virtualization

Data Centre

Lenovo creates new appliance-centric ThinkAgile portfolio

October 17, 2016 Mark Cox Comments Off on Lenovo creates new appliance-centric ThinkAgile portfolio
ThinkAgile will initially consist of three components: their existing HX offerings with Nutanix software, beefed up with Lenovo networking; the newly announced CX line from a new partnership with Nimble Storage; and new OpenStack-based offerings that will first be limited to China, and eventually roll into other geos.

Ross Brown, senior vice president of partners and alliances for VMware
Channel Programs

VMware sees momentum from deal reg, incentives changes

August 30, 2016 Robert Dutt Comments Off on VMware sees momentum from deal reg, incentives changes
VMware says partners are more engaged, selling more and more often after changes to deal registration and a shift on partner incentives.

Virtualization

Ex-NetApp Canada head Goldstein outlines Veeam’s plans to grow in Canada

June 10, 2016 Mark Cox Comments Off on Ex-NetApp Canada head Goldstein outlines Veeam’s plans to grow in Canada
The new Veeam VP of Sales in Canada said his appointment to the new role is part of Veeam’s intensified commitment to the Canadian market. He indicated his plans to take the company, which sells entirely through channel partners, to the next level here.

Storage

Expanded drive, container support highlight HPE 3PAR all-flash upgrades

June 7, 2016 Mark Cox Comments Off on Expanded drive, container support highlight HPE 3PAR all-flash upgrades
All-flash has been a many-faceted boon to the channel, and HPE’s new announcements will add some new opportunities for the company’s partners

Partnerships

Atlantis Computing, Citrix form strategic alliance around hyper-converged

May 26, 2016 Mark Cox Comments Off on Atlantis Computing, Citrix form strategic alliance around hyper-converged
The two companies have been long-time partners around VDI, but this extension of their relationship makes a very low cost hyper-converged offering, which combines Atlantis’ hyper-converged infrastructure with the full Xen stack, available to any certified Citrix partner.

Cloud

Citrix, Microsoft announce major expansion of long-term partnership

May 25, 2016 Mark Cox Comments Off on Citrix, Microsoft announce major expansion of long-term partnership
Key elements include Azure becoming Citrix’s preferred cloud platform, and Microsoft Skype for Business now being optimized for the Citrix VDI environment, the only one to receive this preferred treatment.

Servers

Nutanix targets SMB hyper-converged space with Nutanix Xpress

May 24, 2016 Mark Cox Comments Off on Nutanix targets SMB hyper-converged space with Nutanix Xpress
Nutanix is making changes to its channel strategies around this product, including deal registration, to avoid channel confusion. Lenovo and its channel will also play a key role taking Xpress to market.

Servers

Nutanix, Citrix partner on scalable enterprise VDI solution for around $500 (really)

May 24, 2016 Mark Cox Comments Off on Nutanix, Citrix partner on scalable enterprise VDI solution for around $500 (really)
Nutanix’s president acknowledged that the industry’s previous announced attempts at a low-cost VDI solution have been basically junk, which have left customers suspicious of such claims. Nutanix InstantON VDI for Citrix, on the other hand, is an enterprise-capable turnkey solution, which really will come in in the $500 price range, including the endpoint.

Big Data

New Dell Validated System for SAP HANA Edge to bring HANA to SMBs

May 18, 2016 Mark Cox Comments Off on New Dell Validated System for SAP HANA Edge to bring HANA to SMBs
Other Dell SAP-related initiatives announced at SAPPHIRE NOW included ones around the Internet of Things, cloud blueprints to optimize SAP environments, and a new optimized architecture for SAP Foundation for Health.

Luc Villeneuve, country manager, Red Hat Canada
Channel Programs

Red Hat targets midmarket with Keating, Tech Data partnerships

May 5, 2016 Robert Dutt Comments Off on Red Hat targets midmarket with Keating, Tech Data partnerships
Red Hat Canada partners with Keating Technologies and Tech Data Canada to address the $500m to $1b market and more thoroughly cross-sell its technologies.