Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Tuesday, August 8, 2017.
Actually, there are nine timely updates designed 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:
9. FedRamp Progress?: Dell EMC sees considerable progress with FedRAMP, a government-wide program that provides a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring for cloud products and services. However, Dell EMC Federal CTO Cameron Chehreh is calling on FedRAMP to streamline and evolve -- including the need for a passport-type system that allows vendors to earn Authority to Operate (ATO) with one agency, and then leverage that ATO to work across agencies.
8. Partner Program: appOrbit has unveiled a partner ecosystem that helps customers to reduce IT spend, accelerate application release cycles, improve application quality and allocate more resources to new innovation, the company asserts. Key partners includes such systems integrators and VARs as Ericsson, Capgemini, Wipro, Infosys, KPIT and Infogain. The appOrbit platform is also listed on the Oracle Cloud Marketplace.
7. IBM Appeal: IBM will appeal an Indiana judge's ruling that calls for the technology company to pay more than $78 million in damages to the state for failing to modernize the government's welfare system, according to Reuters.
6. Talent: TPx has hired Shane Gossert as part of its national channel program expansion. Gossert, based in Washington, D.C., reports to Jim Delis, has been leading a national channel push since May.
5. Distribution: Tech Data has launched Access EMM, a portfolio of enterprise mobility managed services offerings now available to its U.S. partner community. The portfolio includes mobile device management-as-a-service, cloud WiFi, mobile augmented reality services, and wireless services. Tech Data says the EMM offerings allow partners to build recurring revenue without having to start managed services practices from scratch.
4. M&A: CollabNet, which specializes in enterprise software development and DevOps solutions, has merged with VersionOne, which develops Agile software solutions and service.
3. Staples Rebrand: Just four months after being acquired by Los Angeles-based private equity firm Platinum Equity, the Australia and New Zealand operations of Staples has relaunched as Winc, Mumbrella notes. Back in the U.S., the surviving Staples business is still trying to find a path forward amid intensifying competition from Amazon and other online marketplaces.
2. Tonight's Podcast - Monetizing Cloud Monitoring: Join ChannelE2E at 9:01 p.m. ET this evening for our next podcast (Episode 91). The topic: How to monetize cloud services monitoring. Our is guest Ken Vanderweel senior director of service provider solutions marketing at CA Technologies. For sone clues about what Vanderweel will discuss, check out this blog series on cloud services monetization.
1. Google Engineer Fired Amid Diversity Debate: Google has fired an engineer who penned a memo that advanced "harmful gender stereotypes" in the company's workplace. The fired employee had questioned hiring practices that pursue diversity, alleging the approach creates a culture that discriminates against conservative viewpoints. Without commenting directly about the firing, CEO Sundar Pichai said Google's employees must "find a way to debate issues on which we might disagree—while doing so in line with our Code of Conduct." In other words, it's ok to debate the value of diversity programs. But the debate should never perpetuate stereotypes. Pichai effectively framed that point in this email to employees about the employee's manifesto.
