Unisfair unveils virtual channel programme

Unisfair, a provider of virtual events, has introduced a formal channel programme to help its partners meet the growing demand for alternatives to physical events, reports FoxBusiness.

Targeted at digital advertising agencies and event planners, the programme offers these audiences a platform for increasing revenue by offering customised virtual events and bundling value-added services.

According to FutureWatch 2009, an annual survey conducted by Meeting Professionals International and American Express, virtual meetings are an important trend, and many respondents predicted a shift to Web-based learning as a way to control meeting and travel costs.

SunGard's Availability Services business unit released a reseller partner programme to augment its direct-sales approach and expand its offerings to small and mid-size businesses, says IT Jungle.

The new programme covers all of the company's offerings, including everything from traditional tape-based backup to hot site recovery and full high availability replication.

It is aimed at generating referrals from resellers and "white box" versions of SunGard's services that partners can resell themselves.

Sun Microsystems is in the process of laying off as many as 1 500 workers, a move that may have repercussions for the channel, writes Channel Web.

Solution providers said Sun sent pink slips to a large number of middle managers last week, and let go many of its sales and channel staff earlier this week.

Layoffs were first reported late last year, but the pace seems to have picked up, channel sources said. "It's bad, and it's widespread," said Hope Hayes, president of Alliance Technology Group, a solution provider and Sun partner. "It looks like half the sales force is gone, half the engineers are gone and some of the channel people."