Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Monday, October 15, 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. Carl Icahn vs. Dell Technologies: A financial showdown potentially looms...
13. Broadcom's CA Technologies Buyout: The deal has received European Union regulatory approval, and the $18.9 billion buyout should be finalized by November 5, 2018. Senator Rand Paul, meanwhile, has called for a closer look at the deal amid potential international security concerns -- though most pundits consider the concerns unfounded. Related: CA World 2018 is scheduled for November in Florida.
12. WiFi Financing: Ruckus Networks, an ARRIS company, has unveiled the Ruckus Financial Services program. This program features leasing, zero percent interest (loans, we assume), and subscriptions. The effort is designed to help customers keep their WiFi infrastructure current without major up-front Capex burdens.
11. Earnings: Adtran and IBM are expected to report quarterly financial results on Tuesday, October 16. Atlassian is scheduled to report on Thursday, October 18.
10. Why HP Inc. Acquired Apogee: Turns out the printer consulting firm was up for sale, and HP needed to make the buy in order to block rivals from doing so, CEO Dion Weisler said at a conference last week. Some partners worry HP will leverage Apogee to increasingly compete with printer consulting firms, but the hardware giant has downplayed such concerns.
9. Pentagon Cloud Contract Concerns: Some Microsoft workers are protesting the software giant's pursuit of the Pentagon's so-called JEDI cloud contract. The $10 billion contract apparently includes AI warfare requirements. Google earlier dropped out of the bidding amid ethical concerns about those requirements. Both IBM and Oracle, meanwhile, have protested the JEDI bidding process -- saying a one-cloud solution introduces considerable risk for the Pentagon. Many pundits expect Amazon Web Services (AWS) to emerge as the sole winner for JEDI.
8. Staffing - MSP Model: AtWork Group, a national staffing franchise, has launched a sister company called Pipeline Talent Solutions. Pipeline is an MSP that offers "contingent workforce services" to middle-market clients across the United States. The staffing services "optimize talent management" across an entire workforce (i.e., stretching far beyond IT services).
7. Partnership - Backup Services: Online Tech is now a gold-level partner for Zerto's disaster recovery and data protection solutions.
6. Talent - Channel Leadership: Russell Suzuki has joined Secure Now as VP of sales and marketing. The organization provides cybersecurity solutions to small and midsize companies as well as healthcare organizations through the IT channel.
5. Talent - Data Centers: Infomart Data Center has hired Brian Cox as CEO. He succeeds Phil Koen, who became interim CEO in June 2018. The company is preparing a "strategic brand relaunch" in early 2019. Cox previously was COO at Cologix, a global data center and interconnection solutions provider.
4. Partner Program: Inseego Corp., which specializes in 5G and intelligent IoT device-to-cloud solution, has launched at the Valued Inseego Partner (VIP) program. It's designed for North America resellers and distributors to support Enterprise SaaS, IoT & Mobile Solutions. Early adopters include Synnex and Novotech Canada.
3. Conference – IT Service Management: Multiple technology conferences are scheduled for this week. Among those we’ll be watching closely: Service Management World 2018 in Orlando, Florida. Announcing news at the conference? Send me a heads-up ([email protected]).
2. IPO Window and SolarWinds: As SolarWinds gears up for a potential IPO this week, some pundits are wondering if IPO windows are closing...
1. Top 100 Cloud MSPs for AWS, Azure: See the list and get the research. Register now for this week's webcast.
