Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to sip on for Tuesday, June 28, 2016.
Actually, there are 16 entries for VARs, managed services providers (MSPs), cloud services providers (CSPs) and independent software vendors (ISVs) to sip on. Take a look…
16. Office 365 Ransomware?: Yes, it's happening. Ransomware is now targeting Office 365. Instead of telling you the gruesome details, we'll offer this shameless plug for our own Ransomware Webcast -- set for July 28. We promise: It's Not Your Typical Ransomware Webcast.
15. From Brexit to Techxit?: In response to Britain pulling out of the European Union (i.e., Brexit), some folks are wondering if the tech industry will pull out of London (i.e., Techxit). The thesis? If tech employees and currency can't move seamlessly in and out of London, then perhaps less venture capital and fewer innovations will emerge there. Hmmm... We've already told you what Brexit means to IT service providers -- particularly those in the financial services vertical. And this Brexit checklist for business leaders can help you to potentially navigate the corporate landscape in the months to come.
14. Brexit Impact on Enterprise Data Centers: Still skeptical about all this Brexit talk? Perhaps Infor CEO Charles Phillips can convince you that this is serious stuff. Roughly 40 percent of the enterprise software maker's employees are in Europe -- including roughly 1,000 in the UK. Phillips is concerned that IT talent won't be able to move freely across the UK boarders. Plus, he thinks it makes less sense now to host customer data in the UK, according to a Wall Street Journal interview. Phillips, you may recall, previously was a Wall Street analyst and also worked closely with Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison for quite some time.
13. Brexit Impact on UK IT Spending: Oh, and one more thing before we writing about Brexit (at least for today...). IT spending in the UK will likely fall by about 10 percent in 2016 and perhaps even 15 percent in 2017, according to a revised Canalys forecast issued Monday. We'll share more on that soon.
12. HP Enterprise Reorg: Hewlett Packard Enterprise has reorganized -- but this time, the moves are not a sign of crisis mode. CEO Meg Whitman seems to be fine-tuning the organizational structure, moving trusted lieutenants into key positions as some veterans get set to retire. Whitman says she's focused on improving the customer and partner experience while boosting customer engagement. Sure, those are buzzwords. But HPE also announced surprisingly strong financial results back in May, and the recent HP Enterprise Discover conference included some key SMB partner messaging -- particularly for MSPs.
11. Wearable Implosion: ION Worldwide, a maker of wearable digital recorders that competes with industry leader GoPro Inc., has filed for bankruptcy after seeing its revenue drop significantly last year, The Wall Street Journal reported.
10. Ingram Layoffs in Texas: Ingram Micro Mobility, a division of Ingram Micro, is eliminating 762 contract workers and 175 employees at its Fort Worth office. A spokesman says the cuts come amid business losses in that particular division, according to The Dallas Morning News. A Chinese logistics giant is expected to finalize its $6 billion buyout of Ingram within the next few weeks or so.
9. Avaya VAR Acquired: Carousel Industries, a total service provider, has acquired Source Inc., the 15th largest Avaya VAR. The move comes only a few weeks after Carousel acquired Atrion. Carousel has more than 1,000 employees and has grown by roughly 30 percent annually since launching in 1992. We wonder: Could the TSP be gearing up for an IPO? Hmmm...
8. MSP Talent: BitTitan has hired Frank Suglia as a group manager focused on the company's MSPComplete partner program. Hmmm... What else does BitTitan CEO Geeman Yip have planned for the cloud-enablement company? We found the answers and we'll share them soon.
7. Intel Layoffs and Channel Partners: Intel's job cuts will reach their "third wave" before the end of this month. Some of the cuts and an associated reorganization will seek to "tighten its channel sales and marketing," according to DigiTimes. Intel announced plans for 12,000 layoffs in April, and the company also appears to be mulling the potential sale of Intel Security (i.e., McAfee).
6. Red Hat Partners: Red Hat is rallying partners around its JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (JBoss EAP) 7 this week. The platform, taking center stage at Red Hat Summit 2016 this week in San Francisco, focuses on Java-based hybrid cloud application development.
5. RMM for IoT: Resin.io has raised $9 million from GE Ventures and several other investors. The company's software allows developers to remotely control and monitor connected IoT devices...
4. Hello Again: New developments from Axcient CEO Justin Moore are on the immediate horizon. Axcient started as a backup and disaster recovery cloud provider that worked closely with MSPs. The company extended to the VAR market with appliances and also worked closely with HP Enterprise. But we haven't heard much from Moore (at least not directly) since our Feb. 2015 podcast. But something new is brewing. Updated June 28, 9:30 a.m. ET: Here's Axcient's latest move.
3. $100 Million for Cannabis Startups: MedMen has launched a $100 million investment fund focused on the legal cannabis (i.e., pot, marijuana) industry. A handful of MSPs already target the vertical, helping cannabis firms to manage and monitor their supply chains.
2. HTG IT Channel Summit: HTG Peer Groups is set to host IT Channel Summit in September 2016, the association has confirmed to ChannelE2E. The event is designed for channel leaders, marketers, sales professionals and field resources who need a deeper understanding of MSPs. ChannelE2E is confirmed to attend and will blog live from the conference. Special thanks to Pete Sorensen for the invite.
1. Major Channel Summits: For a closer look at upcoming IT channel summits and conferences across the industry, check out the ChannelE2E Technology Event Calendar. It's the most comprehensive calendar of its kind for VARs, MSPs, CSPs, channel parters and channel-centric technology companies. And yes, it stretches into 2017 and beyond.
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