Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Wednesday, May 31, 2017.
Actually, there are 10 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…
10. Big Security Partnership: IBM and Cisco Systems are partnering on the security front. Details just emerged this morning. For a closer look at the relationship and its implications for partners -- particularly MSSPs -- check our sister site, MSSP Alert, later today. Meanwhile, here's a look at Cisco's overall security partner strategy.
9. Toshiba Accounting: Toshiba will not be able to present its audited annual business results for the fiscal year ended March at its general shareholders meeting on June 28, Reuters reported. The company is at odds with auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) since a surprise writedown at its now bankrupt Westinghouse nuclear unit, the report said.
8. Consumer IoT: Nest Labs, a unit of Alphabet Inc., is ending a nearly 11-month product drought with a revamped, high-end indoor security camera, Bloomberg noted. The product, called the Nest Cam IQ, is Nest’s first redesigned indoor camera since acquiring Dropcam, a startup that made similar devices, in 2014, the report said. Nest had a major leadership shakeup in June 2016 when Tony Fadell resigned from the company.
7. Telecom Business Rates: Trade groups representing rural telecom companies have asked the Federal Communications Commission to modernize its rates, terms and conditions for certain small and rural providers offering business data services, saying older rules are hurting their ability to compete, according to Law360.
6. Data Center Expansion: TierPoint, a provider of hybrid IT solutions with 40 data centers and 8 multi-tenant cloud pods in 20 US markets serving more than 5,000 customers, plans to build another data center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This will be TierPoint’s fourth data center in that state, the company said.
5. Talent - Channel Leaders: SonicWall has hired Michael Berg as senior director of channel sales with a focus on Europe. I believe he reports to Channel Chief Steve Pataky. Berg previously was channel director at encrypted communications firm Silent Circle, and VP of project management at IT distributor ASBISc Enterprises PLC. Earlier, he spent more than a decade at Tech Data. SonicWall, now owned by a private equity firm, is focused 100 percent on partner sales, and has been developing MSP- and MSSP-centric channel offerings.
4. Distribution - Earnings: Tech Data is expected to announce quarterly earnings on June 1. Wall Street and partners will closely watch how the company's Technology Solutions business (acquired from Avnet) is performing.
3. Ingram Micro Financing: The world of partner financing is rapidly evolving beyond credit services. Ingram Micro has announced a range of new financing services for partners -- many of which are designed to support IT as a service. The financing chatter dominated Ingram Micro TrustX Alliance conference last week in Orlando. We'll share more details soon.
2. Keep an Eye On: Datto's executive team (additions coming?) and Salesforce.com's partner program (enhancements coming?). Perhaps we'll track down more details later today...
1. Meet ChannelE2E?: ChannelE2E and MSSP Alert are set to attend DattoCon17 next week in Denver. Also in June, we'll attend TruMethods Schnizzfest 2017 and ConnectWise Automation Nation. If you'd like to potentially meet at one of those conferences please email me ([email protected]).
