Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to sip on for Friday, February 4, 2016.
Actually, there are 13 items for VARs, managed services providers (MSPs), cloud services providers (CSPs) and independent software vendors (ISVs) to sip on…
13. File Sync and Sharing Encryption: Keybase has introduced a file sync and sharing service that offers end-to-end encryption. Box, meanwhile has introduced a new customer-managed encryption solution called Box KeySafe. We're checking to see if channel-friendly file sync and sharing services like eFolder's Anchor and Autotask's SoonR have encryption strategies in place. Also, we're not sure if Keybase has or will ever offer a partner program.
12. Symantec Making Acquisitions: Silver Lake, the private equity firm, is pumping $500 million into Symantec. The move will allow the software company to make targeted acquisitions in the security market. Symantec sold off its Veritas storage business in recent months in order to retreat and retrench around security.
11. Cloud Partner Program: Acronis has unveiled the Acronis Partner Program for Cloud, which is an extension of the Acronis Global Partner Program. The new partner program features a subscription model for service providers, distributors and cloud resellers.
10. Top Cloud Backup Providers: Technavio says the top five vendors in the global cloud backup and recovery software market are CA Technologies, CommVault, EMC, Microsoft and IBM. Ahem... I think some of the names on the list are open to debate. Plus, a look at the top business continuity players supporting SMB channel partners would be quite interesting... Hmmm...
9. Smart Building Managed Services: BuildingIQ, which develops an energy optimization software platform, has launched a managed service to help optimize heating, ventilation and cooling (HVAC) in commercial buildings. We'll share more details soon...
8. Tax Hack: TaxSlayer, which develops software for people who prepare their own taxes, apparently was hacked. Data from nearly 9,000 customers may have been compromised. The setback mirrors a similar issue over at TaxAct, which disclosed a potential hack in January... Meanwhile, the IRSA has resumed processing tax returns after a system outage earlier this week.
7. Cloud Management: CloudBolt has released its cloud management platform in the Microsoft Azure Marketplace. CloudBolt allows customers and service providers to manage servers, applications and IT environments across numerous clouds and virtualized environments. For additional cloud management options, check out our Top 50 Cloud Management and Monitoring Tools list.
6. CRM Cloud Acquisition: YourCause, a SaaS provider that supports nonprofit customers, has acquired Orange Leap, a cloud-based CRM provider for charitable organizations. The deal reinforces the fact that highly targeted vertical SaaS applications can march forward even as mainstream options from Salesforce, Microsoft and Oracle seemingly dominate the world.
5. Apple Mac in Business: LogicNow's recent buyout of Mac-MSP reinforced a well-known point: More and more businesses need Mac-oriented managed services. Just how big is the Mac for business market these days? Check out these Mac for Business adoption stats from ComputerWorld.
4. ConnectWise Board of Directors: Anyone else notice that ConnectWise now has a board of directors? So far, the lineup includes four well-known company insiders. Hmmm...
3. Cloud Channel Programs: ChannelE2E is catching up with both SAP and Oracle later today, seeking an update on each company's respective cloud channel partner programs. Stay tuned for new insights...
2. Application Performance Management: New Relic, which develops an application performance management platform for on-premises and cloud applications, says Q3 revenue skyrocketed 64 percent to $47.74 million. DevOps teams leverage New Relic to troubleshoot application rollouts and ongoing performance, and the platform is now catching on with service providers, too.
1. Top Channel Partner Programs: Looking for a channel partner program that addresses business continuity, networking, cloud storage or something else? Check out the ChannelE2E Partner Program Database -- where more than 120 partner programs are listed across numerous categories. If your company isn't listed in the database, you can submit it for consideration here.
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