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Yahoo will announce the sale of Zimbra to VMware on January 12, according to All Things D. Why should customers and partners care? Here are five key points to consider -- including growing competition between VMware and Red Hat.

Skype, Polycom and a range of other partners are gearing up for Digium's Asterisk World conference (Jan. 20-22). But the big focus for Digium at the open source IP PBX event will likely involve updates to several new Digium initiatives. Here's an update.

Kaseya -- a fast-growing provider or remote systems management tools -- is preparing to introduce remote management software for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Novell SUSE Linux, and other Linux distributions. Here are the details.

Microsoft is set to launch Office 2010 Starter -- a stripped down and ad-supported (but totally free) version of Office 2010. Is this Microsoft's response to OpenOffice and Google Apps? Or is this an opportunity to get PC buyers to "try then buy" complete Office suites? Here are some thoughts.

Jaspersoft CEO Brian Gentile, like many of his open source peers, has some lofty goals for 2010. With the help of SaaS and on-premise partners, Gentile says Jaspersoft — which specializes in business intelligence software — can grow 50 percent and generate positive cash flow in 2010.

Recent netbook moves by Lenovo and others show some promising trends — several of which involve Linux. Here's the scoop.

A Chinese group has created an Ubuntu Linux clone that looks, um, just like Windows XP. Two big questions: First, do customers want a Linux release (called Ylmf OS) that looks like Windows? Second, is Microsoft willing to allow a group of Ubuntu renegades to mimic Windows XP’s look and feel? Some thoughts here.

Zimbra, one of the best-known providers of open source email, may soon have a new owner. Rumors are swirling that Yahoo plans to sell Zimbra to VMware. If true, here are the implications for Zimbra business partners.

It’s time for Red Hat partners to look beyond Linux. That’s the key message for Red Hat’s channel in 2010. Sure, plenty of Red Hat resellers have also embraced Red Hat’s JBoss middleware. But now the open source company has something new cooking for partners: Hosted desktop virtualization.

SugarCRM CEO Larry Augustin loves stretch goals. A case in point: Augustin hopes to double SugarCRM’s revenues in 2010. To get there Augustin will need help from numerous Software as a Service (SaaS) partners. Here’s the open source CRM company’s strategy.

It has been roughly a month since Tech Data launched Open Tech — an open source channel partner initiative. Why is the big distributor interested in the open source market? And how is Open Tech performing so far? I caught up with Tech Data VP Stacy Nethercoat for answers. Here's the interview.

As Mark Shuttleworth transitions Canonical’s CEO crown to Jane Silber, The VAR Guy believes there are at least nine major Ubuntu priorities that Silber will need to address. Here’s a look at the challenges — and opportunities — awaiting Silber when she assumes all of Canonical’s CEO responsibilities in March 2010.

Open-Xchange claims 2009 was a banner year; more than 15 million people worldwide are running the open source email system, an 80 percent increase from 2008. The company's secret to success involves SaaS (software as a service) partners. Here's why.

Alfresco's Ian Howells is talking up a new cloud relationship with RightScale. But that’s not all. More than 1,000 customers now pay for Alfresco’s open source content management system. Next, Howells expects a winner-take-all scenario in the open source market. Here's why.

Ubuntu is more than a desktop operating system. That continues to be the message from Canonical, which is promoting another Ubuntu Server Edition user survey in a bid to better understand how customers are deploying the server operating system. Here’s the scoop.

Oracle has assured the European Union that the company will continue investing in Sun’s MySQL open source database. That move potentially clears the way for Oracle’s pending buyout of Sun. So what will Oracle actually do with MySQL? Early chatter involves a so-called Unbreakable MySQL plus a potential a specialization within Oracle's Partner Program.

Only a few weeks after Microsoft's Windows 7 launch, Dell has quietly given Ubuntu Linux a bit more real estate on the Dell U.S. website. It's a small but significant move for Dell and the Ubuntu faithful. Here's why.

When it comes to the mainstream desktop Linux market, Red Hat has mostly sat on the sidelines — letting folks like Canonical (Ubuntu) and Google (Chrome OS) pursue the spotlight. But now, Red Hat is making some serious desktop moves. But not in a traditional way. Here’s the strategy.

I've openly wondered -- again and again -- whether Novell will ever connect the dots between SUSE Linux and the company's other product groups. A potential answer to that question has emerged. It involves Novell’s Intelligent Workload Management (IWM) strategy, which melds cloud and virtualization opportunities with Novell’s solutions. Here’s the scoop.

Novell announced quarterly results on December 3. So how are the company’s individual solutions groups performing — particularly the SUSE Linux solutions group? And what’s the latest with Novell’s partner efforts? The VAR Guy got some perspectives from Novell Chief Marketing Officer John Dragoon. Here’s a recap.