Good week/Bad week

We examine who's been stellar and who's had a stinker over the past seven days

Good week

HP PSG partners
The IT giant has apparently dropped plans to sell off its PSG division, to the delight of its PC-pushing partners.
The whole “will they, won’t they” sell-up saga reached (something of) a conclusion last week, after the hardware giant told partners that PSG is unlikely to be sold off now for tax reasons.
The firm is still entertaining the idea of spinning the division off, a well-placed partner told us, but a final decision will not be made until the
HP board votes in two months’ time. Crikey, talk about dragging it out.

OYYY
Staff at online reseller OYYY must have been made to feel about as welcome as a fart in a phone box during their firm’s brief ownership by one of the UK’s largest distributors. Micro-P inherited OYYY through its acquisition of Advent Data in March, but was never really going to hold on to a business that competed with its resellers. Six months on and OYYY staff now have that warm and fuzzy feeling again after becoming part of QC Supplies, a £50m reseller based in Halifax. A good solution for all, although critics have questioned why Micro-P didn’t get rid sooner.

Holding your nerve
A host of channel players – including Peach Telecom, Block Solutions, ANS Group, Orange Information Systems and Onyx – all made the cut on this year’s Tech Track list.
Growing a business is hard enough at any time, but doing so during the worst recession in living memory deserves special praise. All the successful firms we spoke to sounded the same philosophy: investment is key.
The channel may be characterised by many as being full of wideboys and silver-tongued entrepreneurs, but the mantra of the ultimate wheeler-dealer rings true here: he who dares, wins.

Bad week

Microsoft LARs
Some of Microsoft’s volume licensing partners are losing patience with the software giant after the launch date for its shiny new deal registration tool was pushed back a second time.
Its introduction was originally set to coincide with a wider overhaul of Microsoft’s LAR programme on 1 October. Now Microsoft has ’fessed up and admitted it won’t be ready until March. Still, it’s better to get a full dinner out late than serve up something half-baked.

Android-based tablets
Everybody wanted to buy a tablet PC during the second quarter of 2011, screamed IT know-it-alls IDC last week.
And by tablet PCs, they meant Apple iPads, as Q2 shipments of Android devices failed to meet the analyst’s lofty expectations.
This was despite the efforts of Acer, Asus and some other A-named vendor to disrupt the Apple cart by rolling out new Android-powered products.
Android should not let this get them down though, as everyone knows robots top apples in IT logo Top Trumps.

IT in schools
Last week’s BESA report found that the vast majority of UK schools feel there is little or no top-down strategy from the government on how to acquire and implement ICT. Schools, therefore, are setting their own technology agenda, with seemingly mixed results.
The stark facts are that schools are facing big budget cuts when many are already under-equipped with key technologies. Worrying times for schools and the firms that supply them.