5 Channel Partner Updates: 13 April 2017

Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Thursday, April 13, 2017. Actually, there are 20 updates for VARs, managed services providers (MSPs), cloud services providers (CSPs), independent software vendors (ISVs), telco master agents and telco agents to sip on.

20. Channel Chief: Xerox has hired Pete Peterson as senior vice president of global channel strategy. As the team lead, Peterson will be responsible for revenue and profit growth, as well as leading and executing targeted investments across direct and indirect channels worldwide, Xerox said. Peterson joins Xerox from TESSCO Technologies. Earlier, he was VP of global channels at Brocade. He also held key roles at Tech Data. 19. SD-WAN Security: VeloCloud Networks has launched an SD-WAN Security Technology Partner Program. Kick-off members include IBM Security, Check Point Software Technologies, Fortinet, and Zscaler. 18. Distribution - SD-WANs: Viptela, the software-defined wide-area network (SD-WAN) company, has joined Westcon-Comstor’s invitation-only Accelerate program. The result: Viptela can scale into additional countries and regions in a repeatable, efficient, cost-effective way, Westcon-Comstor claims. 17. Distribution - Networking: Tech Data's Technology Solutions business (formerly owned by Avnet) is adding Brocade's software networking solutions to the Avnet Cloud Marketplace. And as you may recall, Extreme Networks is acquiring Brocade's networking business. 16. Distribution - Healthcare Certification: Tech Data's Technology Solutions business has launched new education and training within the HealthPath University and HealthPath Internship programs. The effort allows partners to pursue CPHIMS (Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems) certification. 15. IT Management: HP Enterprise has launched containerized versions of its HPE IT Operations Management (ITOM) offerings -- including Hybrid Cloud Management, Data Center Automation, Operations Bridge, and IT Service Management Automation. HPE leveraged Docker and Kubernetes for the effort, which should help DevOps and IT service providers to accelerate their management efforts, the company said. 14. Net Neutrality: Multiple tech companies are urging the FCC to maintain Net Neutrality rules. The Trump Administration has been pushing to eliminate the rules. Without Net Neutrality, broadband companies and pipeline owners can potentially charge extra for specific content delivery. The result could be digital pay tolls across the Internet. Broadband providers argue that Net Neutrality limits their opportunity to effectively manage and monetize their infrastructure investments. 13. Managed Security Services: Thirty-one percent of major IT organizations now partner with a managed security services provider (MSSP) to help compensate for lack of skilled security professionals, while 26% of respondents are involved in a partnership between in-house teams and an MSSP, according to a new Trustwave research report. 12. Network Automation: Red Hat has launched Ansible 2.3, the latest version of an open source IT automation framework. With Ansible, developers and IT operations teams can more quickly automate the entire application lifecycle – from physical and virtual servers to cloud computing deployments to Linux containers, Red Hat claims. 11. MarginPoint: MarginPoint, a provider of mobile enabled, inventory management solutions for distributors, suppliers and their customers, today announced the launch of the MarginPoint Managed Services Program. For information, email info(at)marginpoint.com. But wait. More content awaits you on page 2. Proceed to page two now and chow down the remaining items... Welcome to page two. Enjoy a second serving of channel content -- items 10 to 1 -- here. 10. IoT Infections: The Mirai botnet infected roughly 2.5 million Internet of Things devices by Q4 2016, according to a McAfee report. Mirai is a malware that turns networked devices running on obsolete versions of Linux into remotely controlled “bots” that can be used for a large-scale network attacks, BGR reported. 9. HIPAA Fine - Phishing:  Metro Community Provider Network, has agreed to pay $400,000 and to implement a corrective action plan to settle potential noncompliance with the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules, Health Informatics reported. According to OCR’s investigation, MCPN filed a breach report with OCR on January 27, 2012 indicating that a hacker accessed employees’ email accounts and obtained 3,200 individuals’ ePHI through a phishing incident, the report said. 8. Cisco and DockerCon: Watch for Cisco Systems to have a major presence at DockerCon 2017... 7. Data Center Investments: If you invest in Data Center REITs (real estate investment trusts), you're likely very happy. Indeed, data center REITs rose 29 percent in FY 2016. But a bumpy road could be coming, according to SeekingAlpha... 6. Microsoft Azure Cloud Migrations: Microsoft has launched new tools to help enterprises move workloads to the Azure cloud. While we're on the topic, here are the top 50 cloud monitoring and management tools for Azure, Amazon Web Services and more. 5. IT Services Momentum: TeamLogic IT, which supports about 125 MSP franchises, has embraced Unified Office, a VoIP and business communications platform that's increasingly popular with small business customers. CEO Ray Pasquale describes the Unified Office business strategy here. 4. Cloud Services Brokerage Forecast: The cloud services brokerage (CSB) market is expected to grow from $4.5 billion in 2016 to $9.52 billion by 2021, according to Markets and Markets. That's a compound annual growth rate of 16.2% percent. 3. M&A - IT Asset Management: Ivanti (formerly LANDESK) has acquired Concorde Solutions, a provider of software asset management solutions. Concorde's license optimization technology allows customers to manage and optimize software licensing for both client- and server-based enterprise products -- including offerings from Oracle, Microsoft, VMware and IBM. Concorde's Core Control addresses license compliance, purchasing efficiency, change management and service management, the company says. 2. Avaya Bankruptcy Extension?: Hmmm... 1. Under Construction: Something new for ChannelE2E readers. Stay tuned.