Content, 5 things

5 Channel Partner Updates: Thursday 25 July 2019

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Here are five (actually, far more…) technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Thursday, July 25, 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. M&A - Data Centers: Compass has completed the acquisition of ROOT Data Center, which owns and operates facilities in Montreal, Data Center Frontier reports.

2. M&A - Private Equity and APM: Private equity firm Xenon Partners has acquired Scout APM, a provider of application performance management (APM) software. Financial terms were not disclosed. The deal comes as rival APM provider Dynatrace prepares for an IPO, and venture-backed Datadog also marches toward a potential IPO.

3. Investment - Safety & Artificial Intelligence: Avnet has invested $2.1 million in Defendry, a surveillance platform that helps prevent active shooter incidents. Defendry is powered by proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) designed to identify and stop physical threats before they enter a building.

4. ServiceNow Financial Results: The IT service management (ITSM) software provider disclosed Q2 2019 financial results. The details include:

  • Revenue of $933.9 million, up 32 percent.
  • A net loss of $11.1 million.

The figures beat Wall Street's expectations but ServiceNow's stock dipped a bit on the news, amid concerns that the company's valuation essentially is sky-high.

5. Self-Service Gaps: More than 50 percent of leaders say offering self-service is important, but only 15 percent of midsize teams and 9 percent of small businesses let customers find answers themselves, according to Zendesk research.

6. Salesforce for Small Business: Salesforce Essentials, a CRM solution built specifically for small businesses, has gained additional support for more social channels, real-time chat, phone support and more. The

7. Hybrid Infrastructure Monitoring: OpsRamp has launched a new partner program. The program is designed for technology and solutions partners that focus on hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructure management.

8. Startup - Cloud Automation and Management: Matter, a cloud-automation and management platform, has launched and is now general availability. The platform provides "best-of-breed automation for planning, provisioning and compliance," Matter claims. Matter is a ReactorWorks business.

9. Ransomware Attack - Power Grid: A ransomware attack has crippled City Power, the electric utility for Johannesburg, South Africa. That grid is particularly important since it powers South Africa’s financial district, Reuters notes.

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

1. Distribution - MSP Software: NinjaRMM is expanding its business operations across EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa). The effort includes a new office in Berlin, initial moves into France, and a MultiPoint distribution agreement to expand into IsraelGreeceCyprus, and Malta. NinjaRMM develops RMM (remote monitoring and management) software for MSPs. The company's software platform has reached feature parity with rivals, and is now focused on additional break-out innovations, CEO Sal Sferlazza told ChannelE2E during DattoCon19.

2. Talent - CompTIA Board of Directors: The IT association has confirmed several board of director updates ahead of the ChannelCon 2019 conference, scheduled for August in Las Vegas.

3. Talent - Venture Capital: Former Dropbox channel chief Adam Nelson has joined FirstMark Capital, an early stage venture capital firm.

4. Cloud Partnership: Chinese e-commerce and cloud giant Alibaba has agreed to sell Salesforce.com to customers in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, Reuters reports.

5. 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. CompTIA ChannelCon (August 5-9, Las Vegas)
  2. VMware VMworld (August 25-29, San Francisco)
  3. Taylor Business Group Big Big 2019 Conference (September 12-14, Chicago)
  4. IT Glue GlueX 2019 (September 15-17, Phoenix)
  5. Oracle OpenWorld 2019 (September 15-19, San Francisco)
  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.