the channel should know.

Emerging Video Vendors You Need To Know

CRN takes a look at the emerging vendors in the videoconferencing space.

Cloud Providers Locked And Loaded For Social Revolution

Salesforce and Google are screaming the word 'social,' but are solution providers and cloud providers seeing interest from their customers and are VARs seeing new opportunities from the social revolution?

AMD Eyes Cloud Computing, Virtualization With New Opteron Server Chips

AMD has officially launched its much-anticipated Opteron 6200 'Interlagos' processors, boasting a boost in server performance by up to 84 percent.

COLUMNS

Welcome To The Garden Of Eaton

Eaton's scored big in virtualization with software that provides virtual machine live migration and cluster shutdown.

The Ideal Solution Provider

Valuable solution providers are now characterized by their ability to capture customer spend in the data center, when it's hosted or when it's in the cloud.

Channel Business Index Offers Insight

CRN is unveiling the Channel Business Index to get a real-world view of solution provider confidence and business outlook in the channel.

Cloud Spawns New Type of Supplier: a 'Vendorgrater'

VCE, the joint cloud effort of Cisco and EMC, with investments from VMware and Intel, can be described as a 'vendorgrater.'

November 2011

FEATURES

Mark Hurd: The Oracle Of The Channel

Oracle President Mark Hurd lays the foundation for Oracle's channel charge, which in part involves a Hurd-designed sales plan that has focused Oracle's partners on the hard-to-reach midmarket and SMB accounts.

Althoff's Effort Paying Off For Oracle Channel

Oracle Senior Vice President Judson Althoff takes off where Mark Hurd left off, using strategic skills to move Oracle in position for partner recruitment blitz.

Review: Thumbs-Up On Oracle Database Appliance

The Oracle Database Appliance proves to be full of opportunity for VARs to deliver significant value.

BOB Conference Attendees Set Channel Survival Course

Solution provider CEO thought leaders gather at the BOB conference this week to collaborate on a path that will allow them to prosper in the cloud computing era.

Managed Service Providers You Need To Know

Check out our list of the managed service providers the channel needs to know.

Emerging Managed Service Providers You Need To Know

Check out our list of the emerging managed service providers the channel needs to know.

2011 Best Companies To Partner With

Get a first look at CRN's exclusive new research study, Best Companies To Partner With, which asked solution providers to rank their must-have technology vendors.

The Top 100 Executives Of 2011

2011 was not the year to be sitting on the sidelines. Here's our annual look at the 100 executives who came to win.

COLUMNS

Hurd Has Done It Again

Under Mark Hurd, Oracle has more indirect sales representatives covering more of the market with more success than ever before.

Hitching Up To Carrier Services

In the last year, we have seen widespread telco and cable company interest in recruiting network resellers and integrators to their agent programs, a good opportunity to consider.

What I Learned At BOB

Inaugural Best Of Breed conference brought together leading and next-gen VARs who imparted their wisdom to the channel.

The Plight Of Partner Portals

Partner portals are not dead, but they should be reconstructed from the ground up with the user in mind.

October 2011

FEATURES

Annual Report Card

High quality and great return on investment--those are what puts a vendor at the top of CRN's Annual Report Card.

Business Connectivity Partner Programs 2011

Many telecom service providers and cable companies have programs that cater to VARs as they are getting acquainted with the carrier space. Here's how to connect with some of the partner programs out there.

Courting The Channel: A Guide To Today's Business Connectivity Partner Programs

Although full convergence is not yet here, many carriers say that traditional IT and equipment VARs are quickly becoming their fastest-growing partner base.

The Enterprise App Awards

CRN unveils its inaugural Enterprise App Awards contest and recognizes three winners that stand out.

Foxit A PDF Dark Horse

Foxit Software makes a bold stab at stepping up to Adobe and taking a crack at stealing market share in the PDF marketplace with its most recent version of PhantomPDF.

Apple Channel Strategy Ripens With New Hires, iPad Certification

Apple is reaching out to IT solution providers to help with the mountain of integration services that's being created by the ongoing boom in iPhone and iPad sales.

Apple Partners: Jobs' Spirit Lives On In Our Businesses

Steve Jobs is gone, but the impact he had on Apple resellers who've espoused his approach to doing business isn't going away.

Cisco Internal Memo Details Negative Impact Of HP PC Spinoff

Cisco details weaknesses it sees in Hewlett-Packard if it proceeds with plans to spin off its PC business.

COLUMNS

Jobs: The Ultimate Solution Provider

Though the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs is mourned as a technology visionary, he was actually the ultimate solution provider, with the ability to create "insanely great" products" from standard hardware and software.

It's All About Software

VARs today should gain and invest in software expertise because they are the critical differentiators in a crowded market, with IT budgets shifting or decreasing.

'Extra-PC Era' Describes It Better

Those who call this the 'Post-PC era' couldn't be further from reality.

The IT Channel's Future: Part II

The transformative VAR or solution provider of the future is one who can sell private, public and hybrid cloud-based solutions in addition to its standard offerings.

Where In The Cloud Do You Sit?

We are seeing some common attributes among solution providers that fall into the three categories as they relate to the move to cloud computing: vintage, progressive and transformational partners.

September 2011

FEATURES

Cover Story: Rise Of The Cloud Provider

A new class of transformative cloud providers is capitalizing on new business opportunities and reshaping the IT channel.

CRN Fast Growth 100

These companies measure growth by the thousands.

How To Be A Fast Growth CEO

A solid foundation for building and maintaining a Fast Growth company is dependent on mastering the three 'Ps:' Planning, People and Partnering.

Fast Growth 2011: The Top 25

Our 2011 CRN Fast Growth 100 companies have managed to fight some pretty strong economic headwinds and achieve eye-popping revenue growth.

Business Application Software Vendors You Need To Know

Check out our list of the vendors in the business application software space the channel needs to know.

Emerging Business Application Software Vendors You Need To Know

CRN looks at the emerging vendors in the business application space that the channel needs to know.

CRN Q&A: HP PC Boss Bradley On Future of PSG

Todd Bradley, the executive vice president of HP's Personal Systems Group, says HP's partner commitment speaks for itself even as rival Dell mounts a full court press to recruit HP partners.

CRN Q&A: Michael Dell's Take On HP, The Channel and Dell's Future

In an exclusive interview with CRN, Michael Dell says HP's potential exit from the PC business makes Dell the x86 partner of choice.

10 Years Later: 9/11 Changed The Lives And Businesses Of New York VARs

September 11, 2001, changed the lives of New York VARs forever. Here are three of their stories.

Cisco Pumps $75 Million Into Partner-Led Programs, Channel Incentives

Cisco will spend $75 million on new resources and systems connected to its partner-led initiative, focused on midmarket and SMB sales by solution providers.

COLUMNS

The Michael Dell Difference

Fueled by rival Hewlett-Packard's plan to spin off its $40 billion Personal Systems Group business, Michael Dell is on an all-out channel recruitment blitz.

The Future Of The IT Channel

For the past two years, the same discussion has surfaced: Namely, which partner types, as defined by business model, will survive in the long run?

What HP Needs To Do

HP needs to do a much better job of communicating with the channel and its customers about what a spin-off could mean for them.

HP's Move: Boon For Partners

The HP decision to spin off its PC business could have proved to be healthy for HP, its competitors and the partner community.

CRN TECH: September 2011

Transform Your Business

We take you to the classroom with no-cost or low-cost ways to increase sales and profits and transform your business, all before the holiday break.

REVIEW: Drobo B800i Turns iSCSI Storage From Complex To Simple

With Drobo's LED-based monitoring and set-and-forget administration, iSCSI storage has never been so easy.

CRN Test Center: Samsung Releases Central Station For Businesses

Samsung is set to ship a business edition of its universal laptop docking station/monitor for Windows, while MacBook support on tap for the fall.

Intel To Invest $300 Million In Ultrabook Partners Fund

Intel's new $300 million Ultrabook Fund is expected to invest in hardware and software vendors the company expects will help drive its Ultrabook platform to market.

Emerging Vendors 2011: By Technology Sector

This year's listing of start-ups and upstarts, sorted by technology sector

Rockin' Rack Mount Server: Acer's AR380 F1

The price-performance ratio favors the Acer AR380 F1, and flexible options, three-year warranty complete the picture

Three Must-Have SuperSpeed Tools From Tripp Lite

A trio of technician's tools use SuperSpeed to quicken on-site backups, migrations, updates and installs.

The 10 Coolest SSDs Of 2011 (So Far)

New SSDs released over the last few months are coming to market with SAS, SATA, and Fibre Channel interfaces in a variety of form factors for embedded, blade server, rack mount, and storage system use.

August 2011

FEATURES

Channel Up-And-Comers: CRN's Next-Gen 250

This Next-Gen 250 list is a snapshot of solution providers who are zeroing in on lucrative and emerging technologies, among them cloud computing, mobility, virtualization ,unified communications, business analytics and business intelligence.

CRN Next-Gen 250: 3 Profiles

We profile three of our Next-Gen 250 solution providers who are taking advantage of the mobility revolution and offering integration and services on top of mobile platforms.

Emerging Vendors 2011

CRN's annual listing of the IT industry's upstarts and start-ups.

The Mobility Revolution

Mobility is changing the world and how we do business, and it's having a radical impact on the solution provider marketplace.

Upwardly Mobile

The CRN Test Center pits tablet vs. tablet, platform vs. platform. Where should you place your bets.

Need To Know: Mobility Vendors

Channel-facing vendors focusing on mobility.

AMD Updates OpenCL Software Development Kit for Llano Chips

AMD says updated software development kit boosts development efficiency and provides access to the full functionality of A-series chips.

COLUMNS

More Mobility Shake-Ups

News about Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility plus Hewlett-Packard's killing its webOS devices, including its just-released TouchPad, has solution providers evaluationg where to place their bets in mobility.

Partnering With Partners

Our research shows that partners who specialize typically drive a higher gross margin performance.

Tablet Gold Rush

What drove the PC revolution is driving the mobile revolution: It isn't the platform but rather the applications on top of the platform.

A Path To The New Channel

The adoption of cloud computing, while not yet universal, is growing and a path to a new channel will require extensive work by the partner community to remain successful.

July 2011

FEATURES

Cover Story: VMware's Maritz Aims To Run The Table In Cloud

VMware's Paul Maritz is making moves--and taking some calculated risks--to help VMware leverage its lofty position as the virtualization software market leader into a dominant one in cloud computing.

2011 Women of the Channel

Our 2011 Women of the Channel, our annual who's who of female channel executives, spotlights the industry's top female talent.

10 Emerging Infrastructure Software Vendors You Need To Know

Check out our list of the emerging vendors in the software infrastructure space the channel needs to know.

25 Infrastructure Software Vendors You Need To Know

Check out our list of the vendors in the software infrastructure space the channel needs to know.

Ring Leaders: The Convergence Of VARs, Carriers And The Telco Channel

Today's mobility craze, the widespread adoption of services-based IT, and the desire to lock up recurring revenue streams is gaining steam for VARs to sell carrier, or business connectivity, services.

Carriers Want Cloud Control

From jaw-dropping acquisitions to huge investments, telcos and cable companies are betting big on the cloud.

COLUMNS

New Products? Clear Strategies

Alliance and channel vendors of today and tomorrow indicated at IPED's Channel Masters seminar that partner recruitment is at the top of their list.

A Call To Action On Carrier Services

In a special report on carriers and the cloud, we take a look at the compelling proposition for solution providers to attach recurring revenue to carrier services.

110% + 110% = Exhausted

CRN's list of women in the channel includes women who face the challenges of demanding careers and family responsibilities and try to balance everything; it's all so exhausting, but oh-so rewarding.

The Channel's Best Bet

The Best of Breed concept is not the same old, but a conference with a partner-built agenda that's poised to tee up the IT business model issues and allow partners to learn from each other.

June 2011

VAR 500

VAR500 2011: Rise And Fall

There are 215 new companies on the VAR500 list this year, the most turnover the annual ranking has seen yet.

2011 VAR500: The Top 50

The top 50 companies in our 2011 VAR500 - the largest solution providers in North America, ranked by revenue.

They're Channel-Strong

It was time for some new math, so our annual VAR500 ranking got a revamped methodology to make it a timely and truly representative list.

VAR500: 20 Titans Of Transformation

We honor 20 VAR500 members for their own transformations.

FEATURES

100 People You Don't Know But Should (Part 1)

Check out part one of CRN's list of 100 people in the channel that you don't know but should.

100 People You Don't Know But Should (Part 2)

Check out part two of CRN's list of 100 people in the channel that you don't know but should.

25 Cloud Vendors You Need To Know

Check out our list of the vendors in t