Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Wednesday, May 24, 2017.
Actually, there are 19 updates 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…
19. Partners and Digital Disruption: That's the big theme here at Ingram Micro's TrustX Alliance conference in Orlando. And actually, the terminology is digital transformation.
18. Partners of the Year: Still wondering where the opportunities are in application performance monitoring (APM)? Find the answers by taking a close look at Dynatrace's partners of the year for 2017.
17. Partner Program - Cloud Storage: ClearSky Data, which specializes in on-demand primary storage with built-in offsite backup and disaster recovery (DR) as a single service, has launched a partner program for MSPs and resellers.
16. Channel Chief - Security: Symbolic IO, a data storage specialist, has hired Bill Wood, formerly of FireEye, as VP of channel sales and strategic alliances.
15. Distribution - Cloud Automation: Ingram Micro has agreed to distribute CloudVelox's cloud automation and orchestration software.
14. Distribution - Microsoft Azure: Tech Data has added Microsoft Azure to its cloud marketplace. I believe Ingram Micro Cloud already offers Azure. I'm curious to know/learn if Pax8 and other cloud-centric distributors see Azure opportunities. I'll be sure to ask Pax8 during DattoCon17 next month in Denver.
13. Managed Microsoft Azure Services: Media3, which offers managed cloud solutions for the enterprise, has introduced managed services for Azure public cloud in over 100 data centers.
12. Managed Skye Services: Unify Square has launched 24x7 cloud managed services for Microsoft Skype for Business.
11. Managed Data Services: DataStax has launched DataStax Managed Cloud, a managed service of the DataStax Enterprise (DSE) data platform. It leverages the company's recently acquired company DataScale.
But Wait. There's More. Check out page 2 for items 10 to 1.
Welcome to page 2 of today's update...
10. Managed Healthcare Services: That's the big push for Cognizant Technologies this week...
9. Managed Desktops as a Service: TBConsulting, an MSP, has deployed 4,000 virtual desktops on the Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Platform. Nutanix specializes in hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) software and has key partnerships with multiple server makes.
8. Google Enterprise Bundle: Google has launched a Chrome Enterprise Bundle designed for IT administrators. I don't know if Google is distributing or promoting the bundle to partners.
7. Fresh Funding: Fastly, which specializes in edge cloud services, has raised $50 million in new funding.
6. Huawai Laptops: Huawai, the Chinese technology giant, is getting into the enterprise laptop business...
5. Microsoft Surface Pro: Microsoft, as expected, has launched a new Surface Pro device -- which aims to jumpstart sales for the hardware portfolio...
4. M&A - Networking: Network equipment vendors Sonus Networks and Genband have agreed to a merger of equals, creating a new company with an enterprise value of roughly $745 million, notes SeekingAlpha. Caution Sign: I don't believe in mergers of equal. They typically fail. Example: Wellfleet and SynOptics merging to create Bay Networks in the 1990s. Both were growing fast but they imploded among M&A bureaucracy. One company's executive team -- and one company's culture -- must lead the combined company forward.
3. Compliance - Europe: Gigya, which specializes in Customer Identity Management, has launched Gigya Privacy by Design Program -- which helps customers prepare for the European Union's upcoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The regulation, which takes effect on May 25, 2018, is a radical revision of EU consumer data privacy and protection laws, Gigya notes.
2. Thank You: To the MSSPs, partners and businesses that visited MSSP Alert during that site's launch day yesterday.
1. Putting ChanneE2E & MSSP Alert in Context: ChannelE2E, ever since its launch in September 2015, has been the fastest-growing IT media platform our team has ever built. And ChannelE2E, still growing, is now the largest site we've ever built. Why? Perhaps because MSPs and VARs crave information about the entrepreneur-to-exit journey, and associated business models for success. Now, MSSP Alert is a sister site for those partners and businesses that are betting their entire companies on cybersecurity -- and the mission to safeguard customer assets. Thanks for your readership as we continue to build and expand both sites.
