Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to sip on for Friday, April 15, 2016.
Actually, there are 14 entries for VARs, managed services providers (MSPs), cloud services providers (CSPs) and independent software vendors (ISVs) to sip on.
14. Mitel Buys Polycom: Mitel Networks, the Canadian telecom provider, has acquired Polycom for $1.96 billion in cash and stock. 'Good enough' and free video conference apps have pressured Polycom and other video conferencing companies in recent years...
13. Office 365 vs Google Apps: Call it a cloud and SaaS showdown in the education market. A new Office 365 capability, called Microsoft Classroom, specifically counters a Google Apps for Education feature called... wait for it... Google Classroom. Both companies want to help teachers and administrators with workflow and communications tools.
12. MSP Education: Continuum University, the software company's interactive online learning center, has issued 1,000 specialty certifications in various disciplines, including Administration, RMM, Help Desk and Backup Solutions. Several RMM (remote monitoring and management) and PSA (professional services automation) companies offer online training hubs for their MSP-focused partners and customers.
11. Sold Out: Automation Nation 2016, the ConnectWise conference for LabTech users is sold out. If you failed to register for the event (June 20-22, Orlando, Fla.) and want to get on a waiting list, you can email [email protected]. More Events: That's shaping up to be a busy week for channel partners and technology pros, who will also be heading to DockerCon 2016, DattoCon16 and the Nutanix Next Conference 2016.
9. Symantec Layoffs: The security company has made more job cuts, including Symantec cuts at a Springfield, Oregon, office. It's unclear how many employees have been let go as part of a "corporate restructuring" following Veritas's sale to outside investors.
8. Docker Distribution: Synnex has agreed to distribute Docker's container technology to resellers serving the public and commercial sectors. In addition to reselling Docker into customer accounts, partners can leverage Docker for a range of managed application services -- both on-premises and across clouds. For information, email [email protected].
7. Docker Funding: Meanwhile, Containership -- which aims to make it easier for developers to use Docker, has raised $2.41 million in seed money.
6. Privacy: Microsoft has sued the U.S. government, seeking the right to tell customers when feds are looking at their emails. Meanwhile, Apple and the FBI next week are expected to offer Congressional testimony in their ongoing encryption feud.
5. Government Security: The U.S. vertical market with the worst record track record for cyersecurity is... government. The data and rankings come from SecurityScorecard. More thoughts soon.
4. Facebook for Work: The social media networks' "corporate" version remains in closed beta. Roughly 450 companies are testing the platform (up from 100 in August 2015) and 60,000 businesses joined a waiting list to try Facebook for Work, according to Re/code. The official debut is expected later this year, potentially countering Slack and Microsoft Yammer.
3. IT Service Management: TOPdesk has overhauled its service management platform, while LANDESK released the newest version of IT Asset Management Suite (ITAM), Asset Central. The new LANDESK release extends the existing hardware and software asset management processes and adds asset discovery mechanisms, the company claims.
2. Earnings Season: IBM will deliver quarterly results on Monday, April 18. Other earnings announcements, according to Yahoo Finance, will include:
- Tuesday, April 19: Intel, VMware
- Wednesday, April 20: Citrix Systems, EMC, F5 Networks, SAP, ServiceNow
- Thursday, Aprils 21: AMD, Alphabet (Google's parent), Microsoft, Proofpoint and ShoreTel
