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The managed services community lit up yesterday after news broke that N-able was acquired by systems management vendor SolarWinds. It was heralded as a turning point in managed services. In reality, it may signal something entirely different.

The three big PC vendors continue to try to reinvent themselves as unit sales of conventional desktops and notebooks continue to fall. While PCs are less and less profitable for vendors and solution providers alike, they remain an irreplaceable commodity.

After just 30 days on the job, new Intel CEO Brian Krzanich has shaken up the chipmaker with a sweeping reorganization that emphasizes new products, innovation and, perhaps, leapfrogging troublesome competition in the mobility market.

Embattled hardware vendor Huawei is putting its ambitions on full display at its first North America partner conference. The three-day event treats solution providers to a cavalcade of Huawei-based opportunities in data centers, mobility, Big Data and cloud computing. The underlying message: Huawei isn’t retreating.

Microsoft is stepping up efforts to get more partners and customers adopting its cloud-based Office 365 productivity suite by expanding commissions on referred accounts. The goal: Stop Google Apps in its tracks and recapture lost customers.

Despite marketplace challenges and shifting business models, solution providers remain exceedingly profitable, as services fill their wallets with cash. The 2112 Group’s ‘Profitability in the Channel’ report reveals key trends about solution provider profitability. Here are five things you need to know.

Dell remains mired in the battle over who will control its future and what roll the PC will play in its restoration to profitability and growth. The real issue, though, is how Dell can accelerate the revenue and profitability of its enterprise products.

Cisco Systems surprised the market yesterday by posting a 14.5 percent jump in profits on a 5 percent increase in sales. The spurt came from substantial shifts increases in non-switching and routing products, showing there is a shift in hardware buying priorities.

A new survey by networking and communications vendor Enterasys finds that one-quarter of solution providers have fired a technology supplier in the last 12 months over lead generation, profitability and channel conflict. In reality, the problem and consequences are probably much worse.

Rackspace remains profitable, but growth and margins are rapidly shrinking. The cost of expansion is part of the issue, but so, too, is pricing pressure by stiff competition. It’s a sign of commoditization in core cloud computing services brought on by the expansion of existing players and the entry of more formidable contenders.