Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter and plenty more to start your day for Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015.
Actually, today's update involves 11 items for VARs, managed services providers (MSPs) and cloud services providers (CSPs) to sip on.
11. Analytics Channel Chief: Steve Hale, a channel chief who has worked at hardware and software companies like F5 Networks, Microsoft, Novell and Sophos, is making the leap to analytics. Hale is now VP, worldwide channel sales at Zilliant, which develops "prescriptive selling applications" that help businesses drive profits. Look a little closer, and you'll see a heavy data science focus at Zilliant.
10. Mobile Warning?: Qualcomm's profits fell 44 percent in the company's latest quarter. At first glance, that's a serious warning about the mobile chip market and the overall mobility wave. But take a closer look and you'll find that the shortfall involves the company's patent portfolio -- which generates more than half of the company's patents.
9. Managing the Multi-Generation Workforce: CompTIA has released a new report describing how channel partners can best manage a blended workforce -- millennials, gen X and boomers. We'll offer more thoughts soon.
8. Craigslist Alternative: A timely reminder that even the disrupters get disrupted. OfferUp, a mobile app that connects buyers and sellers of used goods, seems to have serious momentum. Don't worry, Craig. I won't abandon you.
7. Way Overdue: Red Hat and Microsoft are finally partnering to offer Red Hat Enterprise Linux in the Azure cloud. Bottom line: Shame on both companies for taking so long to make this happen. Customers and partners finally win.
6. Google Apps vs Office 365: Sure, Google Apps for Work is growing fast. But the latest data suggests Microsoft Office 365 still enjoys greater mind share and market share in the business market. Here's the latest Google Apps vs Microsoft Office 365 market share data.
5. Who Owns Your IoT Data?: As the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart machines collect more data about you, Internet Pioneer Vinton Cerf is calling for individuals to have the right to control their data. But is the Genie already out of the bottle?
4. The Only 3 KPIs That Matter: What are the three most important KPIs (key performance indicators) for established MSPs and VARs that are making the shift to the model? TruMethods Owner Gary Pica shared his KPI thesis with me yesterday. And ChannelE2E will share the details with you later today.
3. Dropbox Enterprise: Dropbox already has a business edition. But now comes Dropbox Enterprise -- designed for really big companies. Whatever happened to a one-size-fits-all solution that's safe and secure for all of us -- regardless of company size? Hmmm... The move comes as DropBox's investors actually cut their estimates of what company shares are worth...
2. New Partner Program: X-IO Technologies has launched its eXcellence Partner Program, which focuses flash storage resellers on customer performance, availability, affordability or simplicity.
1. Smart Router Delays: Eero, which is developing a smarter WiFi router for the rest of us, has delayed Eero shipments until early 2016. The decision mirrors that of Datto, which is developing a WiFi router for SMB channel partners. The Datto Network Appliance (DNA) originally was expected around the fall of 2016, but Datto's router will now ship in January 2016 to ensure it supports key WiFi enhancements.
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