5 Channel Partner Updates: 3 October 2016

Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Monday, October 3, 2016. Actually, there are 19 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… 19. Partner Program: Mvix today launched the Dedicated Digital Signage Partner Program, which features "new exclusive systems and partner-oriented pricing," the company asserts. Mvix's partner community can provide clients with turnkey digital signage, video wall and interactive kiosk solutions with enterprise content management systems (CMS), the company says.

18. SBA CIO: The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has named  Maria A. Roat to serve as the organization's CIO, effective today. She joins the SBA from the U.S. Department of Transportation, where Roat was CTO since August 2014.  She will oversee the agency's enterprise IT services, systems, investments and security. 17. Small Business Mobile Websites: Only 17 percent of small businesses in the UK have mobile-friendly websites, meaning that they're losing out on e-commerce in particular, according to ThisIsMoney.

16. Partner Help Desk: Infor, the business applications developer, has launched the Infor Partner HelpDesk. The new partner program is "designed to deliver more rapid expertise for certain functional, technical and project management needs."

15. Return of Quest Software: Quest Software will shift from Dell ownership to Private Equity ownership within the next few weeks. The IT management software specialist is quietly researching the MSP market for a range of business and engagement opportunities... Dell sold Quest and SonicWall to strengthen its balance sheet amid the massive EMC acquisition.

Vince Steckler

14. Future of AVG Managed Workplace: When Avast finalized the AVG buyout last week, the company evangelized its massive installed base of security offerings. Managed Workplace, AVG's MSP platform, wasn't mentioned in the completed merger announcement. However, Avast CEO Vince Steckler in July told ChannelE2E that he remains committed to the MSP market. And last week, Steckler mentioned a strong focus on SMB resellers. We'll be watching the situation closely.

13. Salesforce.com Partner Ecosystem: Qstream, a mobile sales app specialist, has inked a partnership with Agilitude, a platinum Salesforce.com reseller and consulting partner in Africa. Agilitude joins a group of VARs authorized to sell Qstream's SaaS solution, which integrates closely with Salesforce.com.

12. Government Distribution: Synnex has been awarded with the National Cooperative Purchasing Alliance (NCPA) contract, a national government purchasing cooperative. Qualified resellers can access the NCPA contract via the Synnex GOVSolv group. The net result? Resellers have access to more than  90,000 agencies nationwide, Synnex said.

11. Microsoft's European Cloud Push: Microsoft has spent more than $3 billion building up its cloud infrastructure in Europe, including $1 billion in the past year, according to Bloomberg. Amazon, Google and IBM have also been making European cloud investments -- though I don't have dollar figures at my fingertips. The European cloud efforts aim to ensure data centers adhere to local data and privacy regulations.

That's all for page one of this blog. Proceed to page two for items 10 through 1.

Welcome to page two. Thanks for joining us here for items 10 through 1 in today's blog.

10. IoT Smart City: Ingenu has launched a "Smarter City" program for IoT applications. The effort will ease application deployments for smart parking, street lighting, water and electricity metering and management, proactive infrastructure management and environmental monitoring, the company asserts.

Terrence Curtin

9. IoT Talent: TE Connectivity, a $2 billion sensor and connectivity specialist, has named Terrence Curtin as its next CEO. The company's sensors are found in factory floor equipment, appliances and vehicles. TE is a spin-off of Tyco International. 8. IoT Security & Botnets: Security researchers have come across the source code for the Internet of Things botnet called Mirai, according to Bitcoin News Service. This botnet has been used to launch major DDoS attacks against various websites. Now that the source code has been leaked, it becomes a lot easier to render the botnet useless, the news service asserts. Still, the emergence of IoT botnets signals fresh concern about Internet of Things security. 7. IoT Ransomware?: Speaking of IoT security, pundits are now concerned about IoT ransomware. Indeed, IoT ransomware can potentially shut down vehicles, turn off power, or even stop production lines, according to TechCrunch. 6. Smartwatch Software Delay: Google has delayed the launch of Android Wear 2.0 until 2017, though a new test version of the software is available now. There are three possibilities here: (1) Android Wear 2.0 simply isn't ready for prime time yet, (2) Google is unimpressed with Apple Watch 2, or (3) both. 5. Talent Management M&A: Ultimate Software, a provider of human capital management (HCM) solutions, has acquired Kanjoya Inc., a workforce intelligence and analytics platform for enterprises. The net result is UltiPro Perception, which will help companies collect, understand, and act on employee feedback, Ultimate Software asserts. 4. Tracking Technology IPOs: Nutanix shares rose more than 130 percent when the hyperconverged technology company went public on Friday, Sept. 30. That could be good news for BlackLine (cloud-based accounting software) and Carbon Black (cybersecurity), both of which appear to be preparing IPOs. 3. Salesforce Dreamforce: It's safe to expect plenty of artificial intelligence news at this week's Salesforce Dreamforce 2016 conference in San Francisco. But don't overlook a range of channel- and MSP-friendly companies that are on hand for the event. Stay tuned for updates.... 2. Thank  You: To the hundreds of MSPs who attended ChannelE2E's sessions last week at Autotask Community Live 2016 and Continuum Navigate 2016. Our next stop is likely Dell EMC World 2016 later this month. 1. Join Us: Our next webcast, set for Oct. 27, identifies What MSP Buyers Look For In MSP Sellers. Don't forget to register now and join us on Oct. 27. Thanks to those who have already registered. More: Read all of our daily 5 Channel Partner Updates. Plus: Subscribe to our daily enewsletter. Thanks to those who already have.