Jessica Davis

Looking to bring appliance-enabled software services to smaller companies, Jumpnode Systems has created a reseller program and also began signing MSPs to use its appliance for monitoring and remote management. The three-year-old Minneapolis-based company, which only began shipping the appliance two years ago, launched the partner program at the end of April and has already […]

Microsoft, according to published reports, has added e-mail, Sharepoint and desktop management to its 2-year-old managed services line that it offers directly to enterprise customers. But independent MSPs (managed services providers) and other partners are taking a measured approach to the news. The Microsoft business has a scant four customers, with three of those announced […]

Catering to its Apple-centric resellers and end users, Tech Data announced it will serve as the first distributor for GizMac Accessories XRackPro line of rack-mount enclosure cabinets for Apple Xserve servers and RAID storage devices. Tech Data said the solutions are designed to reduce noise by as much as 80 percent compared with standard server […]

More than 85 percent of organizations in a recent study reported they had experienced a data-breach event—a statistic that represents great pain for businesses that are victims of such breaches, many of which could have been avoided. But the study also points to the tremendous opportunity for VARs to act as security experts in a […]

The chatter has been rampant: Will CDWs pending acquisition by a private equity firm put an end to the companys recent very aggressive pricing? Analysts have answered with a resounding no. “Some VARs have been speculating that this could take the price pressure off,” said Christina Richmond, research manager for hardware channels and alliances at […]

CDWs Chairman and CEO John Edwardson described a meeting of the minds between his companys management and the private investment firm that has agreed to acquire it in a deal struck May 29 worth $7.3 billion. Edwardson said that CDWs management and private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners had a consensus over CDWs long-term goals […]

CDWs current long-term goals—an expansion of its service and solutions business akin to Berbee, an expansion of the companys overall sales team, and improving the customer value proposition by adding more knowledgeable account managers—will stay the same following the companys acquisition by a private investment firm, according to Executive Vice President Harry Harczak. Harczak spoke […]

Catalog and Web solution provider CDW, a giant in the technology reseller space, is reportedly in talks to be acquired by a private equity firm. The move to private equity ownership would spare the company from Wall Streets laser-like spotlight and allow it to focus on increasing its margin—in contrast to the sales and revenue […]

Dells move to sell through Wal-Mart was a “creative choice” and the PC maker needs to be careful about balancing the message that choice sends, according to J.P. Gownder, a principal analyst at Forrester Research. Gownder has been watching the companys moves into the retail space. “They are going for cost-sensitive consumers, and if there […]

Dell will make its first move into the retail channel starting on June 10, putting two of its Dimension desktop computers out to be sold through the worlds largest retailer, Wal-Mart. CEO Michael Dell hinted in April in a widely leaked memo that his company—known for its direct-only sales—would move into new channels, including retail. […]