5 things

5 Channel Partner Updates: 13 September 2016

Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Tuesday, September 13, 2016.

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

9. Docker: Hmmm... Keep your eyes on the container software company. We'll explain why later today.

8. CIO Compensation: The typical Fortune 500 CIO earns $512,800 in base salary and $1.46 million in total annual compensation. CIOs in the financial services sector are the most highly compensated, with $550,000 base salaries and total compensation averaging $1.8 million, The Wall STreet Journal notes -- pointing to research from Korn/Ferry International.

7. Microsoft and Huawei: Microsoft and China's largest networking company have partnered on a buyers guide. The purpose? Mitigate concerns within the U.S. and Chinese governments that the companies assist state-sponsored spying. It's a safe bet that the Microsoft-Huawei collaboration efforts will accelerate over the next year or so.

6. Startup Bubble: There's still too much money in the startup ecosystem and that will eventually trigger painful consequences, according to Benchmark GM Bill Gurley. Over the past year we've repeatedly stated that sky-high unicorn valuations were overdue for corrections. Some of the correction has happened... but scores of companies are still trying to maintain a path toward IPO -- before they need to potentially pursue "down round" fundraising.

5. Network Monitoring: ConnectWise has agreed to resell Auvik Networks' flagship platform for network RMM. Here's why.

4. Cloud Monitoring: RackWare, a startup focused on cloud management for the enterprise, has raised $10 million in Series B funding, the company confirmed to ChannelE2E this morning. Customers include Blue Cross Blue Shield of CA, Coca-Cola and IBM SoftLayer, among other big names. RackWare will leverage the funding to enhance and accelerate product development and to expand sales, marketing, partnerships and customer support teams.

Gregg Ambulos
Gregg Ambulos

3. Dell Channel Leadership: Dell Technologies has named Gregg Ambulos its North America channel chief as part of a new leadership roster under global channel chief John Byrne, CRN reported. Funny, but CRN's European site a few months ago reported that Byrne planned to leave the company -- an assertion he flatly denied. Just sayin' ...

2. VMware to AWS Cloud Migrations: The ZeroStack Cloud Platform can break industry dependence on VMware ESX by offering one-click workload porting from ESX to ZeroStack, the company claims. ZeroStack's specialty is bi-directional application portability across hypervisors. A potential use case for MSPs: Helping customers to move workloads from VMware to Amazon Web Services.

1. Heading to the Farm: I'm spending today at HTG Peer Groups' IT Channel Summit in Iowa. If you're attending feel free to say hello. And stay tuned for live updates from the gathering. As loyal readers know, I tend to learn something new about life and myself each time I travel to the Nebraska and Iowa areas.

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.