Top 10: 2013 Tech News Stories, Chatter From The VAR Guy
What were the most read technology news, rumors and blogs on The VAR Guy for 2013? Here's the list.
December 24, 2013
![The top 100 technology news stories rumors and blogs on The VAR Guy in 2013 The top 100 technology news stories rumors and blogs on The VAR Guy in 2013](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt10e444bce2d36aa8/blt980d2bb82608707b/65247d457bdf0317395daddb/top10_0.jpg?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
The top 100 technology news stories, rumors and blogs on The VAR Guy in 2013.
When Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said he planned to step down within one year, The VAR Guy pointed our Ballmer's achievements and failures. Perhaps the biggest failure involved channel partners — many of whom felt alienated when Microsoft launched Office 365 and Surface tablets with little to no channel strategy in place.
What it means now: It sounds like Microsoft will announce the new CEO in early 2014. A new channel chief already is in place — his name is Phil Sorgen. Let's hope Ballmer's successor shows Sorgen and the channel a lot of love.
How can Rackspace and its channel partners compete against Amazon Web Services? The answer involves the old Nordstrom vs. Walmart retail war.
What it means today: Rackspace still seems overly focused on its open source marketing. The smarter move would involve bringing back all of the Fanatical Support messaging — directed at the channel.
As VARs try to navigate public and private cloud strategies, The VAR Guy has been more than happy to assist. That's why our resident blogger built his Private and Public Cloud InfoCenter — one of the most popular destinations on the website.
What it means today: Even as 2013 becomes 2014, the education around private and public clouds continues.
Sure, Microsoft has struggled with Surface tablets and Windows 8. But in the server and corporate market, the Windows Server 2012 launch went extremely well. And the server platform continues to win over channel partners and customers.
What it means today: Windows Server 2012 is also key to Microsoft's emerging Cloud OS Network strategy, as detailed by Windows IT Pro.
Sure, VMware and OpenStack — the open source cloud platform — potentially compete on some fronts. But VMware's stance on OpenStack actually makes a lot of sense — as The VAR Guy pointed out.
What it means today: VMware continues to expand its vCloud Hybrid Service while some cloud providers continue to embrace OpenStack. Customer choice is alive and well, and channel partners should continue to demand VMware-OpenStack integration to avoid customer lock-in scenarioes.
How did Windows 8 perform in the market shortly after launch? Microsoft kept saying all is well. But Staples ultimately raised a warning flag in March 2013, saying Windows 8 desktop and mobile sales weren't all that impressive.
What it means today: Microsoft ultimately ate some humble pie, rapidly delivering Windows 8.1 ("The New Windows") in late 2013 to address early concerns about the operating system. Need details? Paul Thurrott's Windows 8.1 book offers some details.
In a sign of weak hardware and server sales, IBM cut 1,700 employees in mid-2013. But the real insult involved how IBM communicated the news, calling the effort a "remix" of talent.
What it means today: IBM is still struggling to get its hardware business on track, and there are concerns that cloud computing will further pressure server sales over the long haul…
When Microsoft launched Surface 2 tablets in October 2013 or so, early chatter said the tablets were selling fast. But we'd all heard similar reports when Surface 1 devices had launched. In reality, the original Surface tablets were slow-sellers.
What it means today: The VAR Guy still thinks Surface tablets — particularly Surface Pro 2 and beyond — will build a big following in the corporate market. But Microsoft will need to further improve its Surface Channel Partner Program, which isn't all that impressive at the moment.
Apparently, The VAR Guy's readers love lists — including his Top 100 Technology Predictions for 2014, which is our most-read blog of 2013.
What it means now: Perhaps it's time for The VAR Guy to actually complete that list. Stay tuned.
Apparently, The VAR Guy's readers love lists — including his Top 100 Technology Predictions for 2014, which is our most-read blog of 2013.
What it means now: Perhaps it's time for The VAR Guy to actually complete that list. Stay tuned.
What were the most read technology news, rumors and blogs on The VAR Guy for 2013? Here's the list. Photo captions are located above-right.
About the Author(s)
You May Also Like