Content, 5 things

5 Channel Partner Updates: Monday 14 May 2018

Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Monday, May 14, 2018.

Actually, there are 10 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…

10. No Deal: Xerox has abandoned its $6.1 billion merger with FujiFilm, and Xerox CEO Jeff Jacobson will exit the company. The struggling copier giant will seek alternative M&A deals amid pressure from activist investor Carl Icahn.

9. ZTE Reboot: President Trump and China President Xi Jinping apparently are working together to jumpstart ZTE's business. U.S. sanctions forbid certain component sales to ZTE after allegations that the Chinese company violated certain export restrictions to Iran.  The sanctions crippled ZTE, but it sounds like some sort of U.S.-China workaround for the company is on the way, according to a tweet from Trump.

8. Services Platform: HubSpot Service Hub, an all-in-one customer service system that changes the way growing businesses approach and deliver customer support, is now available, the company says.

7. Blockchain Transaction: HSBC has performed the world’s first trade finance transaction using a single blockchain platform, in a push to boost efficiency in the multi-trillion-dollar funding of international trade, Reuters reports.

6. BT For Sale?: Amid 13,000 layoffs at BT, rumors have started that the telecom giant is essentially up for sale.

5. Layoffs - Staples: The office retailer has cut more than 200 employees so far in 2018, according to Framingham Source. Most of the Staples layoffs have involved IT, marketing and accounting, the report asserts.

4. M&A - FalconStor: The struggling data protection provider claims to be in turnaround mode, and a key component of the long-term growth strategy is M&A, according to FalconStor CEO Todd Brooks. "While our plan is in early stages right now, we are developing a strategy that will include acquiring, and fully integrating companies that offer complementary storage related technologies or storage-centric vertical applications and solutions," Brooks told investors last week. For its Q1 2018, revenues fell 17 percent to $5 million, but net income returned to the black and reached $500,000 -- far better than a $1.1 million loss for Q1 2017.

3. Veeam Partner Program: The data protection specialist is expected to discuss partner momentum during this week's VeeamOn 2018 conference  in Chicago. Track all VeeamOn news here.

2. SolarWinds MSP Strategy: The MSP software provider is expected to describe milestones and next moves during this week's Empower MSP conference in Amsterdam. Track all SolarWinds MSP news here.

1. MSP Automation: Network Group, an MSP ecosystem in the UK spanning 72 companies, has embraced Continuum's IT automation and outsourcing services -- including RMM (remote monitoring and management), BDR (backup and disaster recovery), NOC (network operations center) and security services. The goal: Double MSP members' revenues by 2020.

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.