We wanted to know last week whether and
how
you were preparing
for an economic slowdown. Well, you are. Joseph, though,
hopes that his business has things pretty much under control:
"We are definitely preparing. Many of our customers appear at the
moment to be scaling back on new purchases; luckily we provide managed services
to many of our customers, which will allow us to maintain a steady revenue
flow, since it would be difficult for those customers to do without our support
services as we basically are their IT department. However, the scaling back
of the purchases of new machines and other equipment does also hurt our bottom
line."
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Posted by Lee Pender on January 24, 20081 comments
And it's a big hello from
RCP
Editor Scott Bekker, who checks in with
channel news:
Keeping track of the customer promotions and partner subsidies on the Microsoft
Incentives page used to be a full-time job for Microsoft partners. Maybe not
anymore. Next month, Microsoft is launching a single partner subsidy program
called the Big Easy Offer. Microsoft is putting $10 million behind the program,
which offers partner subsidies for customer purchases of nearly all of Microsoft's
main SMB-targeted products, with the exception of Windows Vista. Partners who
can upsell, cross-sell or sell more expensive licensing options see the subsidy
go up on a sliding scale.
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Posted by Lee Pender on January 24, 20080 comments
So far this week, foreign stock markets have tanked, the U.S. markets have
continued to be skittish at best, the Federal Reserve has cut interest rates
in a Hail Mary-pass-like move to save the economy from recession (which we might
already be in) and President Bush has talked up an economic stimulus package
of tax rebates.
Times look tough, financially, and they might be getting tougher soon. So you
know what that means: As always, Microsoft makes more money. Redmond is due
to reveal its financial results on Thursday, and already the press and Wall
Street watchers are using phrases like "sharp
rise in profits."
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Posted by Lee Pender on January 23, 20080 comments
There's a
new
version
of the authentication application out.
Posted by Lee Pender on January 23, 20080 comments
The
MozyEnterprise
backup application
, a prize bit of booty from the acquisition of Berkeley
Data Systems, will soon be available with the EMC Fortress data-storage platform.
Posted by Lee Pender on January 23, 20080 comments
The former Disney CIO is Microsoft's
new
head techie
. And talk about a small world after all -- his last name is
Scott, which was the same last name the old CIO had. Now, that's just goofy.
Posted by Lee Pender on January 22, 20080 comments
To hear Microsoft tell it -- and there's no spin here at all, we're sure --
Exchange is
tearing
users away from Notes
at a healthy clip these days.
Posted by Lee Pender on January 22, 20080 comments
Microsoft is like a quick-strike football team that's never really out of
a game no matter what the score or how much time is left on the clock. When
a new technology comes along, Redmond can fumble, throw interceptions and blow
coverage for three quarters and still storm back in the fourth quarter to win...or
at least to send the game to overtime. (Yes, we're caught up in the excitement
here in Boston about the perfect Patriots. Bear with us, please. It's going
to be two long weeks until the Super Bowl.)
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Posted by Lee Pender on January 22, 20081 comments
The
next version
of Windows
could be available by the end of next year (that's the end of
2009 for those of you still writing 2007 on your checks -- if you even write
checks anymore). Of course, if Microsoft has a late-2009 release for Vista's
successor on its roadmap, we should probably expect the OS some time in 2015.
Posted by Lee Pender on January 22, 20082 comments
RCPU had a little sit down this week (well, a phone conversation, anyway) with
Steve Hale, vice president of the North American Partner Organization for
F5
,
a vendor of technology that, among other things, provides a platform for the
delivery and optimization of applications for enterprises.
If Hale's name sounds familiar, it's because he was with Microsoft for 17 years
and has just been with F5 for the last six months or so. But he's been a busy
guy in his short time at the new gig. Primarily, he's trying to take an F5 partner
base that's "very transactional in nature," he said, and get some
of its membership to start providing services as well as ringing up sales.
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Posted by Lee Pender on January 17, 20080 comments
Channel consolidation continued this week as one Gold Certified Partner
snapped
up another
: Ascentium is purchasing U.K.-based SharePoint consulting firm
Artemis.
Posted by Lee Pender on January 17, 20080 comments