Dell Goes Private A new Microsoft office IBM rolls the dominos What does it mean for the channel Channel opportunities are changing Big Blue removes burden for partners

Channel Debate on certifications Page 14

canada's channel voice for it since 1985 February 2013 Volume 29, Issue 2

BLACKBERRY

10BREAKDOWN New mobile market oppotunities for channel, implications of the branding A look at the Top products for changethe channel and at CES a 2013 review of the Z10. All starts on PAGE 6 networking | computing | storage | mobile | office Your source for NAS SoLUTIoNS

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your NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY distributor $50 Petro- 800.340.1008 www.dandh.ca/cdn Canada Gift Card for New EXCELLENt sErViCE. EXCELLENt sELECtioN. EXCELLENt EXPEriENCE. Customers! Driven by Employee Co-Owners networking | computing | storage | mobile | office contents Volume 29, Issue 2 editorial february 2013 Editor Paolo Del Nibletto Assistant Editor Jeff Jedras Your source Contributing Editors Brian Jackson Howard Solomon Dave Webb

Project Specialist Penny Gianniotis for NAS SoLUTIoNS CREATIVE SERVICES Creative Director Jeff Coles sales VP & associate group Brad McBride publisher Account manager David Hamilton We've got your back(up) (416) 290-0240 x 125 CIRCULATION Circulation Manager Cheryl Patfield New Subscriptions [email protected] Corporate Chairman Michael R. Atkins Lync puts Subaru in the driver's seat President & Group Publisher Fawn Annan Subaru Canada was finding it hard to compete with the big three automakers. The Cana- Controller Rob Novorolsky dian operation wasn't nimble enough until a Toronto-based solution provider deployed a IT World Canada is an affiliate of International Data Group (IDG), the world’s largest publisher of comput- Microsoft Lync system. Find out what they did in the Deals section on Page 18 er-related information and the leading global provider of information services on information technology. IDG publishes over 300 computer publications in 85 countries. Ninety million people read one or more IDG publications each month. Computer Dealer News is published 8 times NEWS: INFOGRAPHIC: per year by IT World Canada Inc., a unit of the Laurentian Media Group, Michael R. Atkins, Dell wants to be a Private company New Office; new markets Microsoft Chairman, 55 Town Centre Court, Suite 302, Scarborough, Ontario M1P 4X4 Telephone: (416) Analysts and noted Dell Canada channel Canada outlines its go-to-market plan for 290-0240 Fax: (416) 290-0238. partners react to the move 4 Office Home and Business 11 Publishers of Canadian CIO, Computing Canada and Direction Informatique. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced either in part or in whole without the consent of the copyright owner. The views expressed in this publica- NEWS: FEATURE REPORT: tion are not necessarily those of the publishers. IBM Connect The Domino gamble 8 CDN Debate Two solution provider execu- Requests for missing issues are not accepted after three months from date of publication. tives square off on certifications 14 Date of publication, January 2013. GST Registration # R122605769 ISSN: 1184- NEWS: 2369 Microsoft Surface gets a channel look MARKETS: Canadian Postmaster, send form 33-86-186 to Circulation Dept., 55 Town Centre Court, Suite Speculation fueled by lacklustre results BYOD Approach IT industry looks at the 302, Scarborough, Ontario M1P 4X4 push product to the channel market 9 User or Device methods for BYOD 16 Publications Mail Agreement No 40063800.

CHANNEL QUADRANT Channel Commitment market leaders RIM...sorry BlackBerry finally get themselves Intel IBM out of the scaling back area. The company Page 17 Page 8 made a big splash with BB10 and they are hp

usiness Circulation audited by now serious market challengers to Apple and Page 8 b Microsoft e

CMC A Samsung. IBM and Intel continue to lead v Page 9 AUDITED dri as they made significant channel plans this to Dell Blackberry quarter. Dell's attempt to go Private forces y Page 4 Page 6

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Government of Canada, through the Canadian them into the scaling back section for the b Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities. a your NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY distributor $50 Petro- first time, while HP and Lenovo improve their position with major product releases. The 800.340.1008 www.dandh.ca/cdn Canada Gift Card for New same goes for Microsoft with the new Office. scaling back market challengers EXCELLENt sErViCE. EXCELLENt sELECtioN. EXCELLENt EXPEriENCE. Customers! Driven by Employee Co-Owners computerdealernews.com February 2013 3 news Analysis & Insight THE PORTABLE Going private will let Dell focus on P-215 SCANNER strategy instead of investors • COMPACT AND CONvENiENT • SiNgLE USB POWERED (USB 3.0 READY) The channel community is tough time doing it. But by going • MAX SPEED 15 PPM reacting largely positively to private they would no longer have • BUiLT-iN CARD READER the scrutiny of shareholders to deal news of the company’s plan to • 20 SHEET DOCUMENT FEEDER go private with,” Choptain said. That same advantage was noted • BUNDLED SOFTWARE FOR MAC AND WiNDOWS by Paolo Del Nibletto &Jeff Jedras by James Alexander, senior vice- president with the London, Ont.- • iNCLUDES iSiS/TWAiN DRivERS Channel observers are react- based Info-Tech Research Group. ing largely positively to news that Dell will now be able to develop Dell Computer Corp.has signed and execute a strategy to deal with an agreement that will see founder key trends such as bring your own and CEO Michael Dell lead a device (BYOD) and the consum- group that will take the company erization of IT in private, without • USB 3.0 ready private. Dell founder and CEO Michael Dell the prying eyes of their competi- • Mac and PC compatible Dell, along with investment firm tors looking over their shoulders • Only 2.2lb. Silver Lake Partners, will offer company was surprised at the deal via the mandatory disclosure • Card Scanning Dell stockholders US$13.65 in itself and the timing of the deal. required of public companies. cash for each share of Dell stock, However, Choptain says he’s “As they begin to execute this which represents a premium of “tentatively excited about it.” strategy where everyone seems to 25 per cent over where the stock “I want to see more synergy with be trying to find the high ground in was trading before rumours of a the products Dell has acquired terms of the product mix they sell buyout emerged. The deal, worth recently.” in a commoditized world, it allows an estimated US$24.4 billion, is He added that Dell did a great them to do things more privately,” subject to several conditions and job integrating the EqualLogic and said Alexander. “This allows Dell regulatory approvals. Microsoft Compellant acquisitions from a to hunker down and figure out Corp. is a participant in the invest- sales perspective and overall his their strategy without having every- WORKS HARD. ment group, providing what Dell company’s working relationship one else knowing what the strategy WORKS SMART. described as US$2 billion “loan.” with Dell has worked out very well is, and partners of all types coming The deal to take Dell private sur- for Broadview Networks. and second-guessing.” WORKS ANYWHERE. prised one of the more successful From his point of view, Chop- For Dell’s channel partners, Al- Dell channel partners in Canada. tain thinks Dell going private is exander said there’s no reason that Tyson Choptain, executive vice rooted in all of the acquisitions Dell going private should have any president of Broadview Networks, the company has done ever since impact on their relationship with a Winnipeg, Man.-based IT con- they embraced the channel back the vendor. The change is primar- sulting and solution provider in 2007. “Dell has bought a lot of ily for Dell, which will no longer SEE MORE HERE specializing in virtualization, secu- companies and they need to put have to employ a “small army” of rity, enterprise storage and disas- in more R&D money into those compliance and investor relations ter recovery, told CDN that his acquisitions and they’ve had a professionals. Canon is a registered trademark of Canon Inc. imageFORMULA is a trademark of Canon Inc. © 2012 Canon Canada Inc. Contact your Authorized Canon Distributor to see it today or visit www.canon.ca/contactus to request a demo. www.canon.ca 4 February 2013 computerdealernews.com THE PORTABLE P-215 SCANNER

• COMPACT AND CONvENiENT • SiNgLE USB POWERED (USB 3.0 READY) • MAX SPEED 15 PPM • BUiLT-iN CARD READER • 20 SHEET DOCUMENT FEEDER • BUNDLED SOFTWARE FOR MAC AND WiNDOWS • iNCLUDES iSiS/TWAiN DRivERS

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Canon is a registered trademark of Canon Inc. imageFORMULA is a trademark of Canon Inc. © 2012 Canon Canada Inc. Contact your Authorized Canon Distributor to see it today or visit www.canon.ca/contactus to request a demo. www.canon.ca news Analysis & Insight BlackBerry 10 is here. What does it mean for the channel? RIM rebrands itself as simply BlackBerry and they show off the BlackBerry Z10 by Howard Solomon company’s global creative director RIM has been bleeding red ink [email protected] to get hot video directors and writ- for a year. Not fatally, but enough ers to show off BB10. to make investors dump stock. A new company name, two But Heins said that a big show Loyal customers have also been new handsets. and flashy devices aren’t enough. departing for cooler, large-screen Research In Motion is gone; the “Today is not the finish line, it’s Apple iPhones and Android- company is now called BlackBerry. the starting line,” he warned the powered handsets, particularly That’s how the Waterloo, Ont.- company’s 12,000 employees. “The Samsung’s Galaxy S III, making based smart phone firm is going future is still hard work” its global market share drop and its out into the world with its new Many of the features have been share in the U.S plunge. Z10 touch screen handset and Q10 revealed already – the ability to Technologically, RIM has been handset with a physical keyboard have several applications running left behind as buyers sought plat- on the next generation BlackBerry at once; Hub, the one-stop mes- forms that offer access to thou- 10 platform. saging centre; the digital keyboard sands of applications. That’s how it is kick-starting that predicts the words you want In turn businesses have opened its bid to get back into the smart before you finish typing; Peek, up to other smart phones, meaning phone battle. the ability to preview email; the once-reliable sales have vanished. The Z10, with a 4.2-in screen, camera that takes multiple shots to BB10 lets RIM keep up with and is now available in Canada for almost eliminate closed eyes – and possibly step ahead of Apple and $149.99 on a three year contract Heins has promised that he’s kept Samsung for now. and $650 without a contract. There something back for a big splash. But in an age when, as one Ca- was no word on when the Q10 will For the business market, a new nadian business writer once said, be out. Both handsets run on LTE BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 the only companies are the quick and HSPA+ networks and have 1.5 mobile management suite has just and the dead – especially apt in the GHz dual core processors, 2 GB been released that can not only furious mobile industry – is it too of RAM and 16 MB of internal handle BlackBerrys but also Apple little too late? storage as well as an expandable iPhones, iPads and Android-based Not according to Bryan Lee, memory card slot. smart phones and tablets. RIM’s director of U.S. enterprise The Q10 differs not only with its The launch will also kick off a accounts. “It’s a new future for keyboard, but it also has a cover furious sales and marketing effort us,” he said. made from what Heins said is a by RIM staff, including a three Lee has already launched a unique material that’s lighter but month, 14-city global blitz to con- technical review for 130 select large harder than plastic. vince customers, developers and organizations that helps them in- CEO Thorsten Heins and staff channel partners the platform is stall BES 10 and use early versions touted the new platforms capa- worth investing in. of the handset; and an open ready bilities, its unique materials, and, But the moment will also kick off program for all-comers (1,600 to show how cool the platform is the company’s race to solidify its signed up) that lets them trade in anointed singer Alicia Keys as the shaky future. client licenses for older models.

6 February 2013 computerdealernews.com news

Inside the BlackBerry blogs: cdn varbose Z10/Q10 Devices The screen should have been a bit I’m going to bigger. The price is quite competitive and they will run on LTE and HSPA+. miss RIM In terms of innovation the Q10 cover made from material that’s lighter but byPaolo Del Nibletto harder than plastic is something that will get a lot of attention. One of the more interesting an- Ovum principal analyst Adam Leach’s nouncements made by now BlackBerry also thought BlackBerry really stood CEO Thorsten Heins at the BB10 event out. Leach said the BB10 platform in New York City is the name change. offers a differentiated user experience The Waterloo, Ont.-based smart- in today’s crowded and homogenous phone maker dropped the Research In smartphone market. The Z10 and Q10 The BlackBerry Z10 is an all-touch smartphone Motion company name for BlackBerry. will stand out from the Android masses with intuitive gesture based navigation. The device It sort of reminds me of when Com- and look distinct from Apple’s iPhone. weighs 137.5G and features contextual auto- puter Associates changed its name to The user experience of BB10 introduces correction, next-word prediction, and a personalized just CA. Everyone in the industry always some nice new features but importantly learning engine that gets to know the way a user called them CA so it made sense. builds on BlackBerry’s UI heritage and types. The Z10 has a display resolution of 1280 Similar to RIM everyone called them therefore will certainly appeal to existing x 768 and 356 PPI and 24-bit colour depth. The BlackBerry. Blackberry users. However, the chal- screen size is at 4.2-inches with an aspect ratio of But I for one will miss the RIM name lenge for the company will be to attract 15:9. Running BB10 with Link it enables a PC to because it suited the company very well. new users and those that have already synchronize data and media. Inside the smartphone It was a company built by researchers moved to alternative smartphones. is a Dual Core 1.5GHz chip with memory of up to who developed a mobility product for a And, Leach is right. That will be the 2GB of RAM and 16GM of Flash. The battery life fast paced world. challenge for sure but I think BlackBerry is up to 10 hours talk time on 3G and 13 days on RIM today is a different company and really did its homework this time by standby. The rear camera is 8 MP, while the front several of its founders are either gone adding Skype along with hundreds of 2MP. BlackBerry Balance keeps work and personal or not fully involved in the operation. I others apps. Skype is a must as people data separate and secure. It does come with NFC thought it was smart move to re-invent today use Skype to communicate per- called Tag that will enable communication between themselves in a way as BlackBerry. sonally as well as professionally. BlackBerry and other NFC-enabled devices. The brand change also puts to bed all Leach agreed saying BlackBerry has those rumours of the company either rightly focused on insuring that the BlackBerry Q10 Device selling off its handsets or licensing its BB10 devices have a large catalogue of BlackBerry Q10 weights slightly more than Z10 at OS. They are BlackBerry and a Black- content and applications which is now 139 g. It has a 3.1-inch, 720 x 720 at 330 PPI dis- Berry is a smartphone with an OS. See essential for any modern smartphone, play. The keyboard is a 35-key physical QWERTY what I mean? and achieving 70,000 apps at the keyboard. It too runs BB 10 and has memory of Here is what I like from BB10 launch. launch of a new platform is good start. 2 GB RAM with 16 GB Flash. The chip inside is a The ability to run several apps at once is Heins and BlackBerry did a lot of Dual Core 1.5 GHz. The camera is an 8 mega-pixel a big breakthrough. You have to hand it things right today, but Leach’s conclu- rear facing camera with auto focus and a 5-time to BlackBerry here because today’s user sion is that BlackBerry will certainly digital zoom. It will also have 1080p HD video and the next generation of users will be attract short-term interest from exist- recording and LED flash. The front facing camera able to handle multiple apps with the ing users the company will struggle to is a 2 mega-pixel shooter and it has 720p HD video speed of light. Email preview was smart appeal to a wider audience and in the recording. The GPS similar to Z10. There is NFC to for business users. The camera that long-term will become a niche player in support mobile payments and file exchange. takes multiple shots is great. the smartphone market. computerdealernews.com February 2013 7 news Analysis & Insight

(GBS) has been using Notes 9 for more than a month and is working IBM tries to resurrect to integrate its software solutions with IBM’s new wares. “The e-mail integration is much Lotus products for more streamlined,” says Michael Stoltz, vice-president of expert ser- vices for GBS, based in Markham, channel opportunity Ont. “The user interface is some- thing I think people are really going to like.” A platinum sponsor With the Lotus brand dropped, IBM is hoping its partner network can at IBM Connect, GBS shouldn’t help get the word out about newly-released Notes 9 and Domino 9 have too much trouble marketing the new Domino server to its client base. Some users have hundreds, by Brian Jackson tions at IBM. “E-mail has transi- or even thousands, of applications [email protected] tioned and transformed with all its running on the server platform, social elements and has to be a key Stoltz says. Now it will be easier IBM’s channel partner com- to transition those applications to munity will play an important part an XPages Web format (an IBM in rolling out the first major ver- format that allows Lotus files to be sions of Notes and Domino in five easily displayed on mobile devices) years, according to IBM executives. without migrating legacy servers IBM Notes 9 and Domino 9 to a new platform. “Those plat- are currently in beta and will be forms are so difficult to move off of released to market in March, IBM without spending loads of money,” Corp. announced at its IBM Con- Stoltz explains. nect conference in Orlando. This IBM partners as social business conference was formerly Lotus solutions’ program will benefit the Sphere, an event dedicated to the most from moving Big Blue’s new partner community and serving Sandy Carter, IBM's VP of social business software. The initiative offers those its technical needs. Now it’s more certified a chance to earn 15 to 20 focused on marketing products part of the core business partner per cent above standard margins and to customers, but the Lotus line community,” she said. technical training opportunities. of products are still important to IBM counts more than 36,000 Still, despite claims of a prema- IBM. general business customers among ture obituary for e-mail, there are Its Q4 earnings released Jan. 22 its client base, and it reaches many not many new customers moving show Lotus software is up nine of them through partners. More to Notes and Domino servers, ac- per cent year-over-year. The new than 1,200 partners filed into cording to Alan Lepofsky, analyst version is built to integrate IBM partner-day sessions on day one, with Constellation Research. Connections, the social layer of to get a good look at what’s com- Domino is a very capable server, software that IBM is using as its ing down the pipes in Notes and but Microsoft Outlook long ago centrepiece for a vision of the so- Domino 9. But it wasn’t the first won out over Notes as a preferred cial enterprise. look for many premium business e-mail client. Plus, more firms are “E-mail is not dead,” says Sandy partners that have already been moving away from hosting its own Carter, vice-president of social working with the beta versions. e-mail infrastructure and moving business and collaboration solu- Group Business Software Corp. to the cloud.

8 February 2013 computerdealernews.com news

Microsoft “considering” bringing Surface Pro to reseller channel

The Surface RT and Pro will be face – direct from Microsoft only, to install any Windows 8 applica- available through retail, but the through its web site and Microsoft- tion, will launch in Canada Feb. 9. reseller channel is still under branded stores – for one primary Barber confirms that it too will be consideration reason: demand. available through the same retail “We’d sowed a lot of interest and channels. by Jeff Jedras there was a very limited number While the Surface RT is more [email protected] of places for consumers to get consumer-focused, the Surface Pro Surface,” said Barber. Microsoft’s is a good fit for business and would Microsoft Corp. made a shift first (and currently only) store in give Microsoft partners another de- in distribution strategy earlier Canada just opened late last year. vice to offer their customers look- this month when it announced “So we expanded the number of ing for a tablet solution. However, its Surface RT tablet would now locations in Canada dramatically Barber said they’re not announcing be available through select retail by adding Future Shop, Best Buy channel distribution for the Sur- channels in Canada, and a compa- and Staples, and certainly they face Pro. At least not yet. ny executive confirms the upcom- were asking for it. People were “The only expansion we’ve done ing Surface Pro tablet will also sell coming into their stores and asking now beyond the Microsoft store through retail. As for the reseller for Surface.” is just to those (retail) partners,” channel, not just yet. The Surface RT, which runs said Barber. “We’ve gotten a lot In an interview with CDN, the lighter version of Windows of feedback from partners and Greg Barber, vice-president of and only allows users to run apps we’re absolutely considering that the consumer channels group for downloaded from Microsoft’s feedback but we have nothing to Microsoft Canada, confirmed the app store, launched last fall. The communicate right now. But it’s vendor shifted course on its initial Surface Pro, which runs the full encouraging, all the demand we’ve distribution strategy for the Sur- Windows 8 OS and will allow users been getting.” computerdealernews.com February 2013 9 news Analysis & Insight

Microsoft tries to re-invent Office The new Office will be opti- least 60 minutes per month. retailers across Canada on the new mized for touch and for a multi- The subscription price for Office Office business model. device world 365 Home Premium is $99.99 per Jason Brommet, Microsoft Of- year and that gets you five licenses fice Group Manager told CDN by Paolo Del Nibletto for home use. The Office 365 that solution providers and retail- [email protected] University package is $79.99 for a ers should look at the new Office four-year subscription. as a “basket of goods”. “If I sell Toronto – In a makeshift dome “Individuals and families are us- one copy of Office; I’ll get this structure built specifically for ing more devices then ever before. much margin, but on a PC or a the launch of Office in Canada, These people want to be better tablet my margin stretches and Microsoft Canada president Max connected to family members and multiplies." Long said the re-invention of they want to carry their documents Brommet added that another Office-as-a-Service will impact with them as well as stay connect- successful add-on could be acces- billions of users along with chan- ed on Skype,” Long said. sories and data plans with 3G. nel partners and retailers. Since Office has been re-invent- Microsoft will have new chan- The new Office comes in many ed, Microsoft is also working to nel incentives for Office-as-a- flavours, namely Office 365 Home position its channel partners and Service. Premium, Office 365 University, Office Home and Student 2013, Of- caught on tape fice Home and Business 2013 and Office Professional 2013. Office 365 for Business to be released in Canada on Feb. 27th. What makes these versions of Office different from the previous iterations is that they have all been designed as a cloud service and for users with multi-devices. To- day’s Office productivity suite can be accessed by five devices includ- ing Windows 8 touch-enabled tab- lets, PCs and even Macs. The new versions of Office will come with 20 GB of extra storage through SkyDrive and Skype calling of at

10 February 2013 computerdealernews.com infographic Canadian parents rely on technology to help raise their families. Do you?

84% of Canadian parents agree that technology allows families to stay better connected. Four in Five Parents believe that technology allows families to be better organized

Half of Canadian families use email to keep their family organized

Four in Five Parents have used a computer, tablet One in Two or smartphone to create digital parents believe their lives have photo albums or scrapbooks 75% of Canadian families, grown more complex over the with family now download music, movies, past three years, saying they and/or games from the web depend on modern technology more than ever. SOURCE: MICROSOFT computerdealernews.com February 2013 11 editorial opinions on the channel Dell going private might mean a PC exit Taking Dell private is a move Mi- By going Private Dell does not have come out of this transition stronger chael Dell had to do if his vision to deal with that anymore. If success- ... there will be uncertainty as to of an IT solutions company is to ful Dell will enter a new chapter says what products and services stay, become a reality. Carter Lusher, chief IT analyst at get strengthen, or get eliminated, market research firm Ovum. Lusher added. Lusher says this deal makes sense And what might go is the PC the editor’s note as the company is in the midst business. PC is what made Dell Paolo Del nibletto of a wrenching transition from a successful in the first place. I cer- [email protected] supplier of commodity hardware, tainly understand that PCs are not mainly traditional PCs, to being profit centres anymore but if Dell I remember when I interviewed a supplier of enterprise-grade IT gets out of PCs it will be a mis- Terry Mathews of Mitel Networks infrastructure. Dell’s ambition is take. Dell is not IBM. IBM did not and how he hated dealing with nothing less than offering the entire become successful because of PCs. shareholders. Shareholders are in- IT stack with supporting services. They had 60 plus years of comput- terested in two things: maintaining A significant risk likely to face Dell ing success before it launched the and enhancing shareholder value. during this transition is that enter- IBM PC in 1981. Dell can’t say And, sometimes shareholders get prises and public sector organiza- that. Dell wants to be more than in the way of building and operat- tions cut back on their purchases a PC vendor and they can, but ing a company properly. CEOs “until the dust settles.” they will need to hold on to and are forced to make decisions for “The implication of going pri- improve PC devices. These devices the short term that may negatively vate is that Dell is planning radical will bring stickiness with custom- impact the long term future of the changes to its strategy and product ers because lets face it people don’t company. roadmap. While the company might stare at servers all day.

TWITTERSPHERE

BlackBerry gets into the treatment to British drivers along fast lane when it comes to coverage with covering them more than other of the launch of BB10 on Twit- drivers on the Formula 1 circuit. ter. How else can you explain why BlackBerry believes that by splash- Formula 1 driving champion Lewis ing its logo all over Hamilton it may Hamilton tweeting about the new capture a lot more attention for the BlackBerry? company. Well, RIM or should I say Black- There were other tweets about Berry is sponsoring Mercedes new creative director Alicia Keys Formula 1 team. You should know singing at the Super Bowl and twit- that the U.K. is BlackBerry second ter users also liked the BlackBerry largest market by sales. Hamilton, Super Bowl ad better than the who is British don’t you know, will Samsung ad until the lights went have BlackBerry all over his racing off of course. car and his racing suit. The British Here are some other tweets about auto racing press gives preferential BlackBerry 10 including a funny

12 February 2013 computerdealernews.com editorial

keting push is going to need more that just Alicia Keys. For BlackBerry, now it’s Based on everything I’ve seen so far, I think they can do it. But about the execution besides execution, they’re going to have one more key challenge: expec- tations. They need to ensure people It would have been ideal to have keep their expectations in check. indirect insights jeff jedras the phone available there at launch BlackBerry’s turnaround won’t [email protected] as well, but building anticipation come overnight. It’s going to take has always worked for Apple, after persistent effort; Apple’s iOS is too The long awaited launch late last all. Those that have gotten their dominant and Google’s Android month by Research In Motion – hands on the device are singing its too pervasive, and Microsoft’s Win- excuse me, by BlackBerry – of its praises. And for the BlackBerry dows Phone 8 can’t be ignored. new BlackBerry 10 OS and Z10 purists, the Q10 with the physical Analysts and investors will need smartphone hit all the right notes, keyboard expected this spring can’t to be patient, something they and is generating a lot of positive come soon enough. haven’t often been with BlackBerry. buzz in the market. Maintaining this momentum Which is why I still think they As CEO Thorsten Heins noted will be hard work, however. While should consider following Dell’s in his remarks though, this isn’t the Apple can focus on the consumer lead and go private. With less inves- finish line for the Waterloo, Ont.- market alone, BlackBerry needs to tor scrutiny, BlackBerry would have based smartphone maker; it’s just fight a two-front war: the consumer the elbow room to develop and the starting point. Now, it’s about and the enterprise. They need to execute a long-term strategy that the execution. grow and support their channels to doesn’t need to pay off overnight. Early sales of the Z10 in Canada support both markets, and en- A resurgent BlackBerry won’t ever and the UK appear to be record- courage the developer community dominate the smartphone market breaking, which will only build to ramp-up app development as like it once did. At least with BB10, buzz in the important U.S. market. quickly as possible. And the mar- it’s definitely back in the game.

one from comedian Zac Galifianakis My first experience with my THIS I believe: BlackBerry 10: of The Hangover fame. new BlackBerry Z10. Welcome Forget about the phone - it's to the team guys. the OS that really counts. BlackBerry CEO says patents Lewis Hamilton@LewisHamilton Rob Woodbridge@RobWoodbridge have become "weapons" in an international arms race that cost Apple and Google have Noth- Apple and Blackberry should $30-billion in courtroom costs last ing to Fear From BlackBerry team up and make a phone year. I truly believe that BlackBerry 10, But Microsoft Does. called the Pie. 10 brings something entirely differ- CIO.com@CIOonline Zac Galifianakis@ZacGalifianakis ent to the market, BlackBerry CEO  Heins says. I've had a BlackBerry 10 Matt Hartley@thehartley for only 8 hours, and it is  going to change everything about BlackBerry Z10 “Off to a Bet- smartphones...you heard it here Follow Computer Dealer ter Start Than Lumia 920”. first. News on Twitter. Walt Mossberg@waltmossberg Patrick Bryden@pjbryden @CompDealerNews computerdealernews.com February 2013 13 feature report the cdn debate series

Selling technology or business outcomes

The CDN Debate CDN hosts prominent executives in the solution The debate questions are: provider channel to debate the issues affecting the Canadian Channel With the lack of resources most solution provider’s 1 face today; is there an easy way to obtain the right Today’s customer has no tolerance for downtime. This has led certifications for their business? to customers preferring to work and collaborate with solution providers who have the most up-to-date technical certifica- How can certifications increase a solution tions. These certifications are like gold as they declare that 2 provider’s sales and ultimately profits? specified requirements pertaining to product, solutions, new business process or management systems have been met. Training can be a double-edged sword. It takes This CDN debate will provide you with the answers you 3 vital staff away from money making services to get are looking for and will give you the insight you need for your trained on new technology solutions which are not yet specific customers projects. billable. How can you overcome that? Adis Tucakovic, the Advanced Infrastructure Practice Lead at Microsoft Gold partner Navantis Inc. and the vice president What the best strategy to expand the skill set of technology services for FusionOne John Abate. Both have 4 for high margin products such as storage and extensive expertise in this area. services?

14 February 2013 computerdealernews.com feature report

making sense of certification

John Abate Adis Tucakovic, Vice President, Technology the Advanced Infrastructure Services , FusionOne Inc. Practice Lead, Navantis Inc.

John Abate is responsible for managing, developing and Adis Tucakovic is a strong business and technical leader with implementing FusionOne’s corporate strategy in all areas of twelve years of progressive experience in IT Consulting, Sales Professional Services and services to its customer base. and Management roles with hands-on technical and program FusionOne provides traditional infrastructure and managed management experience. He provides delivery and execution services focusing on core business units into a broad market excellence leadership for Navantis’s Infrastructure, Cloud and segment. Productivity service lines, while working with the leadership Abate has more than 25 years of experience in the IT team to define the long term strategy for delivering innova- and professional services industry. During this time, he has tive technology solutions to critical business problems. Adis held numerous positions in executive, management, senior comes to us having spent 7 years at Microsoft and CGI in project and program management and business consulting. various services, sales and leadership roles. Before joining FusionOne, Abate was co-president of Infinity Adis is an accredited Microsoft Certified Master in Exchange Technologies Inc. a leading solutions provider where he was Server, Microsoft IT Professional - Enterprise Administrator and responsible for the services and operations of the company. Technology Specialist in SharePoint and Lync Server.

computerdealernews.com February 2013 15 Markets Opportunties for Solution Providers

One of the stumbling blocks for Users or Devices: What’s solution providers is which ap- proach to use. Currently, there are only two feasible approaches: an the right BYOD approach? end user centric and one based on devices. The Vanson Bourne study on Solution providers and custom- senior executive who was forced global BYOD adoption, which was ers give their opinion on which to use a pad and pen for his released in January, confirmed that way to go first month on the job because of the close to 1,500 global organi- the slow moving IT department zations surveyed that implemented by Paolo Del Nibletto hadn’t yet issued him a company BYOD that these are the only two [email protected] notebook. And, then when he methods being used. got it the notebook did not have So which one is right for your The alarming Bring Your Own PowerPoint. company or organizations? Device (BYOD) trend has made Then there is the story of the re- Of those surveyed in the Van- for many funny and not so funny luctant CIO who does not want to son Bourne study, 70 per cent stories. put his neck on the line and rollout of organizations believe BYOD can improve their work processes BYOD IS RESULTING IN and help them work better in the future – this is just 45 per cent INCREASED COMPLEXITY among those disciplining against BYOD, but reaches 86 per cent Securing applications 57% among those organizations who took a user-centric approach to Endpoint security 57% BYOD. Similarly while 64 per Data compliance 53% cent of all organizations believe BYOD can help them meet Data recovery for mobile devices 53% corporate goals more effectively, views differ by maturity; just 41 Identity management 53% per cent of the least mature group sees this as true, compared to Application access management on a user-by-user 50% 86 per cent of the most mature Provisioning devices on a user-by-user basis 49% group. Napier told the story of a BYOD: Putting Users First Produces Biggest Gains, Fewest Setbacks a Vanson Bourne survey Canadian CIO who was strug- gling with the delicate balance of making employees happy and Did you hear the one of the BYOD in case it fails. gaining a sense of control over CIO of the Canadian Revenue All these true stories have led to BYOD. What this CIO did was Agency not permitting Apple slow adoption of BYOD in Can- engage with leading edge users in iPads in his department only to be ada. According to IDC Canada’s his company. Napier added most shocked to see many of this staff Krista Napier, 44 per cent of of these employees tended to be using them? Canadian companies have no plans Or how about the newly hired for BYOD. Continued on page 17

16 February 2013 computerdealernews.com markets

Continued from page 16 Intel introduces Flex+ younger but not all were. The channel program CIO would allow these staffers to test out new devices and apps Chip making giant develops an ary role in the channel, Allen said. and give him feedback on which open program for all types of One of the reasons behind this worked best for the company. solution providers shift in philosophy for Intel is that “This strategy enabled employees the company witnessed customers to feel closer to the company and by Paolo Del Nibletto acquiring technology form resellers the company end up getting bet- [email protected] in a hybrid fashion. Customers in ter tools in place that keep other the last five years consistently pur- people engaged,” she said of the Intel Canada has broadened its chased custom-built solutions for CIO’s end results. position with the channel and has servers and desktops but provided Trent Dilkie, the vice president created a new program called Flex+ branded mobility products for of information technology at to reflect this change. employees. Mississauga, Ont.-based solution With Flex+, the Toronto- “We took a step back and provider Gibraltar Solutions, said based company will no looked at it and said ‘we do customers are getting “blind-sided” longer limit itself in the not have a way to speak to because staff is used to accessing channel. David Allen, the that marketplace and that’s technology for free because of the North American director wrong’”. With CloverTrail cloud. of distribution, channel on the market, Intel made “They want that same experi- and DMR for Intel, told the decision they needed to ence and it does not work that CDN that it will include speak to the entire market, way for most companies because all types of partners such Allen said. David Allen, Intel NA they are governed by rules. That as solution providers, director of channel and “There was a channel model is not working any more system integrators and of DMRs conference last year and I and the challenge is how to you course system builders. met up with a reseller ex- reign in all those things and still Flex+ will reward channel partners ecutive that I had not seen in a few provide services that are on par with points that they can accumu- years. He told me that he did not with what’s out there externally,” late through CPU purchases on build systems anymore. When I ask Dilkie said. its own and inside brand systems. why he was still attending the show The Vanson Bourne study con- These points can be redeemed he said that it would be the only way cluded that by serving the user for demonstration programs from he could talk to Intel. That reso- rather than just focusing on man- top OEM players such as Lenovo, nated with me,” Allen added. aging devices, organizations can Acer, Dell, Asus, HP and others. This means Intel Canada going reap rewards in the areas of data The program will run through top forward will be dealing with many security and increased productiv- flight distributors in Canada such more solution providers. Under the ity, but also in the areas of employ- as Ingram Micro, Tech Data, Syn- old system, Intel Canada handled ee productivity, customer satisfac- nex, D&H Canada and Supercom. between 800 and 900 partners. In tion/retention and others such as Allen called this move by Intel Flex+ Allen expects that number to reducing IT costs. a fundamental shift for the com- balloon up to 2,000. Dilkie said one of the main ben- pany. “We are coming from an arms Allen also wanted to note that efits of BYOD is you push support length to an arms around the whole the new Flex+ channel program costs down to the employee. “They channel with this program,” he said. does not mean in any way that In- take care of the devices them- Flex+ will help Intel to position tel is walking away from the system selves,” he said. itself as an agnostic almost vision- builder community. computerdealernews.com February 2013 17 Deals case studies Subaru gets into the fast lane through Microsoft Lync

Toronto solution provider helps productivity better,” he said. marketing for Subaru Canada, said automobile manufacturer com- As an example, when Subaru’s it’s hard to put a dollar figure in municate better with its dealer Parts department would get an terms of ROI. Lync also reduces network email it did not necessarily mean travel costs. Before Lync it was there was a response coming right necessary to travel all across the by Paolo Del Nibletto away. “With Lync’s Presence tech- country, sometimes with cars. To- [email protected] nology a Subaru staffer can see if day through Lync the company can the parts guys are active because connect for sales meetings, training Mississauga, Ont. – For an au- the system would show a green session or ad hoc meetings, Lalka tomotive manufacturer you would light. I can call Joe because he’s added. think its all about the chase, but for there and say is there this part for “Today’s corporation currency Subaru Canada they want to elimi- this car? He says yes and now that is wasted time. With this solution, nate the chase for all of its dealer task is done,” Papadopoulos said. Subaru gets access to information networks through Microsoft Lync. He added that if Joe in the Parts quicker. They will get that sales The way Subaru ran its operation department had a yellow light it quote quicker, they get back to in Canada would be traditional would mean that he is not avail- the customer quicker and if that is to most other mid-market type able. Then the Subaru staffer could two hours of time savings a week companies who have an extensive look for other Parts employees who multiplied by 500 users; that’s a dealer network. The company are in green. pretty decent ROI,” Popadopou- used its phone and email systems Ted Lalka, VP of planning and los said. to communicate with its 88 deal- ers spread across the country. The caught on tape problem was that Subaru never knew if the email or phone mes- sage was ever retrieved or if the person was even there leading to lost productivity. That’s the chase that Andy Popa- dopoulos, vice president of solu- tion provider Navantis, is trying to eliminate from customer workflow. According to Papadopoulos, employees spend roughly 50 per cent of his or her time getting information from other people on staff. “You spend most of the day chasing people. If you can get to people quicker it will make your

18 February 2013 computerdealernews.com product review New Products in the Channel

Impressive specs and some surprises on BlackBerry Z10

and a power button on the top. There’s a micro USB port to connect with your computer or charge the device, and a micro HDMI port to connect to a monitor. Under the hood, you’ll see a long bat- ter that is advertised as lasting up to 10 hours of talk time. There’s also your SIM card and a micro SD card slot for expanding your storage. We saw most of the BlackBerry 10 features in our review of the alpha software. But there’s a couple of new tricks to know about. Evernote users will by Brian Jackson Again, that’s up to spec with the iPhone 5. appreciate the service is integrated into [email protected] This BlackBerry feels good in the hand. BlackBerry 10. Just add your Evernote Its textured back panel has a rubber-like account in the phone’s settings menu. BlackBerry 10 is finally here. The feel and provides good grip. At 137 grams, it Then you’ll find your notes in the Black- new operating system from the company feels light to hold. Its also very thin and has Berry Remember app. that introduced us to smartphones. And curved edges to fit nicely into your palm. There’s also Story Maker. This app al- we have the first hardware release for the There’s no buttons on the front of the lows you to combine movies, photos, and BlackBerry revamp - the BlackBerry Z10. phone. Just a volume rocker on the side music for a multimedia presentation. The Z10 might has been in develop- ment for a long time. But its specs are caught on tape up to par with the current generation of smartphones. Take the screen for example. Its got a high resolution of 1280 by 768. The pixel density is 356 pixels per inch. Not only is that better than the iPhone 5, it is just as good as your laptop’s resolution. The Z10 is tuned for speed. The processor is a speedy dual core 1.5 gigahertz. That’s as fast as any other smartphone on the market. It has 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of flash memory. The rear camera has auto-focus and renders 8 megapixel images or 1080p video recording. The front camera for videoconferencing supports 720p video. computerdealernews.com February 2013 19 close -up Question & answer BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins mounts a comeback

Selected Quotes from the CEO of years ago we had to make a very serious cinematic experience with this screen. BlackBerry during the BB10 event decision: adopt someone else’s platform The back of the device offers a textured or build a whole new one for the ground surface that makes it really comfortable “We have definitely been on a up for BlackBerry. We made the tough to hold. And the back cover curls ever so journey of transformation. A journey to call to go it alone.” slightly around the edge that it just feels transform not only our business good holding it in your hand.” and our brand, but one which I truly believe will transform mobile “This device aggregates informa- communications into true mobile tion for me intuitively. It adapts computing.” to me, and makes me even more efficient.” “It’s been almost one year exactly since I was handed the reins at Re- “I’ve also been testing the Black- search in Motion. And it has been Berry Q10. This is the first Black- easily the most challenging year of Berry 10 smartphone with a physi- my career to date. But it has also cal keyboard, and we know there is been, by far, the most exhilarating a lot of physical keyboard lovers out BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins with Alicia Keys and the most rewarding.” there. Right? We hard you loud and clear; here it is!” “Today is actually not the finish line. It’s “From this point forward, RIM becomes the starting line.” BlackBerry! It is one brand. It is one “We’ve taken an extraordinary step by promise. Our customer use a BlackBerry. creating a new position at BlackBerry: “We’ve seen the industry move from nar- Our employees work for BlackBerry. And a global creative director position. We row band to broadband; from analogue our shareholders are owners of Black- wanted someone at the top of her field, to digital. And now we intend, at RIM, Berry. From today on, we are BlackBerry well respected, immensely creative to lead the move from mobile commu- everywhere in the world!” and very talented. We needed someone nications to mobile computing. To true who incorporates technology and con- mobile computing.” “Ladies and gentlemen, we proudly pres- nectivity into her day to day work. She ent the BlackBerry Z10 and the Black- is a 40-time Grammy Award-winning “You will be in your own Internet of Berry Q10! Powered by the platform singer-songwriter, an author, a film and things, constantly connected to all BlackBerry 10. Aren’t they beautiful?” theatre producer, a world renowned your information in real time. This is philantrophist, and one of the top 30 what being connected will mean in the “We knew that a large display was people in the world on Twitter. A wife future.” important, because this is the window and a mother, an original BlackBerry into the BlackBerry 10 experience. power user coming back to BlackBerry. “Just saying we’ve reinvented this com- And we made sure, by using the latest She’s BlackBerry’s new global creative pany is not enough. Today represents a screen technology, the images are clear, director, please welcome Mrs. Alicia new day in the history of BlackBerry. Two sharp and incredibly vivid. We created a Keys!”

20 February 2013 computerdealernews.com of the BeCDN, the voice Partof Canada’s IT channel community for moreA-List! than a quarter century, is proud to present our annual ranking of the Top 100 highest revenue-generating solution providers in Canada. The Top 100 Solutionof Providers theof programtheof of theis morethe than just a list of best-in-class channelBeCDN, players. the voice CDN, Our Partof Canada’s themandate voice IT of ischannel Canada’s to promote community IT channel successful for community moreA-List! solutionthan for a quarter more provider than century, a organizationsquarter is proud century, ofis proud BeCDN, the voice PartofBeCDN, Canada’sBe the voice IT channel Partof Canada’sPart community IT channel for more communityA-List! than a quarter for more A-List!century, thanA-List! a isquarter proud century, is proud to presentall sizesto presentour and annualto specialties our presentto rankingannual present our rankingof and annual ourthe toannualTop of rankingspotlight the100 ranking Top highest of 100 thethe of highestrevenue-generatingTop thenew 100Top breed revenue-generating highest100 highest of revenue-generatingIT businesssolution revenue-generating solution providers partners providerssolution solutioncoming providers providers into in Canada.the marketin Canada. The Topplace.in Canada.The 100in TopCanada. Solution 100The SolutionTop TheProviders 100Top ProvidersSolution100 program Solution Providers program is Providersmore programisthan more program just than isa morelist justis of more thanabest-in-class list than justof best-in-class ajust list a of list best-in-class of best-in-class channelchannel players. players. channelOur channelmandate Ourplayers. mandate players. is to Our promote mandateOuris to mandate promote successful is to ispromotesuccessful to solution promote successful solution provider successful providersolution organizations solution organizationsprovider provider of organizations organizations of of of all sizes and specialtiesall sizes and and specialties to spotlight and the to newspotlight breed the of newIT business breed of partners IT business coming partners into coming into all CDNsizes andranks specialties Canada’sall sizes and and Top to specialties 100spotlight highest theand revenue-generatingnew to spotlight breed of the IT businessnew breedsolution partners of ITproviders. business coming A partnersinto ranking coming means… into the marketthe place.marketthe place. marketthe market place. place.

CDN• ranksIndustry-wideCDN Canada’s ranksCDN Canada’s Top CDNrecognitionranks 100 ranks Canada’s Tophighest 100Canada’s revenue-generatinghighest Top 100Top revenue-generating highest100 highest revenue-generating solution revenue-generating solutionproviders. providers. solution A ranking solution providers. A means…ranking providers. Ameans… ranking A ranking means… means… • Accredited business referral • •Industry-wide End• Industry-wideuser recognition•exposure Industry-wide• recognitionIndustry-wide recognition recognition • •Accredited Supported• Accredited business• editoriallyAccredited •business referralAccredited referralbusiness business referral referral • End user• End exposure user• exposureEnd• userEnd userexposure exposure • Supported• Supported editorially• Supported •editorially Supported editorially editorially Visit www.itbusiness.ca/top100 for more information on how your company can rank among the VisitTop www.itbusiness.ca/top100 100.Visit www.itbusiness.ca/top100 GetVisit on thewww.itbusiness.ca/top100Visit List!www.itbusiness.ca/top100 for more for information more informationfor onmore for how more information youron informationhow company your on howcompany oncan howyour rank yourcompanycan among rankcompany the amongcan rankcan the rankamong among the the Top 100.Top Get 100. on the GetTop List! on100.Top the 100.Get List! onGet the on List! the List! Get on the list APPLICATION DEADLINE IS MARCH 13, 2013 Get on the Getlist on the list APPLICATIONAPPLICATIONAPPLICATION DEADLINEAPPLICATION DEADLINE IS DEADLINE MARCH DEADLINE IS MARCH 13, IS MARCH2013IS 13, MARCH 2013 13, 13, 2013Get 2013 on the listGet on the list

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22 February 2013 computerdealernews.com