Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to end your day for Tuesday, November 13, 2018.
Actually, there are 14 timely updates designed for managed services providers (MSPs), cloud services providers (CSPs), IT consulting firms, systems integrators, VARs, independent software vendors (ISVs), telco master agents, and telco agents to sip on. Take a look:
14. Valuation Reality Check: Privately held big data software provider Palantir Technologies has a lofty $20 billion valuation. But the road to potential IPO includes this reality check: Palantir has never turned an annual profit in its 14-year history, and has a bad habit of spending big money on wasteful items, The Wall Street Journal warns. Among the examples: The company last year offered 13-course tasting-menu lunches with lobster tail and sashimi at headquarters—calling such extravagance “Palantir Entitlement Syndrome.” We'll see how long the entitlements last...
13. The AI Cold War -- U.S. vs. China: Which country is winning the Artificial Intelligence (AI) race -- the United States of China? Here's a scorecard from humans who still control their own keyboards...
12. While You Were Out...: Italian phone group Telecom Italia (TIM) dismissed CEO Amos Genish while he was away on business in Asia on Tuesday, ousting a man viewed by some TIM directors as an obstacle to their campaign for a more aggressive shake-up at the company, Reuters notes.
11. Funding - Data Protection: ClearSky Data, which develops on-demand primary storage with built-in offsite backup and disaster recovery (DR) as a service, has raised $20 million in new funding. New investors include a "market-leading technology provider" -- though we don't know the name of the mystery investor.
10. Talent: Arcserve has named Vince Blackall as EMEA channel director. He previously held key channel posts at Kaminario, Pure Storage, Violin Memory, Dell Software, Commvault, Veritas and Computer Associates.
9. SMB Services: CenturyLink has launched SIMPLE for Business. The first offering available through the new service is CenturyLink SIMPLE Internet -- it offers customers the "highest available Internet speed in their area with no promotional pricing or long-term contract," the company says.
8. MSP Sales Strategies: The Wiser Agency and Kernan Consulting are hosting a Millionaire Mastermind gathering in San Diego this December. The goal? Help MSPs to build and drive profitable sales growth.
7. MSP Platforms - Security Integration: Bitdefender's security software now integrates with Kaseya VSA -- an RMM (remote monitoring and management) software platform for MSPs and midmarket IT departments.
6. IT Services - Staff Time Management: SutiSoft has upgraded its HR management platform with new time management and personnel modules. SutiHR timesheet data can now be easily exported to ConnectWise, allowing MSPs to more easily manage vacation requests, required time off and more.
5. Earnings - SolarWinds: The IT management software company, which went public in October, will announce quarterly results after U.S. markets close on Tuesday. We'll be watching and listening for potential metrics involving the SolarWinds MSP business unit.
4. Google to Office 365 Migration Tools: Microsoft is developing tools and services to help customers migrate from Google G Suite to Office 365...
3. Cloud Services Comparison Tool: Cloud Spectator, a Cloud benchmarking and consulting firm, has launched a cloud comparison tool called Cloud Transparency Platform. It tracks monthly pricing on over 15,000 Cloud offerings in 50+ data centers from around the globe, the company says.
2. Top 100 Vertical Market MSPs 2019: Complete the survey and potentially have your MSP honored for its vertical-market momentum.
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