In what shouldn't come as a shock, HP introduced a solution to fast track adoption of private Clouds with a new product named CloudStart. HP's all-in-one solution has managed to beat Microsoft, Google, and Apple to the punch.

CloudStart is powered by HP BladeSystem Matrix and HP Cloud Service Automation with data services provided by HP StorageWorks.

Despite what the economy may be doing or not doing, the private equity community is pulling out all the stops when it comes to trying to identify quality MSPs. I have personally witnessed a big increase in inbound calls and emails from investment bankers looking to invest in the right MSPs.

As the big players in tech keep jockeying for position one term keeps coming up over and over again, the private Cloud. Everyone is looking to offer their own solution for users to backup data and sync devices. There's even been a rush to gobble up Cloud Computing companies as quickly as possible to gain the upper hand.

CRN wrote a fantastic article about the MSPAlliance Code of Ethics &Conduct and its impact on our members. I really encourage all of you to read this piece.

You can read it here

Welcome to the Friday Link Roundup Post. We're going to give you a quick pulse on the Cloud and let you know what news has been keeping us reading. The theme of this week's links is buy outs and syncs.

I've helped a lot of companies develop channel programs over the years, from some of the largest vendors out there to some very boutique players. What always impresses me most is the complexity and constant diligence it takes to effectively create and run a successful channel program.

I'd like to respond to an article I read today In PCWorld entitled "The Cloud Fails Again".

As talk of Cloud Computing grows so does the discussion surrounding an "Open Cloud".