Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology observations, insights, chatter, news and gossip to start your day for Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2015.
Actually, today's update involves 14 items for VARs, managed services providers, cloud services providers and total service providers (TSPs) to sip on.
13. Rethinking Managed Print Services: Where do 3D printing services fit into the managed print services conversation? Maybe United Parcel Service will find the answer. UPS, leveraging an existing investment in CloudDDM, is now testing 900 3D printers to see how the devices may change the delivery business. By the way, CloudDDM is short for Cloud Direct Digital Manufacturing. The company focuses on "3D printed parts in record time." Source: Wall Street Journal.
12. Join Me Today: I'm set to co-host Tech News Today with Mike Elgan at 1:00 p.m. ET/10:00 a.m. PT. Most of the conversation involves consumer-oriented IT developments. But typically weave in a few channel- and enterprise-related insights.
11. IT Salaries: Let's assume you're a mid-career IT professional. What would you expect to earn in the U.S. vs. other countries? Glad you asked. In the U.S., you and your peers would average about $132,877 -- the fourth best figure worldwide. Switzerland ($171,465), Belgium ($152,980) and Denmark ($139,920) are ahead. For a look at typical salaries in additional countries, check out the MyHigheringClub salary data for 2015. And don't forget: The survey doesn't reflect your spending power in each country.
10. Managed Services Down South: A few years back, I remember speaking with Autotask and Kaseya about their business ambitions in Brazil. Back then, everyone was excited about infrastructure build-outs for the 2014 Brazil World Cup and the and the 2016 Rio De Janeiro Olympics. Fast forward to the present, and it sounds like CFOs from numerous industries are struggling to "pull profit from Brazil." I'm checking to see if the same is true for the managed services market.
9. Remember Desktop Software Suites?: At a time when so many of us have embraced cloud-based applications like Google Apps for Work and Microsoft Office 365, there's still a market for "desktop" software. A case in point: Microsoft today delivered Office 2016 -- yes, a PC-centric upgrade to the suite. But did the software giant get around to fixing yesterday's massive Skype outage? Hmmm...
8. IT Nation: I missed the 2014 event during my journey to figure out "what to do next." I'm pleased to say I expect to attend IT Nation 2015... Thank you to ConnectWise for the invite. No doubt, CEO Arnie Bellini will offer an update on ConnectWise's evolution -- both on the management side of the business and the product/services side of the house. Also... "The Profit" investor and entrepreneur Marcus Lemonis (pictured) is set to keynote...
7. IT Service Management M&A: Heat Software, which specializes in hybrid service management, acquired Absolute Management and Absolute Service technologies from Absolute Software Corp. The deal gives Heat Software client and enterprise mobility management (EMM) tools, along with more IT service management and help desk capabilities based on ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library). Heat Software's partner program includes resellers, service providers and referral partners.
6. Big Data Security Opportunity: As channel partners begin to look at big data opportunities like Hadoop and NoSQL, keep in mind that another big opportunity involves securing those applications and storage systems. All of the major Hadoop and NoSQL vendors have focused on compliance and security enhancements over the past few years. The latest move involves Cloudera, a Hadoop provider, which just launched an expanded Center for Security Excellence.
5. Apple Drives Forward: Apple apparently is accelerating plans to deliver an electric car in 2019. With so many moving parts, can Apple really maintain its brand quality on wheels? Hmmm... Separately, WatchOS 2 -- the worst operating system name since IBM OS/2 -- just arrived for Apple Watch. Memo to perennial early adopter and ChannelEyes CEO Jay McBain: Is WatchOS 2 any good?
4. Best Paying IT Certifications: In case you missed it, here are the 10 top paying technology certifications. Of course, simply earning a certification doesn't guarantee a raise or a pay grade. But it does help to position you vs. high-earning peers in the market.
3. Continuum Navigate 2015: The conference is next week in Las Vegas. Yes, I'll be there. Thank you to the Continuum team for the invite. Looking forward to an overall MSP industry update from CEO Michael George (pictured). If you'd like to potentially meet at the show please email me ([email protected]).
2. And Then...: A day after Navigate in Las Vegas, I'll surface Sept. 30 in New York for Strata+Hadoop World. I'm set to meet with several of the major Hadoop providers.... seeking specific updates on their Hadoop channel partner programs.
1. Join Me Tonight: Our next ChannelE2E podcast (Episode 047) will feature Jeff Aden, co-founder and executive VP of 2nd Watch. The company is a "new breed" of channel partner focused on Amazon Web Services, Docker containers and plenty more. The big question: Does a consulting firm like 2nd Watch really need to raise money to offer cloud migration services? And if so, is the money being used for special sauce intellectual property and tools that rival cloud consulting firms lack? Fingers crossed, we expect to interview Aden today and will have the conversation ready for you at 9:01 p.m. ET tonight. Find all of ChannelE2E's current and archived podcasts here.
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