5 things, CSPs, MSP, VAR

5 Channel Partner Updates: 16 Nov 2015

Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, gossip, chatter and more to start your day for Monday, November 16, 2015.

Actually, today's update involves 12 items for VARs, managed services providers (MSPs) and cloud services providers (CSPs) to sip on.

13. PSA Alternative?: Keep a close eye on Desk.com's integration with Salesforce.com. Desk.com is a customer service app. SalesforceIQ for Small Business helps SMBs to close more deals. Now the two platforms are integrated..

John Considine
John Considine

12. Jumping Clouds: John Considine, who was chief technology officer for Verizon’s cloud business after the telecom giant bought his startup CloudSwitch in 2011, has surfaced at IBM. He is now vice president of IBM’s Cloud Innovation Lab, a company spokesperson confirmed Friday, although the news has not been formally announced. Source: Fortune. In recent weeks, there were rumors that Verizon planned to sell off its cloud business, but Verizon has since insisted that the rumors are false.

11. Application Monitoring Meets Analytics: ChannelE2E already told you that the next wave of RMM (remote monitoring and management) involves New Relic and application performance management. What's after that? The answer involves deeper analytics for APM tools.

10. Speaking of New Relic: They just launched a formalized partner program... Stay tuned for more on that really soon.

9. Lending IPO Delayed: LoanDepot, an online lender, delayed its IPO amid challenging public market conditions, CNBC reported. Let's fast forward a few months: If online lending companies can't raise money to fund their businesses, how will said online lending companies continue to loan money to small businesses? Sounds like a house of cards to ChannelE2E...

8. Amazon Enterprise Momentum: Amazon Web Services (AWS) will be a top 5 enterprise IT by 2020, according to a new report from Morgan Stanley. The investment firm predicts AWS could have $20 billion in annual revenues by that time. On the one hand, the estimate sounds conservative since AWS already has an $8 billion annual run rate, and is growing at 80 percent annually. On the other hand, AWS growth could be harmed if so-called Unicorns suffer a major correction.

Greg VanDeWalker

7. What Comes After HaaS?: I've waited nearly a decade for Hardware as a Service (HaaS) to take hold. But now, I'm keeping a close eye on Hardware as a Rental (HaaR). What's the difference? We'll share details from Great America Senior VP Greg VanDeWalker really soon.

6. More Telecom Red Flags: Cisco's latest quarterly revenue rose almost 4 percent and profits jumped 33 percent, according to earnings released last week. However, the company's future revenue guidance disappointed investors, and router revenue fell 8 percent -- likely because of soft spending among telecom service providers...

5. Zenefits Pushes Into Payroll: Zenefits, the SaaS-based benefits platform for small businesses, plans to launch its own payroll platform. For small business owners, it's getting easier and easier to automate the nuts and bolts of your operations...

4. Office 365 Management Is So 2011: More Office 365 management tools designed for VARs and MSPs continue to surface. But if you're still trying to figure out how to source and manage the Microsoft SaaS platform for customers, you're about three or four years behind the market. Nail down that strategy fast. Then open your eyes to Microsoft Azure workloads...

3. The Profit: ChannelE2E and After Nines Inc. CEO Amy Katz wound up on stage with The Profit Host and Small Business Investor Marcus Lemonis, IT Weapons CEO Ted Garner and ConnectWise CEO Arnie Bellini at IT Nation 2015. Was it a planned panel? Nope. I suspect Amy will blog about the impromptu experience in the days ahead...

2. This Week: Amy Katz and I are heading to Ingram Micro Fall ONE 2015, a massive gathering of IT service providers that work closely with the distributor. If you'd like to potentially meet at the conference please email me ([email protected]).

Meg Whitman

1. Meg Whitman: Hewlett-Packard Enterprise's CEO is set to address the Ingram Micro Fall ONE 2015 audience this week. ChannelE2E will be on hand for live analysis.

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.