Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Tuesday, December 20, 2016.
Actually, there are 12 timely 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…
12. Will Uber Math Work?: Uber is on pace to generate $5.5 billion in net revenue this year, according to Bloomberg. Impressive... But the company also lost $800 million in its most recent quarter -- not including the company's operations in China...
11. Did Apple Forget the Desktop?: The Mac Pro hasn't been refreshed since 2013 and the Mac Mini hasn't been upgraded since 2014, notes Bloomberg. Now, critics are starting to notice and Apple is alienating Mac loyalists... CEO Tim Cook insists that Mac desktops are still strategic for Apple. Either way, you have hundreds of different Apple Watch bands from which to choose...
10. Online Lending Weakness: SoFi, an online lender, has pushed back its IPO plans. Among the reasons: Problems at rival LendingClub have given the online lending sector a black eye...
9. CenturyLink Goes to Washington: The telecom giant has won an $11.4 million UCaaS (unified communications as a service) contract with the U.S. Senate. The overall contract could be worth $26 million over seven years, Washington Technology reported.
8. Ransomware Recovery: MTM, a California-based MSP, has recovered 85,000 files from a ransomware attack, Datto reports. No doubt, backup and disaster recovery (BDR) solutions rank among the best-known ways to mitigate or eliminate ransomware's impact.
7. SOC Investments: Investments in Security Operations Centers (SOCs) are paying off, according to a recent McAfee report. Still, not every VAR or MSP can afford to build out and staff their own SOC. That's why Continuum, for one, is preparing to launch a SOC for its MSP base. CEO Michael George has hinted the SOC is under development now but he hasn't disclosed an actual launch date...
6. Oracle Cloud Applications User Community: Quest International Users Group, one of Oracle's largest umbrella user groups, has launched the Oracle Cloud Applications User Community. You can call it "OC Squared" for short, the organization says. The independent organization delivers unbiased education, networking and advocacy for Oracle users across the globe.
5. Docker and Container Security: Cloudera and Docker have partnered to "vastly improve the security of data." The relationship involves a jointly developed solution to secure Docker container volumes.This integrated solution allows government agencies to share data via cryptographically secure containers as part of a partnership where Cloudera provides level one and level two technical support backed by Docker, the companies say.
4. M&A: Accenture Acquires Identity Company: Accenture has acquired an Identity & Access Management (IAM) security company. Accenture has now acquired or invested in six different security companies over the past year or so...
3. M&A: VMware Acquires SDN Startup: VMware has acquired intellectual property and some employees from software-defined networking (SDN) startup PLUMgrid, SDxCentral reported.
2. Time for CIO Certifications?: You know about CompTIA A+ and Network+ certifications. But is it time for a certification specifically designed for CIOs -- especially in terms of data protection and security? Yes, according to former CIO Magazine Publisher Gary J. Beach...
1. Top 100 Vertical Market MSPs: Who are they? Perhaps your company ranks among them. To find out, complete our Top 100 Vertical Market MSPs Survey. We'll announce research results and honorees in March 2017.
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