Content, 5 things

5 Channel Partner Updates: Friday 30 August 2019

Credit: Getty Images

Here are five (actually, far more…) technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Friday, August 30, 2019.

A. Our Daily Brew

  • Who We Serve: Content for managed services providers (MSPs), cloud services providers (CSPs), IT consulting firms, systems integrators, VARs, independent software vendors (ISVs), and any other partner acronym that further caffeinates our already stellar SEO.
  • Frequency: Every business morning.
  • Reaching the Barista: Send news, tips and rumors to [email protected].

B. Freshly Brewed News and Chatter

1. Hypothetically Speaking: A few sources close to the private equity industry have asked me if Thoma Bravo plans to merge ConnectWise and Continuum. Speculation about such a business combo briefly surfaced back when Thoma Bravo acquired ConnectWise in February 2019 (see item 5 in this interview). The private equity firm has also owned Continuum since 2017. And speculation about a potential Continuum company sale surfaced in June 2019.

But does that mean ConnectWise and Continuum will eventually become one company? It's interesting speculation. I don't know if the two companies are in the same Thoma Bravo "fund." If they sit in different funds, putting the two businesses together may involve some financial hurdles.

On the technology and services fronts, ConnectWise has a strong installed base of MSPs running its PSA and RMM software. Continuum is strong in NOC services. And each company offers a lengthy list of additional products and services -- some of which involve overlap. On the partner front, ConnectWise says it supports more than 26,000 partners. Continuum points to 6,000 partners.

So what's next -- if anything? I'm listening but haven't heard anything firm about all this speculation. My eyes and ears will be wide open at Continuum Navigate 2019 (Pittsburgh and Las Vegas) and ConnectWise IT Nation Connect 2019.

2. MSP Software - RMM Updates: NinjaRMM's new 4.3 release supports VMware monitoring, Windows feature and driver updates, and a mobile app for Apple iOS devices.

3. M&A - Offer Rejected: CTG , a provider of IT solutions and services in North America and Western Europe, has rejected an unsolicited bid for the company from Assurance Global Services (AGS). CTG says the bid undervalued the company.

4. Angel Investor Network: North Carolina’s first female-focused angel investment group, called xElle Ventures, has launched. Female-focused groups have popped up in multiple states over the past decade. Key organizations to know include Golden Seeds of New York.

5. IPO - Remote Control Software: TeamViewer is preparing for a potential IPO, according to PitchBook.

6. Security - Blocking Ransomware: VIPRE Security offers this timely advice.

7. Best Buy - Tech Support Services: Best Buy grew its Total Tech Support membership in its latest quarter, but the company's longer-term business forecast disappointed investors. The service costs $199.99 per year -- though there are additional costs for in-home services, repairs and more. Best Buy has not disclosed actual membership figures for the service.

8. Cloud Contract: General Dynamics has won an $8 billion department of defense DoD contract for commercial cloud services, Washington Business Journal reports.

9. Talent - Sitecore Layoffs: Sitecore has cut its workforce by about 70 people, or roughly 5% of its global workforce, CMSWire has learned. The layoffs follow disappointing financial results for Q4 2019, the report says. Sitecore is a digital experience specialist based in Copenhagen.

9. Financial Results - Micro Focus: Not good.

10. Financial Results - Tech Data: The distributor disclosed financial results for its second quarter of fiscal year 2020. The figures include:

  • Net sales of $9.1 billion, up 2 percent from the corresponding quarter last year.
  • Net income of $79.3 million, up 4 percent from the corresponding quarter last year.

The results generally beat Wall Street's expectations.

11, Financial Results - Presidio: The midmarket IT solutions provider and MSP announced Q4 results for fiscal 2019. The figures include:

  • Revenue of $803.2 million, up 9.8 percent from the corresponding quarter last year.
  • Net income of $9.9 million, down 29.8 percent from the corresponding quarter last year.

The figures generally beat Wall Street's expectations. The company is in the process of going private. BC Partners earlier this month announced plans to acquire Presidio.

12. Financial Results - Workday: The SaaS-focused provider of finance and HR applications reported fiscal 2020 second quarter results. The figures include:

  • Revenue of $887.8 million, up 32.2 percent from the corresponding quarter in Q2 fiscal 2019.
  • Net loss of $120.7 million, larger than the $86.1 million net loss in Q2 of fiscal 2019.

The figures generally beat Wall Street's expectations. On the channel front, the company says partners are increasingly embracing the Adaptive software platform for financial applications.

13. Financial Results - Dell Technologies: The hardware giant reported second quarter results for fiscal 2020. The figures include:

  • Revenue of $23.37 billion, up 2 percent compared to the corresponding quarter last year.
  • Net income of $4.5 billion, far better than the $461 million net loss from the corresponding quarter last year.

The figures generally beat Wall Street's expectations. Dell pointed to strength in its PC business as a factor in the strong results.

C. Channel Partner Programs and Strategic Alliances: MSPs, CSPs, ISVs, VARs

1. Cisco Sales/Partner Alignment: Cisco rallied its sales team at the IMPACT conference this week in Las Vegas. Is this the start of a big direct sales push? Actually, no. A big theme of the event: Partners are force multipliers for the networking giant.

2. Talent: Check Point Software Technologies has hired BlackBerry Cylance veteran Abigail Maines as head of channel sales, Americas. She’ll work closely with Frank Rauch, head of worldwide channel sales at Check Point. Although the company is best known among VARs and resellers, Check Point also has a strong base of MSSPs. It’s a safe bet more recurring revenue-type partner programs are on the way.

3. Talent: Powernet has hired Tyler English as channel manager to better serve agents and customers in the southwestern region. English previously held channel- and sales-centric positions at Rhino Networks, CenturyLink Business, and ADP.

4. Professional Services Automation (PSA) Software: Ksquare has partnered with FinancialForce, bringing Salesforce development and implementation support to FinancialForce's PSA and ERP solutions.

5. Scanning Solutions: Fujitsu Computer Products of America Inc. (FCPA) has involved solutions providers to join the NX Technology Partner Program. The NX platform consists of the FUJITSU fi-7300NX thin-client document scanner and management server software, PaperStream NX Manager.  The hardware and software allows partners to build customized scanning solutions, Fujitsu says.

7. All Partner Programs: Search the comprehensive ChannelE2E Partner Program Database here. Also, submit your company information here and your partner program can be listed in the database.

D. Next Five Technology Conferences

  1. Ingram Micro IoT Summit (September 4-5, Irvine, California)
  2. SolarWinds Empower MSP (September 4-5, Atlanta, Georgia)
  3. Taylor Business Group Big Big 2019 Conference (September 12-14, Chicago)
  4. Oracle OpenWorld 2019 (September 15-19, San Francisco)
  5. IT Glue GlueX 2019 (September 15-17, Phoenix)
  6. BonusChannelE2E’s complete event calendar

Got news to share for our morning update? Email me: [email protected].

Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri is co-founder & editorial director of MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E, the two leading news & analysis sites for managed service providers in the cybersecurity market.