Global Financial Problems Hit a Small Computer Consultant

MSNBC.com posted a scary story today showing how the global credit crisis may be driving one computer consultant in suburban Washington, D.C. out of business.

Jesse Gilleland got a letter from American Express stating that the credit card company was lowering the spending limit on the Platinum Card he uses to operate his business because AmEx basically didn't like the places where he makes purchases or the company that wrote his mortgage.

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Posted by Scott Bekker on October 07, 20083 comments


Staples Gets Serious About MSP Market

Staples is taking its managed service provider business mainstream.

The Framingham, Mass.-based office superstore chain quietly entered the MSP market in December 2006 with the unannounced acquisition of Thrive Networks, a seven-year-old, 250-customer MSP based in Concord, Mass.

Little growth has occurred with Thrive in the interim; Staples currently claims about 300 clients. But it appears Staples' Contract Technology Solutions unit has been busy prepping the 60-person firm's business model and leveraging its branding for a nationwide rollout.

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Posted by Scott Bekker on September 25, 20080 comments


Semantra Signs Up Major Partners for Dynamics CRM Add-On

Semantra, which aims to make the data in Microsoft Dynamics CRM easier for non-technical business users to search and analyze, launched a partner program Wednesday that already includes some high-profile Microsoft partners. More

Posted by Scott Bekker on September 25, 20080 comments


Tech Data Upgrades One-Stop Training Offerings for Resellers

IT distribution giant Tech Data Corp. has expanded its one-stop training capabilities for resellers by entering into a partnership with Element K.

Tech Data is now delivering courses through Element K's Learning Management System KnowledgeHub, which is Web-based, doesn't require software or hardware installation, and includes virtual labs for course-takers to romp around in. Also, by putting its TDEducation system on the Element K infrastructure, Tech Data should improve the ability of its resellers to track their users' progress and will allow them to create custom training programs.

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Posted by Scott Bekker on September 03, 20080 comments


The Big Easy Is Back

Now that Hurricane Gustav has blown through New Orleans without too much damage, I guess Microsoft feels the coast is clear to launch a 2.0 version of its Big Easy promotion.

The company sent around e-mail announcing Big Easy 2.0 today, although the program formally launched Aug. 25.

You may remember the Big Easy as the mega partner subsidy program. It combined several partner subsidy programs into one comprehensive offering designed to reward partners on a sliding scale for upselling, cross-selling and selling licensing.

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Posted by Scott Bekker on September 03, 20080 comments


Why Google Chrome Might Shine

Google has the tech world atwitter with its launch of a beta today for its own browser, called Google Chrome . Keep an eye on this one; it has a strong chance to make a serious dent in Microsoft's browser dominance.

My view doesn't have much to do with the specifics of this beta browser release. Early reviews, such as Walter Mossberg's at the Wall Street Journal, put it neck-and-neck with Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8. Read Mossberg's take here (registration required).

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Posted by Scott Bekker on September 02, 20085 comments


Speaking of Internet Explorer

There are some interesting new studies about Microsoft's market share with IE. Jeffrey Schwartz has the story here .

Posted by Scott Bekker on September 02, 20080 comments


HP Makes a Heavy Virtualization Play

HP today launched a major virtualization push. On the product side, the push included new management software, virtualization enhancements to existing software, blade servers optimized for virtualization, and virtualization desktop options, including thin clients and blade PCs and workstations. See the details here More

Posted by Scott Bekker on September 02, 20080 comments


IBM Says the Time for Desktop Linux Is at Hand

Earlier this week, IBM and several Linux distributors disclosed their intentions to release "Microsoft-free personal computing choices." Interesting timing, given Microsoft's struggles with Vista.

But check out Gartner analyst Michael Silver's catalog of reasons that it's not yet the time for a Linux-based desktop to catch on.

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Posted by Scott Bekker on August 07, 20082 comments


A Scary Tale About Coreflood

If you bank online, check out the story about a security briefing this week on the Coreflood Trojan.

Researcher Joe Stewart of SecureWorks Inc. got access to a command and control server used to collect data from a botnet deployed by a Russian crime group.

Stewart shared some statistics at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas. Among the findings: 8,485 compromised bank accounts, 3,233 credit card accounts and more -- all collected in six months.

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Posted by Scott Bekker on August 07, 20080 comments


The Return of Lee Pender

I've enjoyed writing the RCPU newsletter for the last few weeks, especially because of the opportunity to hear back from you. But it's with a huge sigh of relief that I'll be turning this hungry beast over to Lee Pender, who's back from vacation. So the next edition in your inbox will be from Lee.

Posted by Scott Bekker on August 07, 20080 comments


More Equal than Others

Microsoft used the Black Hat USA conference in Las Vegas this week to announce one of its periodic rebalancings of its security patch program. This time, the company announced a program to give trusted security software vendors advance information about vulnerabilities and the creation of an exploitability index to help IT assess the importance of a given vulnerability.

The partner program is called the Microsoft Active Protections Program (MAPP). It's supposed to allow security software providers to protect their customers more quickly.

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Posted by Scott Bekker on August 06, 20080 comments