With the latest release of Symantec's storage management and  high-availability products, the company is positioning the technologies as a  way to create private cloud-like capabilities without ripping and replacing  datacenter infrastructure.
		Symantec this week unveiled the version 6.0 releases of 10  products that are scheduled to be available in December. They are Veritas  Storage Foundation, Veritas Cluster Server, Symantec ApplicationHA, Veritas  Dynamic Multi-Pathing, Veritas Cluster File System, Veritas Replicator,  Symantec VirtualStore, Veritas Storage Foundation for Windows, Veritas Storage  Foundation for Oracle RAC and Veritas Storage Foundation for Sybase ACE. Also  included in the launch was Veritas Operations Manager 4.1. More
	
Posted by Scott Bekker on October 06, 20110 comments
          
	
 
            
                
                
 
    
    
	
    		Microsoft recently published the results of its biggest  overhaul of the customer- and partner-facing documents that explain licensing  since 2005.
The redesigned Product Use Rights (PUR) document and Service  Provider Use Rights (SPUR) document were made available on Oct. 1.
"I would say bravo to the centralized licensing team.  Someone put a lot of thought into this," Rob Horwitz, an analyst with  Directions on Microsoft, said in an interview. "I wouldn't be surprised if  hundreds of thousands of dollars or maybe low seven figures went into vetting  this design." More
	
Posted by Scott Bekker on October 05, 20110 comments
          
	
 
            
                
                
 
    
    
	
    		By most accounts, Amazon's Kindle Fire looks like a nice  piece of hardware.
Shipping Nov. 15, the $199 Android-powered device sports a  new Amazon browser called Silk and is optimized for media consumption.
Industry speculation centers on whether this device is the  iPad rival that all of Apple's would-be competitors have been trying to produce  since the iPad exploded out of the gate in 2010. More
	
Posted by Scott Bekker on October 05, 20115 comments
          
	
 
            
                
                
 
    
    
	
    		Virtualization tools vendor Veeam  Software reached a milestone for its partner program this month. The  18-month-old Veeam ProPartner Service Provider (PSP) program now has more than  1,000 cloud and service providers, the Columbus, Ohio-based company announced  on Tuesday.
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Posted by Scott Bekker on October 04, 20110 comments
          
	
 
            
                
                
 
    
    
	
    		Mobile carriers began rolling out the Windows Phone 7.5 (aka "Mango") update to Windows Phone 7 earlier this week. Last  night, I updated the HTC Trophy that I've been using for the last two and half  months (the same phone I recently reviewed here against the Apple iPhone 4). It hasn't  been long enough to make any definitive conclusions about the new OS, but my  experience over less than 24 hours has been pretty positive. I'll have a lot  more to say about this later, but here are some first impressions: More
	
Posted by Scott Bekker on October 03, 20119 comments
          
	
 
            
                
                
 
    
    
	
    
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      | Akash Saraf |   
		On Wednesday, Zenith  Infotech announced that it was spinning off its remote monitoring and  management (RMM) business as Zenith RMM, LLC. On Thursday, we caught up with Zenith  Infotech's CEO and managing director, Akash Saraf, to get more perspective on the  reasons behind selling the majority stake in the RMM side of the business to a  private equity firm, and for some insights on his plans for the rest of Zenith  Infotech.
		At a high level, Saraf, who also sits on the spin-off firm's  board, said the move will greatly increase the companies' combined R&D  spending, allowing faster and more comprehensive product improvements, and will  create the management bandwidth for both Zeniths to expand their businesses. More
	
Posted by Scott Bekker on September 29, 20110 comments
          
	
 
            
                
                
 
    
    
	
    												UPDATE: This entry has been updated throughout with quotes  and details from an interview with an investor involved in the deal and an  executive from the new company.		
						Zenith Infotech announced Wednesday that it is spinning off its managed services unit, which is  one of the largest remote management and monitoring (RMM) businesses in the industry.
		The new company is called Zenith  RMM, LLC and is backed by a "sizable growth equity investment"  from Boston-based Summit Partners, according to a news release on the deal.  Zenith Infotech will be a shareholder of Zenith RMM and Akash Saraf, managing  director and CEO of Zenith Infotech, will serve on the board of directors for  Zenith RMM. More
	
Posted by Scott Bekker on September 28, 20111 comments
          
	
 
            
                
                
 
    
    
	
    
		
				Insight Enterprises, a distributor and Microsoft Large  Account Reseller, is in the process of buying its Tempe, Ariz.  neighbor Ensynch, a managed Microsoft systems integrator partner with multiple  gold and silver competencies in the Microsoft Partner Network.
		The deal was announced last week and is expected to close in  30 days. Terms were not disclosed. More
	
Posted by Scott Bekker on September 26, 20110 comments
          
	
 
            
                
                
 
    
    
	
    
		After his command performance at Microsoft Build, there's a  drumbeat emerging for Steven Sinofsky to be the next CEO at Microsoft.
		Sinofsky oversaw the unveiling of Windows 8 in Anaheim, Calif.,  this month and his control-heavy, secrecy-focused approach to releasing  technical details helped generate excitement around some sneak peeks of the OS in  late May and June. More
	
Posted by Scott Bekker on September 23, 20111 comments
          
	
 
            
                
                
 
    
    
	
    		Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 lags badly in the smartphone  market with low single-digit share, but a new independent survey that digs into  buyers' purchase plans indicates that the platform may be close to breaking out.
		The survey released this week by Connected Intelligence, a  service from the NPD Group, notes that the Google Android platform remains  dominant. More
	
Posted by Scott Bekker on September 21, 20110 comments
          
	
 
            
                
                
 
    
    
	
    		A Microsoft Gold Certified Partner based in India has had its  certification stripped by Microsoft based on complaints the partner company was  using phone scams to drum up business, according to a report.
		The Web site for the U.K.-based magazine PC Pro reported  Wednesday that Microsoft had revoked the Gold status of Comantra. More
	
Posted by Scott Bekker on September 21, 20111 comments