5 things

5 Channel Partner Updates: 11 July 2016

Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to sip on for Monday, July 11, 2016.

Actually, there are 12 entries for VARs, managed services providers (MSPs), cloud services providers (CSPs) and independent software vendors (ISVs) to sip on. Take a look…

12. Hello (Again): After a one-week vacation, our daily "5 Channel Partner Updates" morning blog resumes today. (Ahem... you're reading the entry right now.) Thanks to those who sent me news tips and channel updates amid my vacation. We're sorting through those emails now. And for those who have news to share please email me: [email protected].

11. IaaS for Channel Partners: ProfitBricks, an IaaS provider, has added ultra-high speed solid-state drive (SSD) and Intel Xeon Processor support for provisioning in all data centers. Take a closer look, and you'll notice that ProfitBricks allows partners to choose between AMD Opteron processors and Intel processors within the same virtual data center.

10. Distribution: Arrow Electronics has agreed to distribute Cypress Semiconductor's newly acquired IoT portfolio -- which includes WiFi, Bluetooth and ZigBee RF technologies for home appliances, health and fitness monitors, automation and asset tracking systems, smart meters and more. Arrow positions its IoT effort under the eVolve brand -- which offers "sensor-to-sunset full IoT product lifecycle capabilities," the company says.

9. Avast and AVG Channel Update?: As we reported, Avast is buying AVG Technologies for $1.3 billion. When the security-centric deal was announced, we wondered what it meant for AVG's non-security offerings -- particularly Managed Workplace for MSPs. Hmmm... We have some potential updates to share this week. Stay tuned.

8. HIPAA Business Associate Fined: For the first time, a HIPAA business associate has been fined by Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”). The $650,000 settlement, to be paid by the Catholic Health Care Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, involved the theft of a mobile device that had protected health information (“PHI”) for 412 nursing home residents.

7. Apple macOS Upgrade: The latest macOS upgrade, called Sierra, is set to start beta testing later this week. It will include Apple's Siri search engine -- ported from iOS to include features "designed just for the desktop." Um... we'll wait for the production release.

6. Apple iOS Upgrade: The other big beta, Apple iOS 10, also arrives later this week. Among the big changes: Apple is opening up Siri to third-party developers... Hmmm... Here again, we'll wait for the production release.

5. Hotel Hack: Omni Hotels & Resorts recently discovered malware on some of its point of sale (PoS) systems. The malware apparently was running between December 23, 2015 and June 14, 2016, although "most of the systems were affected during a shorter timeframe." Hmmm... I've attended at least two conferences hosted at Omni hotels in recent months. Time to check those billing statements a bit more closely.

4. Remember 3D Printing?: 3D printing was supposed to usher in a new wave of consumer and business applications. But for the most part... it didn't. TechCrunch offers an in-depth look at what went wrong in the 3D printing market, along with next moves that could jumpstart the industry. Somewhere, HP Inc. -- which is preparing a range of 3D printers -- is watching this all very closely...

3. What Comes After Mobile Apps?: Mobile news apps are dead? Long live Purple -- a texting service that sends subscribers the latest news on specific topics? Hmmm... Food for thought.

2. EU-US Privacy Shield Progress vs. Concerns: As you'll recall, a new agreement called EU Privacy Shield -- designed to protect data privacy as information flows between Europe and the U.S. -- essentially replaces Safe Harbor. Still, some legal challenges could pop up as businesses seek to better understand the regulations, The Wall Street Journal says. That's an important point -- particularly for cloud and managed services providers that manage data between and across borders.

1. Microsoft WPC16: The big show, hosted in Toronto, shifts into overdrive today. Here are 10 Microsoft partner moves to watch amid WPC16. Plus, track all of ChannelE2E's Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2016 (WPC16) coverage right here.

More: Read all of our daily 5 Channel Partner UpdatesPlusSubscribe to our daily enewsletter. Thanks to those who already have.

Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri is co-founder & editorial director of MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E, the two leading news & analysis sites for managed service providers in the cybersecurity market.