Here are the top five Channel Marker blog posts for June.
1: Whoops! Oracle/Sun not looking so profitable after all
Barbara Darrow hopes VARs haven't been holding their breath waiting for Oracle CEO Larry Ellison's
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Oracle/Sun projections to ring true. Ellison said in February that the pairing would be profitable. The company ended up logging a good quarter, not including a $675 million to $825 million charge related to integrating Sun into Oracle. That charge will be incurred throughout next year, Oracle said, in SEC filings.
2: Oracle to VARs: Specialize!
Being a jack of all trades doesn't get you as far as it used to, especially if you're an Oracle VAR. Oracle co-President Charles Phillips made it abundantly clear that VARs need to be specialists, not generalists, and that they need to provide "in depth" solutions. Providing specific software expertise will go a long way toward getting new customers while keeping current customers happy.
3: Quick video refresher on new Microsoft competencies
For Microsoft partners that need to brush up on the competencies announced at last year's Microsoft Worldwide Partner conference, this video reviews partner requirements. Julie Bennani, general manager of Microsoft Partner Network and Pam Salzer, senior director of the Worldwide Partner Conference also talked up the Microsoft Worldwide Partner conference 2010 in Washington, D.C.
4: Cloud computing craze could oust certain VARs
Everyone knows that cloud computing is a popular topic among business customers, but many VARs still wonder how they fit into the cloud equation and where to focus their efforts. A partial answer came from Arrow Fusion from Arrow Electronics Inc., which provides cloud services, including Security and Software as a Service (SaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), that will be useful to solutions providers.
5: Disties declare turnaround
Members of the Global Technology Distribution Council (GTDC) proclaimed that the economic turnaround in the IT industry has begun and that customers are dusting off their wallets. GTDC CEO Tim Curran backed up that notion by saying that April IT sales in the U.S. indicated a 27% growth on a year-over-year basis.
Be sure to check out the top channel marker blogs for May 2010.