Larry Walsh Posts

This guest blog was written by Larry Walsh of Channelnomics. A vendor saying that solution providers need to engage in selling solutions is nothing new. But when the channel marketing heads of SAP’s Business One program talk about solution-selling, the conversation is more about building customer personas and solving common business needs. Sona Venkat, vice president of SAP marketing, and Alain McHugh, director of SAP Business One marketing, are looking at solution selling through the chan ...

This guest blog entry was written by Larry Walsh of Channelnomics. Generally speaking, solution providers understand that conflict with their vendor’s direct sales teams will happen occasionally. But, poor channel conflict management that makes the problem chronic will cause them to take actions that ultimately cost their vendors money, according to the Second Annual Channel Conflict Report by the 2112 Group. One-third of solution providers say they will drop a vendor that poorly manages c ...

Vendors love cloud computing, at least in theory. The cloud computing model offers something many IT companies – vendors and solution providers alike – have never seen: recurring, predicable and accruing revenue. And, because cloud can be delivered at scale with fewer resources, such services are inherently more profitable. Cloud economics aren’t lost on businesses. Rather than building and maintaining their own IT systems and applications, cloud computing promises to low ...

The week between Christmas and New Year’s is always slow. Salespeople closed their last minute deals of the year before the holidays. Executive teams and staffers take well-deserved winter respites. And the Channel-Lands fall as quiet as a New England hallow covered in blanket of solstice snow. OK, that’s a lame attempt at alliteration to say not much was happening this week. So, rather than recounting the top stories of the week, let’s take a gander at some of the obligatory lists of the top st ...

You don’t need to go to medical school to figure out the potential bonanza in healthcare technology. Fueled by the Obama administration’s healthcare reform agenda and billions of dollars in federal stimulus money, modernization of the antiquated paper-based recordkeeping system used by physicians, clinicians and hospitals will happen at a frenzied pace in the coming year and beyond. But let’s correct one of those last statements: paper-based recordkeeping. It’s a bit of ...

The great blizzard of 2010 has socked the Northeast. More than one-foot of snow layers the landscape between Philadelphia and Boston. So treacherous were the conditions that major highways were shut down, airports closed and sporting events rescheduled. Homebound residents glued to their televisions for weather updates were warned of potential power outages as winds whipped to speeds upward of 60 mph. So, here’s the funny part: In the event of a power outage, utility companies were asking subscr ...

Like the rest of the world, the Channel-Lands’ questions about how the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) would act on the Net Neutrality issue were finally answered. Unfortunately, few people were happy with what the feds said. For what was supposed to be a slow week leading into the Christmas holiday, Net Neutrality was just one of the big news stories to hit the Channel-Lands this week.Net Neutrality Ruling Makes Few HappyThe FCC made official its much-anticipated ruling that prohibits I ...

The days leading up to the December holidays are usually filled with closing end-of-the-year sales, cleaning up the financial ledgers and office parties. It’s typically not the time of year when key channel leaders are moving around or changing jobs. But this holiday season seems to be the exception.On Monday, Lenovo SMB channel chief Jay McBain surprised the industry by announcing his resignation from the PC vendor. His destination isn’t exactly a closely guarded secret, but it’s not public as ...

Microsoft snuck out a second version of its Security Essential 2.0 application over the weekend, adding linkage to the embedded Windows Firewall. The early indications are Microsoft is moving to make MSE a more complete software security suite for home and small business users. The ultimate result could be more channel security opportunities.Microsoft has made no bones about its intentions to become a major player in the security marketplace. Through product development and acquisitions over the ...

Is any partner ever really satisfied with their vendor? Perhaps it’s an unfair question, since partner sentiment is shifted by events and circumstances. But a growing chorus of channel partners is raising its voice of discontent with Hewlett-Packard, calling into question new CEO Leo Apotheker’s channel commitment. And that’s just part of what’s happening across the Channel-Lands this week. We’re also watching the rise of Chinese competition, the setting of business goals in 2011, and a big chan ...