5 Channel Partner Programs and MSP News Updates: Wednesday 24 March 2021

Here are five (actually, more) technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Wednesday, March 24, 2021. Sip up.

What’s In Our Daily Brew?

A. What’s Brewing Today: Technology News

1. Funding - Automation Software and Open Source: Camunda has raised $100 million in funding led by Insight Partners. The round also included existing investor Highland Europe. Camunda's goal: Automate any type of process, anywhere.

2. Small Business Loyalty Program: Lenovo announced that the MyLenovo Rewards loyalty program is now available in LenovoPRO online store. Customers who sign up for MyLenovo Rewards and make purchases on lenovo.com get 3 percent of the purchase price returned to them as reward points to use on future website purchases, the company says.

3. Data Protection - Canada: Cohesity has announced the general availability of DataProtect delivered as a Service to Canadian customers. The service is hosted in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Canada (Central) Region.

4. Data Protection - Platform Launch: Infrascale has launched Infrascale Backup and Disaster Recovery (IBDR) for MSPs and VARs servicing SMB and mid-market customers. IBDR is a Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) hybrid cloud solution: One part software/hardware on-premises with customers’ data and servers, and one part service infrastructure in the cloud, the company says.

5. Intel Strategy: New Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger hit the ground running by announcing the Intel IDM 2.0 strategy...

6. Talent - AWS CEO: Amazon has named Adam Selipsky as CEO of Amazon Web Services (AWS). Selipsky was an early AWS vice president before leading Tableau as CEO -- which ultimately Salesforce acquired. Selipsky will succeed Andy Jassey, who shifts to CEO of the overall Amazon company.

7. Talent - Compliance Automation: Strike Graph has hired Dan Adams as VP of sales. Launched in 2020, Strike Graph "helps companies of all sizes successfully pass their cybersecurity audits with a scalable security program," the company says. Key focus areas include helping customers to "achieve a clean SOC 2 audit within 45 day," Strike Graph asserts.

B. Channel Chiefs, Partner Programs and Strategic Alliances

1. Channel Chief - Data Warehousing: Yellowbrick Data has hired Jonathan Reid as chief revenue officer. Reid will focus on "accelerating the adoption of Yellowbrick Data Warehouse within enterprises and commercial companies and building strong partnerships with Yellowbrick’s ecosystem of resellers and business partners," the company says.

2. Channel Chief - Contact Center AI: Observe.AI has named Jon Heaps as VP of channel. Heaps previously held key posts at Talkdesk, ShoreTel, and NICE InContact.

3. Integration - MSP Software: Acronis now integrates with Kaseya VSA, allowing MSPs to align that cyber protection platform with the RMM (remote monitoring and management) software.

4. Distribution - Data Protection: Ingram Micro has introduced all-in-one compute- and storage-as-a-service solution sets from Veeam and Zadara.

5. Partner Program - Billing Software: BillingPlatform, a cloud-based monetization and billing solution provider, has launched a new partner program designed for system integrators, independent software vendors, consulting firms and other partners.

6. Partner Program - Cloud Management: CloudBolt Software is rolling out a new Rainmaker channel partner program.

7. Partner Program - Cloud Call Center: CloudTalk, a Bratislava-based startup offering cloud call center software-as-a-service, has launched a new Partner & Affiliate Program. This program surfaces after the company raised $7.3 million in Series A funding. CloudTalk has an established network of 300+ partners and affiliates. The new program offers a reward structure that guarantees 25% commission of every payment a referred customer makes for the full cooperation’s lifetime.

8. Partner Program - Energy and Water Management: Itron has extended the Itron Engage Sales Channel Partner Program to Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

9. IT Monitoring - Unified Communications: Vyopta has RingCentral Office Phone. Vyopta offers a monitoring and analytics across collaboration services.

C. Channel Partner Summits, MSP Conferences and Virtual Events Calendar