Channel_Informer

Read the book, got the T-shirt

2008-08-19T13:07:57Z

Informer was amused to find a brilliant tome landing on its desk the other day entitled - Distribution Channels - Understanding and Managing Channels to Market. Priced at a very reasonable £25 - the book delves into the fascinating world of the distribution channel, and informs the reader how best to capitalise on the industry, along with plenty of factoids and figures. What Informer finds amazing is the fact that someone has sat down and poured hours and hours of work into a book on distribution. It would be very interesting to find out if anyone is actually going to purchase this book and at least give the poor author some reward for all their hard work.

All quiet

2008-08-14T11:23:26Z

Industry gossip is a little scarce at the moment - probably because everyone is taking a well earned holiday or break from work. There are rumours about certain companies going around, but they are far too contentious to mention at the moment. Please feel free to contact Informer if you do have any snippets.

Sweeping statement

2008-06-17T16:28:43Z

Informer is not usually one to moan - but at an event recently a senior figure from a well known software vendor made an interesting observation about members of the fairer sex. Apparently housewives more than ever know the virtues of buying GPRS style devices for their children because once they have dropped the kids off from school, they go straight to the supermarket and log on to check where their children are.

"Because that is what housewives do - shopping," said the exec. After the cleaning, washing and ironing, obviously.

Communication is back

2008-06-03T15:16:50Z

Thanks to a recent installation by distributor Zycomm, staff at amusement park Alton Towers can now enjoy effective communication using handheld radios - which means they can talk to each other from one end of the park to the other. Hopefully the staff have improved their communication skills since the last time Channel Informer visited (admittedly about nine years ago) - the odd grunt and bored glance in response to a question of 'should children that age be allowed on this ride' hardly filled one with confidence.

New news?

2008-05-30T10:34:53Z

There is breaking news out apparently that Ingram has recently signed a distribution agreement with SonicWall. However informer remembers this story the first time around - June 2007 in fact. What does that mean? Did Ingram and SonicWall part company, only to reunite again this week, or is this a case of a communication breakdown?

Nerves of steel

2008-05-23T15:07:19Z

You have to had a certain admiration for the sheer courage of one particular company that has issued a winding up petition against DSG Retail Ltd. The case is actually going to be heard on 29 May - but someone even in the wildest dreams of most David and Goliath scenarios is this company to go win. I'm sure DGS Retail is trembling in its boots

Good PR

2008-05-19T16:46:20Z

Informer heard murmurings about one particular vendor that was so frustrated with its PR company in the UK that it started touting its stories around itself to get even the slightest mention in a trade magazine. A question along the lines of "so how do you secure coverage because our PR firm is totally useless," doesn't really leave a lot to the imagination.

HP and EDS tie up

2008-05-13T08:52:12Z

The rumour mill is going into overdrive today with the news that HP and EDS are set to merge. The two firms have confirmed they are in advanced talks - but as yet no agreement has been reached. If it does happen, it will be interesting to see how this affects HP's channel partners globally.

Stirring up trouble

2008-05-09T10:19:05Z

It seems an article due out on Monday in CRN has stirred up a wave of angry feeling about a certain industry veteran that is about to launch a new venture in the UK. There has certainly been some interesting emails flying about already and it is not even published yet. Stay tuned to CRN to find out how this situation develops.

Moving on?

2008-05-06T08:35:45Z

Informer has heard rumours that the sales director of Kelway has handed in his notice - however as ever these rumours are yet to be confirmed, so stay tuned. We are sure there will be few changes in quite a few channel companies over the coming weeks - something seems to happen when the weather turns nice - could it be the lure of the gardening leave that does it?

HP and Symantec getting closer?

2008-04-28T10:19:21Z

Tongues are wagging in the channel about the close friendship between HP and Symantec at the recent Infosec event in London. The two giants were sharing a stand. This could be for one of three reasons: a - the two firms were looking to save some money by sharing, b - they were announcing a new technology partnership/tie-up, or c - there could be an acquisition afoot. Which one could it be? Answers on a postcard please.

What's on the Horizon?

2008-04-23T09:30:02Z

Everyone is familiar with the news that Avnet has made an offer for Horizon which is pretty much guaranteed to be accepted. However curiousity is mounting over what Avnet will do with Horizon's Irish business - will it be a spin off or will it hang on to it? Both sides are keeping pretty tight-lipped from all accounts.

BT going shopping again?

2008-04-23T09:25:49Z

The rumour mill is in full flow again that BT is going to make another acquisition along the same lines as Basilica in the very near future. But speculation is rife about who it will be - the market is ripe for the picking because we all know that everyone is for sale at the right price.

targeting HP

2008-04-21T12:44:38Z

A little bird told Channel Informer that one of HP's top execs had to duck on stage at its partner event in San Francisco last week as an unidentified missile missed him by inches. There are two likely explanations for this - firstly it was part of the rigging that pinged off due to the heat from the lights in the room, or it was an angry reseller who is annoyed at having to jump through more hoops to become an HP Gold partner. We are still awaiting confirmation.

CeBIT

2008-03-03T17:08:00Z

It is everybody's favourite time of year coming up - CeBIT is looming fast and the vendor invites are already pouring through the door. The question is - can people really spare the time to schlep all the way over there and to trudge round seemingly endless aircraft hangers full of stands? It seems so, but a lot of people are weary already at the thought of it.