CompTIA’s Workforce Advisory Council, inSOC’s Partner Program and More

A. Today’s Tech, Channel and MSP News

Are you an MSP that partners with public cloud service providers? It's time for you to step up and get recognized. ChannelE2E opened its annual Top 250 Public Cloud MSPs survey. This is the survey that we use to create our annual Top 250 Public Cloud MSPs ranked list. Here's the link to participate.

Today we're looking at CompTIA's new workforce advisory council that aims to advance the adoption of IT workforce best practices, standards and skills within organizations of all sizes. Speaking of advisory, long-time enterprise tech leader Nancy Harris has joined Pine Services Group as an advisor where she will help shape strategy and drive growth.

We're also checking out inSOC's new channel partner program and Illumio and Wiz's partnership that focuses on zero-trust. On the topic of trust, we're also keeping our eyes and ears open as reactions to Kaseya 365 keep rolling in. What do you think? Is this a race to the bottom? A brilliant move to gain marketshare? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this (and anything else you want to talk about that's MSP, MSSP and/or channel-related). Jessica Davis is still at Kaseya Connect, and we'll be bringing you the rest of the news from the conference as it comes in.

Please check out our industry Mergers and Acquisitions list, updated daily, with an archive that goes all the way back to 2020. Check out the whole thing here. Scroll down for a quick view of upcoming in-person channel and MSP events at the bottom of this post (while we spiff up our industry calendar behind the scenes. It will return!)

And please send your news tips, information, and industry chatter to senior managing editor [email protected].

1. Time for Cloud MSPs to get recognized - Are you an MSP that works with public cloud providers? It’s time to get recognized for your work. ChannelE2E opened its annual survey for the Top 250 Public Cloud MSPs. If your MSP practice includes working with a public cloud provider, this survey is for you. Participation is free. The survey closes in June. Submit your MSP today here for recognition! Our list will be released this summer.

2. inSOC Channel Partner Program: SOC-as-a-Service (SOCaaS) solutions provider inSOC announced the launch of its certified partner program last week to capitalize on the demand for cybersecurity services. The new program help MSPs launch security services quickly to capture and maintain market share through co-piloted client demos, support with RFPs, pricing and positioning guidance, sales and marketing support, CISSP client security posture review and more. inSOC's solution is SOCaas solution based on the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, and features Stellar Cyber's AI-driven Open XDR platform to detect breaches 24/7 with vulnerability management and round-the-clock monitoring, the company said in a statement.

3. Illumio and Wiz Partner on Zero-Trust: Zero-trust segmentation solutions provider Illumio is joining cloud security provider Wiz's Wiz Integrations (WIN) Platform. That means partners gain access to Illumio’s Zero Trust Segmentation platform and can integrate Wiz into their existing Illumio workflows. WIN enables Wiz and Illumio to share prioritized security findings with context including inventory, vulnerabilities, issues, and configuration findings. Customers benefit from enhanced visibility, improved vulnerability management and faster breach containment, the companies said in a statement, in addition to closing gaps in cloud security and reacting more quickly to cloud security breaches.

4. Pine Services Group Adds Advisor: Today Pine Services Group, the ERP branch of Evergreen, is bringing executive leader and ERP expert, Nancy Harris, on board to work with the team as an advisor, the company said in a statement. In her role, Harris will provide strategic and industry guidance to Pine's leadership team and will "[continue] Pine's mission of being a long-term destination for ERP service providers and global business application companies." Before her retirement in 2021, Harris was a software industry senior executive with 36 years of experience leading teams, most recently as the executive vice president and general manager of Sage North America and now as a board member at Acumatica. Harris has a strong track record of building high-performance management teams, successfully integrating newly acquired businesses into acquiring entities, growing mid-stage and mature businesses, and leading teams through significant change.

5. CompTIA's New Workforce Advisory Council: CompTIA has formed a new workforce advisory council that aims to help the IT industry develop a more diverse and skilled pool of talent and develop best practices for hiring and professional development. The council is comprised of eight industry experts from multiple organizations, and its mission is to identify current IT workforce trends and raise awareness about initiatives and best practices to help both employers and employees maximize their potential in a fair and equitable manner, CompTIA said in a statement. The council will foster partnerships and collaboration to share members’ collective expertise, resources and experience to address IT workforce challenges. The workforce advisory council collaborates with CompTIA’s other industry advisory councils to advance the adoption of IT workforce best practices, standards and skills within organizations of all sizes.

B. In-Person MSP and Channel Partner Events