A small Canadian software company is helping Intel Corp. (INTC) to launch a software as a service (SaaS) platform that will soon blanket Europe, Intel confirmed to me earlier today. The initiative could give Intel much-needed SaaS experience and will likely drive demand for Intel's vPro hardware across Europe.

The European SaaS initiative involves an emerging Intel platform called Multi-Site Director. The SaaS platform is built upon so-called managed services software from N-able, a privately held but fast-growing software company that I track on MSPmentor.net.

Hey Greg Davis. You’ve just been named Dell’s (DELL) global channel chief -- in charge of the PC giant’s worldwide partner strategy. What are you going to do to help bolster Dell's profits? Here’s one suggestion: Offer some Ubuntu Linux PCs to Dell's global partner base. Here’s why.

Sure, Dell has successfully introduced a few Ubuntu PCs and laptops to the geek crowd. But now it’s time for Dell to disrupt the very PC industry it helped to build.

Most folks are focusing on Cisco Systems’ (CSCO) consumer electronics push this week. But I'm keeping one eye on the data center -- where Cisco apparently is preparing to launch blade servers. If true, I wonder: How soon will Cisco speed dial Red Hat (RHT), MySQL, Novell (NOVL), SugarCRM and other open source application providers?

Sure, Cisco already has relationships with a range of software companies. But pushing into the fast-growing blade server market will force Cisco to strengthen partnerships with operating system vendors, application providers, middleware developers and so on.

More than a decade after IBM’s (IBM) OS/2 lost the corporate desktop wars to Windows, Big Blue is back. And this time, IBM is aiming to knock Microsoft (MSFT) Windows AND Microsoft Office off of corporate desktops.

The strategy involves a partnership with Canonical (maker of Ubuntu Linux) and Virtual Bridges (a virtualization software company). The trio has developed a "virtualized" Linux release -- complete with productivity applications. The software system costs a scant $49.00 ((US)) per user for 1,000-user deployments. Prices fall further if customers buy in greater bulk.

Who has more certified software partners: Novell Inc. (NOVL) or Red Hat Inc. (RHT)? The answer to that critical question could determine which company dominates the long-term Linux market.

In the 1990s, Microsoft grew dominant because software developers wrote applications for Windows. Now, Novell and Red Hat are using that same strategy as they compete against one another in the Linux market.

During the dot-com implosion, Cisco Systems (CSCO) CEO John Chambers took an unusual step that set the tone for appropriate, responsible executive leadership during bad economic times. Now, the executive leadership at Ford (F), General Motors (GM) and Chrysler should follow the example Chambers set back in 2002.

Amid the dot-com fallout, Chambers received a $1 salary in 2002. That’s right: One dollar. Chambers also declined his bonus and gave back 2 million in stock options that year, according to CNet.

At first glance, IBM (IBM) has won a massive $873 million outsourcing contract with the State of Georgia. But I took a closer look and discovered Dell Managed Services will also cash in on the engagement. A trusted source says the contract ranks as one of Dell's (DELL) largest managed services and Software as a Service (SaaS) deals to date.

The State of Georgia win represents a critical step in Dell's transformation from a PC supplier to more of a service provider that generates recurring monthly revenue by managing customer networks and applications.

If you want to know where Cisco Systems (CSCO) is heading next, think really big and really small. The company has big plans for the massive managed services market, but is also investing $100 million in the small business sector.

In the managed services market, big service providers such as Verizon (VZ) and Sprint (S) remotely administer, optimize and troubleshoot corporate applications, phone systems and IT security systems. So far, Verizon has managed services contracts with more than 4,000 customers. And in many cases, Verizon uses Cisco's Integrated Services Routers (ISRs) to manage and administer those networks.

Somewhere between Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) and disruptive startups like Digium, there is a wasteland of networking companies that tried (and failed) to compete against Cisco. Still, a few nimble firms have carved out solid networking niches for themselves. I will spend November 17 through 19 with one such company: ADTRAN Inc. (ATDN).

Here are four key issues I expect to explore during the visit.

CA Inc. (CA) is finally waking up to opportunities in software as a service (SaaS) and managed services.

During the company's CAWorld conference Sunday in Las Vegas, CA introduced three SaaS and managed services applications. The efforts could help CA to generate recurring monthly revenue for disaster recovery, project management and corporate compliance software.

When it comes to software as a service’s potential, is the glass half full or half empty? Before you answer consider that the SaaS 20 Stock Index -- overseen by MSPmentor -- is now down 50.42 percent from January through Nov. 14, 2008.

Even worse: The poster child for SaaS — Salesforce.com (CRM) — has seen its shares fall nearly 60 percent this year. Plus, five companies in the 20-company index have seen their shares plummet more than 70 percent this year. And investment firm Global Equities Research predicts SaaS and open source companies will suffer greatly amid the current economic turmoil.

As Nortel Networks (NT) continues to struggle, I'm starting to wonder: Did Microsoft (MSFT) bet on the wrong unified communications partner? Sure, Microsoft works with multiple networking companies -- including Cisco Systems (CSCO). But Microsoft's most strategic unified communications partner is Nortel -- a company facing yet another fiscal crisis.

Admittedly, Nortel has a lot of assets across unified communications, enterprise networks, telecom, etc. But this blog entry from SeekingAlpha highlights the grim state of Nortel’s business. The company’s stock is trading at about $1.30 on Nov. 4, down from a 52-week high of $19.50. Ouch.

Symantec Chief Operating Officer Enrique Salem says the company is planning roughly $1 billion in annual acquistions over the next few years.

The strategy will involve three to six acquisitions annually, Salem told me during a luncheon with reporters at the Symantec Partner Engage event.

Novell (NOVL) named Javier Colado to oversee the company's partner programs on September 12. Many pundits say Colado has to strengthen Novell’s SUSE Linux partner ranks. But in reality, I think Colado has to build a bridge between vastly different software islands.

Novell has recruited more than 2,000 ISVs (independent software vendors) to back SUSE Linux. And that momentum will continue this week when Novell participates in Lenovo’s (LNVGY.PK) first server announcements at the Interop trade show.

During a trip to Lenovo's (LNVGY.PK) offices in North Carolina, I found the information I was looking for: Lenovo is leaping from the desktop into the server market, and will launch its first Linux and Windows servers this September.

It's a smart but long-overdue move by Lenovo. Chief information officers at big companies already know Lenovo's ThinkPad notebook brand. So they're familiar with Lenovo's product quality. Now, Lenovo hopes to extend that mind share onto the server, where product margins are better than the traditional desktop and mobile markets.

I'm not making any guarantees, but I hope Sun Microsystems (JAVA) articulates its MySQL partner strategy the week of August 18 at the Avnet (AVT) New Frontiers Conference in Colorado. Here’s why.

I attended Avnet New Frontiers last year. It was an impressive gathering of high-end Sun partners — the folks who influence sales of Sun servers, storage and other solutions to large and midsize enterprises.

After posting a dismal performance in the first half of 2008, software as a service (SaaS) stocks are rallying. In fact, MSPmentor's SaaS 20 Stock Index is up 14.7 percent since July 11.

Best of all, Wall Street hype isn't driving the recent SaaS rally. Instead, rapid revenue growth and solid earnings from multiple SaaS companies have restored investor faith in this emerging technology sector.

How do you beat Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) in the networking industry? I think I found the answer -- or at least some clues -- at the F5 Networks Partner Summit in New Orleans.

I'm not suggesting that F5 (FFIV) (approaching $600 million in annual revenue) will someday overtake Cisco (the $29.5 billion titan). But F5 has somehow carved a niche for itself promoting application-aware networks, delivering 22 consecutive quarters of sequential revenue growth.

The F5 Networks (FFIV) executive team will step into the spotlight this week at the company's partner summit in New Orleans. It's the perfect setting to get a feel for F5's short- and long-term go-to-market strategy.

Back in January, I openly wondered if F5 Networks could become the networking industry’s next $1 billion company. I will have a chance to ask IT consultants that very question during the partner event. And I'll also listen to F5 CEO John McAdam’s keynote.