September 2011 Archives

One of the interesting recent developments in the tablet market is the way that, just as some of the most well known names in IT raise up their hands and pull out or express difficulties competing with Apple, other new entrants come into the market.

The latest name to mount a challenge to Apple is Amazon which, let's be honest, has the muscle to make some impact, with the e-tailer due to launch a product of its own.

Amazon is big, but then of course so is Hewlett-Packard, which canned its TouchPad just a couple of weeks ago.

Then the recent sales figures from RIM showed that its Playbook had hardly been flying off the shelves.

But with the Amazon tablet the key word people are already talking about is price, and potentially it could pose a challenge if they get that right. When HP dumped its TouchPad stocks at £89 they sold out in minutes indicating that if it's good value people will pay.

We wait to see what Amazon will deliver. Of course it's a direct sale, so not much good for the channel, but if it revives an interest in the form factor in the run up to Christmas then there might be a halo effect for resellers. Hope so, otherwise if Amazon really does get it right then it's not much good for anyone other than their customers.

It looks as if Apple is going to take the wraps off iPhone 5 on 4 October according to sources that are desperate to reveal the launch schedule from the vendor.

That is good news for anyone who sells the phones and the accessories because it means Christmas is going to be pretty busy but for those of us who had to wait a long time to save up our pennies to get a 4th generation phone it's going to be a winter feeling like old news.

There will now be the inevitable embarrassment as iPhone 4 users sit down at meetings and social occasions and pull out their phone only to find themselves trumped by a smug looking 5 owner. I've been there before when 4 was all the rage and it left me feeling like some sort of technological pauper.

No doubt there will be a better quality camera and a quicker processor but for many it will be the simple fact it's an Apple product and it's new. That will be enough to get them queuing up at the tills. For those of us dealing with more challenging bank balances we will have to wait and go through the pain of being technologically outclassed all over again.

You have to wonder why the prospect of a sale of Hewlett-0Packard's Personal Systems Group was even raised if ever since it was mentioned the vendor has done all it can to quash sales talk.

I have been at events where resellers have shared the view that HP has left the PC market as not only a fact but as if it has already happened. They are surely not alone in taking that view and it must be doing quite a lot of damage to the vendor.

Competitors have already chipped in to add to the uncertainty as well to make sure they can reap any channel and customer defections.

So over the last few weeks it has been no surprise to see the idea of a spin-off, presumably much like Procurve was, gaining ground with HP executives giving briefings indicating that's the way things will go.

But the repeated calls of commitment and 'in it for the long-term' type statements keep bringing you back to that original strategic statement from the CEO Leo Apotheker.

He could have avoided a lot of the current fire fighting if he had moved quickly to calm the sale talk and could have helped his UK management a lot more if he perhaps hadn't been so keen to talk about it in the first place.

Resellers might now be getting more clarity around the non-sale but there are plenty in the market yet to get that message and plenty of opportunities for the confusion to continue.

Over a conversation with Piers Linney, co-CEO of cloud channel cloud specialist Outsourcery, about his firms involvement with the cycling competition the Tour of Britain the positives of the sport came up.

Obviously there was the green argument with two wheels and legs and lungs better than four wheels and engines and belching fumes. Then there was the benefits to health for those that chose to participate in the sport.

But there was also a warning that there wwas one potential problem for those choosing to enjoy what Linney describes as the 'new golf'.

"With cycling you have to wear lycra and unlessyou are in shape you can look like a badly made sausage," he warned.

That prospect will surely get some channel riders turning their wheels just that little bit faster.

The channel quite rightly revels in awards, they show the world just how good the quality is out there in reseller land, so for those with a virtualisation expertise now is the time to dust down those entry writing skills.

VMWorld Europe is not that far away and the vendor is looking to get those that have helped IT directors with projects the recognition they deserve. Those going to the event on 19 October have a couple of says to nudge the customers they worked so hard for to get pen to paper.

Hosted by TechTarget and SearchVirtualDataCentre.co.UK, the Best of VMworld Europe 2011 Users Awards will take place during VMworld Europe, in Copenhagen. The awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday, 19 October 2011, on the show floor at the Bella Center.

A team of independent judges will evaluate the nominations. IT projects that are directed by IT users will only be considered. Vendor submissions will not be considered, however vendors may encourage their customers to enter valid IT projects. Please be sure to read the full Best of VMworld Europe User Awards 2011 criteria and information.

Categories include:
•    Best virtualisation and server consolidation project
•    Best virtualisation for disaster recovery project
•    Best remote-office/home-office deployment project
•    Best private cloud project
•    Best desktop virtualisation project

The deadline for submissions has been extended to this Friday, 16 September, 2011.

The channel is full of talent and people with passions and hidden depths so it is perhaps not as surprising as it might at first seem to be highlighting the triathlete credentials of License Dashboard sales and marketing director Matt Fisher.

Those who follow his tweets or blog will already be aware of the hours of training he puts in each week on bike, foot and in the pool and it has paid off for him with a qualification for the Great Britain Age Group team to represent the country in the Triathlon Age Group World Championships in Beijing.

Fisher only took up the sport in 2010 and has been putting in the work and will head off to China to swim 1,500 metres, cycle 40km then run 10km this coming Sunday.

Fisher commented: "It's a real honour to represent both Great Britain and License Dashboard on the world stage. I love both the physical and mental challenges that triathlon brings and believe that the intense training also brings benefits to my business life."

Sean Robinson, director of License Dashboard, added: "All of us at License Dashboard are totally behind Matt as we wish him the best in China. His dedication to his training and racing is an inspiration to us all and we are very proud to support him in his efforts."

MicroScope wishes him well this coming weekend.