Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, rumors and much more to start your day for Thursday, January 14, 2016.
Actually, today’s update involves 17 items for VARs, managed services providers (MSPs), cloud services providers (CSPs) and independent software vendors (ISVs) to sip on.
17. New Internet of Things Leader: This just in. Avnet has named Eric Williams to the newly created role of vice president, Internet of Things for Avnet worldwide. Williams is a veteran of rival distributor Arrow Electronics.
16. Oh No, GoPro: The video camera maker for action and sports enthusiasts says Q4 revenues will be about $435 million -- whopping 14 percent below Wall Street's expectations. Shares plummeted 24 percent and layoffs are coming. Sort of reminds us of the classic Cisco Flip video camera flop. Innovating single-purpose digital devices ain't easy. Convincing loyal users to buy the next device is even more difficult...
15. AT&T Dials Ubuntu: Hmmm... Ubuntu is the Linux operating system that was going to push Windows off the desktop. Alas, that reality never emerged. But AT&T does see major uses for Ubuntu across its network, cloud and enterprise applications. Somewhat similarly, Walmart runs its e-commerce cloud on Ubuntu, The Wall Street Journal reports. Somebody should start an Ubuntu-related business site. Oh, wait...
14. Freshly Funded:
- Prevalent (Warren, N.J.), which specializes in vendor risk management and cyber threat intelligence, raised $8 million in Series B funding led by Spring Mountain Capital.
- Shape Security (Mountain View, Calif.), which offers security for web and mobile apps, raised $25 million in Series D funding from multiple backers.
13. Security Acquisition: Distil Networks acquired ScrapeSentry of Sweden. Financial terms were not disclosed. If they need a reporter to visit the Sweden operation... I'm available.
12. A Community for Entrepreneurs: Startups.co, according to TechCrunch, has been busy buying services like Zirtual and Clarity.fm to build a network of connected products for entrepreneurs. Next up: Zana, a site that says it’s “democratizing entrepreneurship.” If you're active in those communities we'd love to hear more...
11. MSP and VAR Valuations: I'm set to speak with Service Leadership CEO Paul Dippell in the next few days. Stay tuned for updates on IT service provider valuations... and plenty more.
10. Return of CapEx: For several weeks now, we've been telling readers that CapEx-oriented IT spending will begin to rebound as OpEx spending growth begins to slow down. The latest example: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing says it's set to raise CapEx by at least 10 percent from 2015's four-year low.
9. New Distribution Deals: Ingram Micro has agreed to expand its distribution deal with Moblity's digital signage and retail shelf media technology. Also, Ingram will distribute Lookout -- a mobile threat protection security solution.
8. Big Data and Hadoop Partners: Roughly 60 percent of companies say they are making money from big data applications, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit. CompTIA's latest research suggests big data upside awaits partners that get into the game. And Hadoop providers -- like Cloudera, Hortonworks and MapR -- are expanding their partner programs. Speaking of which: Keep your eye on that sector for some potential news later today...
7. HIPAA and Mobile Concerns: Eight out of 10 mobile apps are open to HIPAA violations, hacking and potential data theft, according to tests by Arxan Technologies. Organizations like the Compliancy Group have been helping MSPs to identify and close potential HIPAA compliance holes for customers. And by the way: We're looking to identify and honor the world's top healthcare-focused MSPs as part of our Top Vertical Market MSPs research survey.
6. Done Deal: Carbonite's buyout of EVault from Seagate Technology is now a done deal, paving the way for the cloud and appliance backup provider to push harder into the midmarket. Carbonite has made several new executive hires to lead the effort.
5. MSP Peer Groups: Continuum, working with HTG Peer Groups, will kick off peer group meetings for MSP owners and NOC (network operations center) managers on January 20. The peer groups strive to shape business best practices that drive partner growth. The groups meet online once per month, and will also gather at Continuum's annual partner and customer gathering -- Navigate 2016.
4. Data Center Acquired: A fund backed by the California Public Employees' Retirement System has paid nearly $18 million for a Chicago-based data center that made a quick trip through bankruptcy court about five years ago, according to Crain's Chicago Business. The 107,000 square foot data center is fully leased by TierPoint.
3. Datto's Second European Data Center: Datto, the business continuity specialist that works closely with MSPs, recently opened a data center in Iceland, its second in Europe. This will offer European partners additional capacity for growth, while still satisfying EMEA’s storage and privacy requirements, the company asserts.
2. EMC, VMware Annual Earnings Results: VMware will announce annual financial results on January 26, and EMC will disclose its annual results on January 27. The announcements should help to describe each company's health and prospects ahead of a sale to Dell. That $67 billion deal is expected to close between May and October.
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