Free Newsletters for the Channel
Register for Your Free Newsletter Now
Red Hat Hires Novell Veteran for Virtualization Push
Red Hat has hired a Novell veteran to lead the Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization (RHEV) push into the IT channel, The VAR Guy has learned. Kevin Pereau, Novell's former director of ISV ecosystems, joined Red Hat about six weeks ago. Here's the update, plus a closer look at how Red Hat plans to position RHEV against VMware vSphere and and Microsoft Hyper-V.
The VAR Guy
June 22, 2010
2 Min Read
red hat enterprise virtualization RHEV
Red Hat has hired a Novell veteran to lead the Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization (RHEV) push into the IT channel, The VAR Guy has learned. Kevin Pereau, Novell’s former director of ISV ecosystems, joined Red Hat about six weeks ago. Here’s the update, plus a closer look at how Red Hat plans to position RHEV against VMware vSphere and and Microsoft Hyper-V.At Red Hat Partner Summit in Boston, Pereau and Navin R. Thadani (senior director of Red Hat’s virtualization business) sat down with The VAR Guy about an hour ago. Pereau said he joined Red Hat to help drive RHEV product marketing, and he’ll work closely with Red Hat North American Channel Chief Roger Egan and Global Channel Chief Mark Enzweiler.
The RHEV push stretches all the way up the CEO position, where Jim Whitehurst says RHEV is a lower-cost, higher-performing alternative to VMware, though Whitehurst concedes RHEV needs to match VMware’s overall management tools.
Meanwhile, Thadani claims RHEV offers channel partners four key advantages over rival virtualization options:
Unmatched performance and scalability.
A proven security infrastructure, based on Red Hat’s experience with Linux security.
An ecosystem of hardware and software partners.
Cost savings that deliver more profits to partners. In one scenario, Thadani claimed RHEV delivers (US)$1.70 in partner profits for every $1.00 of RHEV sold, compared to $0.40 in profits for every $1.00 of VMware sold.
Reality Check
Of course, it’s difficult for The VAR Guy to confirm or dismiss those profitability claims.
Even if RHEV offers cost benefits over VMware, some channel partners tell The VAR Guy they’re sticking with VMware because of that platform’s proven management tools and VMware’s proven ability to save hardware dollars while improving server utilization rates.
Still, you can bet Pereau will be working closely with Thadani and the Red Hat channel team to recruit and certify RHEV partners. Red Hat announced a channel specialization for RHEV partners in mid-2009. The VAR Guy will be checking Red Hat’s latest financial results (scheduled to be announced this evening) to see if Red Hat discloses how RHEV is performing so far.
Follow The VAR Guy via RSS; Facebook; Identi.ca; Twitter; and via his Newsletter; Webcasts and Resource Center.
About the Author
You May Also Like
Mar 24 - Mar 27, 2025
Mar 24 - Mar 27, 2025
The Channel Partners Conference & Expo, co-located with MSP Summit, is the gathering place for the technology services community. Agents, VARs, MSPs, integrators and service providers will converge to share ideas and drive discussion on the topics shaping our industry.
REGISTER NOW