5 things

5 Channel Partner Updates: August 30, 2016

Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Tuesday, August 30, 2016.

Actually, there are 10 entries for VARs, managed services providers (MSPs), cloud services providers (CSPs) and independent software vendors (ISVs) and telco master agents and telco agents to sip on. Take a look…

10. Apple's Big Tax Bill: Apple has been ordered to pay a $14.5 billion EU tax bill. The reason? The European Commission alleges Ireland illegally slashed the iPhone maker’s tax bill, Bloomberg notes. Apple and the Irish government are fighting the decision. I'm waiting on a Trump tweet that says "Only I can fix this."

9. Apple iPhone 7: The computing giant is expected to unveil iPhone 7 during a Sept. 7 event. But frankly, these formulaic Apple launch events are starting to feel... formulaic.

8. Application Performance Monitoring: eG Innovations has upgraded its eG Enterprise suite, an end-to-end performance management system that can pinpoint problems that originate within application code. The new 6.2 release will arrive in October. It's mainly designed for corporate IT departments but we're checking to see potential implications for service providers.

7. Palo Alto Networks Earnings: I think they're due to arrive today. We'll be sure to check out the channel angle.

6. IoT Alliances: Mobiliya has joined the LoRa Alliance -- a non-profit organization that promotes Internet of Things interoperability and standardization of low-power wide area network (LPWAN) technologies.

5. IoT Consulting: KPMG Australia, like many of its global IT consulting rivals, has launched a dedicated IoT practice. The KPMG practice will focus on three sectors — smart cities, smart campus (education) and smart agriculture, the Australian reported.

4. Partner Program Launch: CloudFabrix has launched a Global Partner Program focused on Digital Transformation and Application Modernization.

3. Cloud-based SonicWall Management: SonicWall, which Dell is selling to a private equity firm, has started testing a Cloud Global Management System (GMS) -- which allows VARs and MSPs to manage SonicWall firewalls, WiFi access points and switches via the cloud. The platform is a bit late to market -- trailing alternatives like Cisco's Miraki. But SonicWall partners are cheering the development during PEAK16, a partner conference this week in Las Vegas.

2. Michael Dell Pitches Private Clouds: Dell wants to make private clouds easy for customers, according to Michael Dell. He made the statement yesterday at VMworld 2016. Perhaps not by coincidence, Dell punted on its public cloud strategy a couple years ago after it became clear that Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure were running away with the market. Among the companies I'd watch closely: Virtustream, which EMC owns -- and Dell therefore will soon own...

1. VMworld Live Blog: Our live blog coverage of VMworld 2016 continues 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.