Feeling feisty: The stories that got you talking in 2014
We look back on some of the news which got tongues wagging this year
The channel is certainly not short of people with opinions - and they are not afraid to shout about them! We have taken a look back at some of the news stories which got tongues wagging this year...
Satya Nadella's gaffe on women's pay
Microsoft's chief executive Satya Nadella put his foot in it in October when he suggested women should not actively ask for a pay rise but should instead rely on karma to get what they deserve. His comments prompted a US feminist group to call for his head, and some people in the channel could not resist piping up either.
"Poor Nadella, he sure put his foot in it, albeit unintentionally," commented Appirition. "I looked at the transcript of his discussion and by no means was his intention to derogate women in any way. However, if he stuck to his guns and had not backtracked, people might have seen it in the context it was meant, but his backtracking prompted the hooha.
"Personally I don't have a problem with equal work and equal pay, but women who want to be men, should just make an application to reclassify themselves as men. A lot of women want the perks of being women, and to be treated as equals as men.
"That will never happen, so those feminist wenches who are always up in arms over stupid things should well focus their attention on things which are much more important like global warming and atrocities in the Middle East."
Appirition may have sympathised with Nadella - who did later take the comments back - but CRN reader Fifi was not impressed.
"Perhaps you'd like to rephrase your comments and this time, try to make some sense," she said in response.
The Campaign for Clear Licensing vs Oracle
Cynical commenter SAM Guru questioned the Campaign for Clear Licensing's (CCL) motives when it laid into Oracle. The organisation urged the vendor to change its ways after its research found that end users did not trust the vendor and were left confused by its licensing structure. It branded customers' relationships with Oracle as "impoverished".
"Is this a joke? CCL were riding on the Oracle name previously to raise awareness," they commented. "If customers do not trust Oracle they have a choice to use alternative technology. This ties nicely with the fact CCL have Oracle training coming up which is undersubscribed."
But commenter itsmreview responded to SAM Guru and defended CCL.
"No it's not a joke," itsmreview commented. "Far from it. Our event is an open seminar to discuss issues raised in the report. It's free. Yes, it is sponsored by a number of companies [but] CCL is a not for profit designed to raise awareness."
G-Cloud - end game or stepping stone?
Data analysis carried out by CRN earlier this year showed that two thirds of G-Cloud suppliers have yet to make a sale on the framework, and that the majority of all sales to date have gone through just 25 suppliers. Ian Moyse - who has been a regular commenter throughout the year - said suppliers need to stop viewing winning a place on the framework as the end game and instead should look at it as a stepping stone to new customers.
"G-Cloud is a certification that is needed to play in the local public sector cloud bids, but does NOT create or lead to business on its own," commented Moyse. "You still need to engage and court this sector in the same way as prior to G-cloud. It may get you to the table or validate you being there, but the cost of sale and engagement is no different than before."
Commenting on the same issue, reader Kahootz backed Moyse up and said:
"Our cloud sales are up significantly and we put that down to the ease of procurement via the G-Cloud and the opportunity it provides for government agencies to quickly evaluate and deploy cloud services like Kahootz.
"I agree with Ian - you need to still use many traditional techniques to get in front of prospective buyers, however we also get a lot of calls as organisations - via word of mouth - are finding out what we offer and the value we provide."