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5 Channel Partner & MSP News Updates for 11 May 2023

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Cup of coffee americano over roasted coffee beans. Symbol yin and yang formed of foam.

Thursday has arrived. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day on May 11, 2023.

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  • Who We Serve: Content for managed services providers (MSPs), IT service providers (ITSPs), cybersecurity consultants, technology solutions providers (TSPs), systems integrators, VARs, independent software vendors (ISVs), distributors and any other partner acronym that further energizes our already stellar SEO.
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Today’s Technology and MSP Partner Program News

  1. Layoffs: Akamai Technologies Inc. will lay off 290 employees or about 3% of its workflorce as part of a restructuring effort, according to Layoffstracker.com. The layoffs are part of a restructuring effort to focus on security and cloud computing. The company also announced Q1 revenues up 1% year over year or 4% adjusted for foreign currency.
  2. More layoffs: Microsoft cut an additional 158 jobs beyond its already announced global layoffs of 10,000, according to GeekWire. The company also told employees this week that it will not raise salaries this year citing a “dynamic economic environment.”
  3. Still more layoffs: StackOverflow also shared plans to cut its workforce. CEO Prashanth Chandrasekar wrote in a public blog post that the company will cut 10% of its workforce or 58 employees. Chandrasekar said a macroeconomic conditions, a focus on profitability, and a closer look at strategic priorities such as AI/ML focused offerings, contributed to the decision to make these job cuts. 
  4. The current layoff tally, plus, who is hiring: Layoffs.fyi reports that 668 tech companies have laid off 193,038 employees so far in 2023 and that 1,056 tech companies laid off 164,591 employees in 2022. Many companies are cutting in some areas, but adding new hires in other strategic areas such as cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. MSP platform companies such as N-able and Kaseya are also hiring. N-able executives reported in their Q1 earnings call that they are taking advantage of the current labor environment to hire in R&D. Kaseya also recently made commitments to hire 3,400 people at its headquarters in Miami-Dade county.
  5. Layoffs can hurt shareholder value: Gartner this week issued a warning to technology companies, cautioning that layoffs may ultimately harm shareholder returns. Layoffs are an immediate expense in the form of severance payments and the cost of the business reorganizing itself around a smaller group of employees. In addition, businesses will likely see an increase in contractor hiring and increased compensation for remaining employees who are now under a greater burden. Gartner offered several alternatives for organizations to consider to cut workforce-related costs without resorting to layoffs. 

C. Technology Conferences for MSPs, IT Channel Partners and More

Jessica C. Davis

Jessica C. Davis is Editorial Director of CyberRisk Alliance’s channel brands — MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E. She also oversees content and programming for the MSSP Alert Live event. She has spent a career as a journalist covering the business of technology including chips, software, the cloud, AI, and cybersecurity. She previously served as Editor in Chief of Channel Insider and later of MSP Mentor where she was one of the first editors to oversee the creation and vision of the MSP 501 list.

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