Content, 5 things

5 Channel Partner Updates: Monday 18 June 2018

Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Monday, June 18, 2018.

Actually, there are 17 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:

17. Privacy Regulations: Amazon, Microsoft, and Uber have all made substantial contributions to a group campaigning against a California privacy initiative, according to The Verge.

16. Microsoft Office vs. Google Apps: The Wall Street Journal believes the latest Microsoft's latest Office updates are late to market, and rolling out far too slowly vs. Google Apps' pure cloud design and approach. I'm not sure I agree, but the Journal article sparks that age-old debate about the need to innovate without alienating existing customers...

15. Google Cloud AppDev: Google App Maker is now generally available for business teams. App Maker is G Suite’s low-code application development environment. It's designed to help teams build custom apps to speed up workflows and make processes better.

14. Salesforce for Nonprofit Organizations: Salesforce.org, the philanthropic arm of the cloud CRM giant, has unveiled Salesforce.org Nonprofit Cloud. The new nonprofit CRM includes fundraising, programs-management, and constituent-engagement capabilities.

13. Dell OEM Partnership: MBX Systems, a manufacturer of custom OEM server hardware specializing in customers with high variability needs, is now a Gold OEM Partner in the Dell EMC Partner Program. MBX offers consultative engineering to select the optimal platform for each application, hardware/software optimization and integration, and customer-specific testing when needed, backed by a proprietary production infrastructure that yields an industry-leading 99.5% defect-free workmanship, the company says.

12. Managed SD-WAN Services: TekLinks has launched a software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) managed service. The offering supports multiple connections to provide redundancy, optimization and control while easily connecting locations, regardless of the physical distance separating them or the provider or connection they use, the MSP says. Managed SD-WAN also provides an easy-to-use cloud-based interface that allows insight into what applications are using connectivity, how much they are using, and which users are connected.

11. Talent - CTO: IBM Watson veteran Bryson Koehler has joined Equifax as CTO. He's responsible for leading Equifax's global information technology strategy and development. Koehler will also work closely with the company's product, data, and analytics teams to drive technology and speed into product and data insights delivery to customers and partners, Equifax says. The move comes roughly a year after Equifax suffered a major data breach, and a couple weeks after IBM Watson's health IT team suffered some targeted layoffs.

10. SMB Background Checks: InfoMart, a background check and identity screening company, has launched an on-demand screening solution for start-ups, growing small businesses, and midsized organizations (SMBs)...

9. Funding - Service Management: Kustomer,  a startup that integrates a number of sources to give support staff a complete picture of a customer when he or she contacts the company, has raised $26 million, TechCrunch reports. Key investors include Redpoint Ventures (an early Zendesk investor) and Cisco Investments.

8. MSP Contract: Roc Technologies has earned a five-year manage IT services contract with Dounreay Site Restoration in Europe. The deal includes all aspects of IT Transformation and Operations -- including modernizing core infrastructure and software environments, while delivering new services to site users. Key migrations will include a new desktop environment, cloud services and Office 365. Roc also will build a NOC and operational capability at the site. Financial terms were not disclosed.

7. MSP Vertical: Denison Consulting Group has launched two managed service to support how global manufacturers measure and manage energy and power quality -- two of the largest cost drivers in the production process, the company asserts.

6. Talent - MSP Investments: Evergreen Services Group, which has invested in multiple MSPs, has hired Brad Wittwer as president and COO, ChannelE2E has confirmed. Wittwer oversees operations for all  of the MSPs in Evergreen's portfolio. Meanwhile, Ramsey Sahyoun remains head of M&A, responsible for new investments and Jeff Totten remains CEO of the overall business.

5. M&A - Telecom Cloud Services: Irideos, an ICT company launched by Italian infrastructure fund F2i and pan-European equity fund Marguerite, has acquired cloud services provider Enter Srl for an undisclosed sum. We'll share more details soon.

4. M&A - IoT Predictive Maintenance: IBM has acquired Oniqua, which specializes in Maintenance Repair and Operations (MRO) Inventory Optimization solutions and services across mining, oil & gas, transportation, utilities, manufacturing and other asset-intensive industries, the companies say. The acquisition expands IBM's Asset Optimization Practice, helping clients reduce and optimize MRO Inventories, predict when critical parts and equipment might fail so proactive actions can be taken to avoid unplanned downtime, the company claims. Financial terms were not disclosed.

3. M&A - BPO: French outsourcing firm Teleperformance is acquiring business process outsourcing (BPO) specialist Intelenet from Blackstone for US$1 billion.

2. StorageCraft Momentum: The data protection company says the number of servers protected by StorageCraft Cloud Services has increased more than 100 percent year over year. Also, StorageCraft's OneBlox has seen a 400 percent increase in distribution sales year over year. The growth percentages look impressive. Still, the company didn't release the underlying figures -- the actual units sold, etc. Meanwhile, StorageCraft is expected to have a major presence at this week's ConnectWise Automation Nation 2018 conference in Orlando...

1. Datto & ConnectWise: We're blogging live from DattoCon18 and ConnectWise Automation Nation 2018 this week in Texas and Florida, respectively. Check ChannelE2E's homepage each day for live updates from both conferences.

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.