CRN Warming Up to Dell

In a single day, legacy channel publication Computer Reseller News posted two glowing stories about Dell’s progress in the laptop and government markets, respectively. Has hell frozen over? Is Dell that hot — or has CRN finally put the deep freeze on all the negative Dell coverage?

First, CRN noted that Dell seems to be turning around its laptop business. A few hours later, CRN was back with a report about Dell solutions providers winning government sector business. Wow. And wow again. A double play. A dynamic duo. Two thumbs up.

Kidding aside, CRN and its army of Everything Channel reporters break a ton of quality news. But The VAR Guy — call him Everything Else Channel? — has always thought CRN spends a bit too much time bashing Dell. As recently as March of this year, CRN declared that Dell suffered from a cultural crisis.

Really? Cultural crisis? With so many experienced channel veterans now running around inside Dell, The VAR Guy is betting that the PC giant figures out how to empower solutions providers with managed services.