Good week/Bad week
We look at who's been on fire and who's getting shot down in flames in the last seven days
Good week
McAfee partners
The security giant was in romantic mood this week as it professed its dedication to the channel and sought to reignite the flame of passion in its relationships with VARs.
The vendor held its first EMEA reseller summit in six years in the perennially popular channel haunt of the Costa del Sol. Regional boss man Gert-Jan Schenk claimed that, when he joined McAfee in 2010, the firm's channel reputation was in need of some repair.
"Partners wanted to see more of us," said the EMEA exec.
Elsewhere in Marbs (as I believe the kids call it), channel bigwig David Small claimed any uncertainty among channel partners about their McAfee marriage following the Intel buyout is now over, and opportunities with joint products lie ahead.
Here's hoping the loved-up mood remained if and when channel execs descended on school disco night at Javier O'Reilly's Irish Bar.
Scottish IT pros
With just one of the UK's 100 biggest VARs based north of the border, Caledonia can be a pretty lonely land for technology channel professionals. Any nomadic server salesmen or software engineers operating around the UK's most northern hinterlands must certainly feel like they're a long way from Bracknell.
But IT professionals on the other side of Hadrian's Wall were boosted this week by news that storage integrator Proact is to create 50 jobs in Belshill, North Lanarkshire. The Swedish player - which landed in this country with its acquisition of B2Net - is on the hunt for experienced consultants, as well as 15 wide-eyed graduates.
Edge7
Staff at reseller Edge7 pulled off the channel equivalent of winning the lottery last week when they successfully sold their young firm for up to £3.8m.
OK, so luck had nothing to do with it, but the owners of the security reseller will net a jackpot-esque £0.8m upfront and up to a further £3m next year after agreeing a deal with buy-and-build juggernaut Accumuli. This is despite only coming into existence in early 2011.
Edge7's impressive client base and skills in the SIEM market were enough to convince Accumuli to splash its cash. Although its owners may be tempted to head straight to Barbados, Edge7 must hit profits of £550,000 next year to ensure they land their bounty.
Bad week
Chameleon
Security VAR Chameleon's seven-year existence ended with a whimper rather than a bang as the firm was quietly liquidated.
Having suffered cashflow difficulties for some months, the Farnborough-based firm had hoped to find a buyer but talks with several of its competitors fell through. In the end, none of Chameleon's assets could be sold and creditors have been told they are unlikely to see any return on their losses. A sad end for a firm that once harboured bold growth ambitions.
Anti-virus
The threat of "weaponised" malware such as Flame means anti-virus software is yesterday's man, if its detractors are to be believed. For anyone who's not been on the planet for a while, Flame is an extremely nasty strain of malware that can eavesdrop on conversations on the machines it infects.
The fact it evaded detection from 43 anti-virus tools did not escape the notice of Ross Brewer, managing director of security vendor LogRhythm, for one. "This is unacceptable in this day and age, and acts as solid proof that traditional perimeter defences such as anti-virus software just aren't enough," was his harsh judgement. But to be honest, we can't see a $3bn market disappearing overnight.
Tablets (no, really)
Signs were this week that the golden-haired child of the IT industry, the tablet PC, might finally be growing into a gawky, acne-afflicted teenager.
Canalys figures last month showed shipment growth in Q1 was beginning to plateau. Worse news for the tactile form factor came last week from IMS Research, which found that ASPs showed a 21 per cent year-on-year decline in Q1 and now stand at $386.
If anyone wants to get shot of their iPad before all tablets inevitably go the way of netbooks, Betamax machines and MiniDisc players, the ChannelWeb newsdesk will generously take it off your hands for £20.