Avnet Technology Solutions has joined forces with Oracle to engage its IT solution provider community with Oracle health care solutions designed with small and mid-sized hospitals in mind.

Solution providers give Ingram Micro top marks in cloud partnerships among distributors by a wide margin. However, the distribution preference reveals a big gap in distribution cloud cover.

Ingram Micro has earned global distribution rights to sell VMware pay-as-you-go licensing. The goal, say both vendor and distributor, is aimed at simplifying sales and streamlining costs for better partner margins.

Avnet is acquiring Canvas Systems, a specialist in asset disposal and used equipment sales. The move follows Ingram Micro’s partnership with U.S. Micro to offer equipment disposal services through solution providers. The two programs show the growing need for safe hardware disposal, as well as the growing pre-owned equipment market.

Avnet’s new SolutionsPath Engagement Services is a business planning and execution program designed to augment solution providers’ capabilities and resources in developing, selling and supporting cloud and data center services.

The distributor’s new StreamOne platform is more than an app store and software distribution service. It’s a potential hub for creating new routes to market for independent software vendors and simplifying the process of acquiring applications that could to the evolution of “system providers.”

Research in Motion, maker of the BlackBerry smartphone, is replacing its co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis today. The task of turning around the vendor falls to Thorsten Heins, who is faced with sliding market share and customer satisfaction ratings. Could RIM become the first casualty of the mobility era?

Greg Spierkel is stepping down as chief executive of Ingram Micro, ceding his office to the company’s president and chief operating officer, Alain Monie. Early indications are the management change will not result in a dramatic shift in Ingram operations and strategy.

Channelnomics continues conferring its inaugural 2011 Influencers of the Year awards by unveiling winners in four categories: Distribution, Europe, Voice/Data Networking and Channel Business.

Stephen DiFranco, general manager of the beleaguered HP Personal Systems Group, took the opportunity for stage time at the Ingram Micro VentureTech Network to thank partners for their loyalty and patience as the process for determining the fate of HP’s PC business continues to unwind.