Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to sip on for Tuesday, July 26, 2016.
Actually, there are 11 entries for VARs, managed services providers (MSPs), cloud services providers (CSPs) and independent software vendors (ISVs) to sip on. Take a look…
11. MSP Buyout: A major MSP in California apparently has acquired another major MSP in the state. We've got the names but we hesitate to publish them until the deal is confirmed... Perhaps as soon as today...
10. HR Violation: Zenefits, the SaaS startup focused on HR, must pay Tennessee $62,500 for violating insurance requirements. Additional states are also taking a look at Zenefits' business practices. Hmmm... Wasn't Zenefits launched to help customers avoid such violations?
9. HIPAA Fine: The University of Mississippi Medical Center will pay a $2.75 million settlement over HIPAA violations. The fine involves a stolen laptop that contained patient information. More fines for more organizations -- and their IT service providers -- could be coming. Nearly 170 HIPAA audits are now under way...
8. Apple Watch Competition: Mobvoi, a Chinese startup backed by Google, will launch an Apple Watch alternative in September. Apple Watch sales fell about 50 percent in Q2 2016 vs. Q2 2015, according to IDC, but the wearable industry seems determined to push the market forward.
7. Yahoo Through the Years: Before you blame Marissa Mayer for Yahoo's struggles, take a look at this Yahoo timeline from Bloomberg. It recaps each chapter of leadership, and the various outcomes... Ironically, Bloomberg ultimately blames Yahoo's 'nice guy' founders for the company's downfall -- noting that they stopped taking risks. Side note: Only in America can you build a company that gets acquired for $4.8 billion -- and have the company called a failure. PS: Here's what Marissa Mayer told employees about the sale to Verizon.
6. Not Surprising: Amid weak earnings, Ericsson has pushed CEO Hans Vestberg out the door. Loyal ChannelE2E readers knew such a change could be coming. See item 8 from July 20. CFO Jan Frykhammar is interim CEO until a permanent replacement is found. The search will include internal and external candidates.
5. Managed Security Services: Unisys Stealth software is now approved for the U.S. National Security Agency's (NSA) Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) program. Also, Yorkshire Building Society Group (YBSG), the UK's second largest building society, has embraced Unisys Stealth to secure customer information for new payment card applications. Perhaps the most interesting twist: Unisys has embraced LogRhythm, a technology security company that's marching toward IPO...
4. Big Data for MSPs: LogicNow, part of SolarWinds MSP, has extended LogicCards to the MAX Remote Management (RM) mobile app. LogicCards now delivers "data-driven insights" to MSPs' iOS and Android mobile devices.
3. BlackBerry On Azure: BlackBerry has launched more of its secure enterprise mobility solutions atop Microsoft Azure. I'm not sure if that means BlackBerry has stopped building its own cloud infrastructure.
2. Acronis Backup for Office 365 and Azure: The latest Acronis Backup Cloud is specifically designed for service providers, hosters and cloud resellers that support Office 365 and Azure, the company asserts. The offering integrates with automation and management platforms Odin, WHMCS and HostBill.
1. RMM Integration: Datto's business continuity platform is now integrated with LabTech, the RMM (remote monitoring and management) platform from ConnectWise. True confession: I'm not sure if/how Datto and LabTech previously integrated.
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