5 Channel Partner Updates: 8 June 2016

Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to sip on for Wednesday, June 8, 2016.

Actually, there are 13 entries for VARs, managed services providers (MSPs), cloud services providers (CSPs) and independent software vendors (ISVs) to sip on. Take a look…

13. VAR M&A: Carousel Industries, an IT solutions provider with 1,000 employees, has acquired Atrion -- which has roughly 300 employees. The combined company will have $550 million in combined revenues. We'll share more details later today.

12. HP Enterprise and Public Clouds: Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman is open to public-cloud partnerships with Amazon.com Inc. and Google, Bloomberg said. HP Enterprise already has a strong relationship with Microsoft Azure, and runs a machine learning system atop Microsoft's cloud.

11. File sync and sharing: Fujitsu, one of Japan’s largest IT services providers, will integrate Box into its enterprise software. Somewhat similarly, HP Enterprise is working more closely with Dropbox.

10. Amazon Growth Market: India is Amazon's fastest growing region, according to CEO Jeff Bezos. Instead of sitting back to enjoy the moment, Amazon plans to invest an additional $3 billion in the country, bringing the company's total investments in the region to $5 billion.

9. Apple Watch on Sale: Best Buy is offering big discounts on Apple Watch -- suggesting that the smartwatch market has stalled... or maybe it's time to clear inventory ahead of Apple Watch 2.

8. Bank Hacker Warning: U.S. regulators on Tuesday told banks to review cyber-security protections against fraudulent money transfers in the wake of revelations that a hacking group used such messages to steal $81 million from the Bangladesh central bank, Reuters reported. Banking CIOs worldwide have been on edge in recent weeks, especially since some financial firms missed warning signs that hackers were on the move.

7. SEC Slack on Security: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has not done enough to implement information technology security upgrades to protect highly sensitive information from data breaches, the commission’s inspector general said in a report last week, according to Technology Law360.

6. Cloud-based RMM: Corporate Software Services (CSS), a global consulting and services provider, has launched OneView, a centralized platform for IT system monitoring. Although CSS has experience supporting MSPs, it sounds like OneView will target corporate IT departments and CIOs.

5. Security Monitoring M&A: Fortinet has acquired AccelOps, a provider of network security monitoring and analytics solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed, but Reuters says Fortinet paid $28 million in cash with an additional $4 million based on AccelOps' future performance.

4. Partner Program: Armor has launched the Armor Global Partner Program, which promotes cybersecurity solutions to managed service providers, resellers and technology partners. Daniel Mannion, VP of partner and alliances, oversees the program.

3. After the Buyout: Logicalis, one of the world's largest MSPs, has launched a suite of cloud services based on the company's Thomas Duryea buyout. Keep an eye on Logicalis Meridian, a portfolio of cloud solutions that includes distribution, billing and analytics, ARN reported.

2. Data Center Acquisition:  QTS Realty Trust, an international provider of data center, managed hosting and cloud services, has purchased a 360,000 square foot data center from DuPont Fabros Technology in Piscataway, New Jersey. This is QTS' third New Jersey data center, each of which supports Fortune 1000 enterprises across financial services, healthcare and technology in the Northeast. QTS purchased the existing 18 megawatt facility for approximately $125 million and will plan to add an additional 8 megawatts over the next few years, the company said. The acquired facility is expected to contribute approximately $7.5 million in annualized recurring revenue and approximately $3.0 million in annualized adjusted EBITDA, the company said.