Content, 5 things

5 Channel Partner Updates: Monday 26 February 2018

Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Monday, February 26, 2018.

Actually, there are 14 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…

14. Dropbox IPO: Dropbox filed a $500 million IPO plan with the SEC on Friday. The company is expected to accelerate a platform-oriented partner push as part of the IPO proceeds...

 13. Tech IPO Momentum: The market for tech public offerings bounced back in 2017 after a poor showing in 2016, Reuters says. This year and next should be even better, predicts Neil Kell, the head of Bank of America Merrill Lynch's tech banking practice. Not only are there lots of companies waiting to go public, the markets have been strong, and investors are primed for new tech offerings, the Reuters report adds. Overall, more than 50 tech startups are looking to go public this year.

12. Rural Broadband:  At the National Governors Association's winter meeting in Washington, D.C., Packerland Broadband, a division of CCI Systems Inc., and Microsoft Corp. announced an agreement to provide broadband Internet access to approximately 82,000 people living in rural regions of northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan over the next four years.

11. SD-WANs: TPx Communications' Managed SD-WAN delivery platform now supports Silver Peak's Unity EdgeConnect SD-WAN solution.

10. Oh the Irony: Major corporations are learning to defend against start-ups that threaten their business models, hitting back by adopting the disruptors’ playbook, according to a survey of top executives by IBM. Ironically, IBM itself has faced multiple challenges as cloud, mobile and security startups chipped away at the technology giant's business.

9. HIPAA-Related Firings: Thirteen employees were fired in 2017 from the Medical University of South Carolina after administrators determined they had broken federal law by using patient records without permission, spying on patient files or disclosing private information, The Post and Courier reports.

8. Symantec and the NRA: Symantec has ended a program with the National Rifle Association that offered discounts for its LifeLock identity theft product. Dozens of companies have made similar moves in recent days. Those businesses are distancing themselves from the NRA amid a U.S. gun control debate, which has intensified after a Florida school shooting that killed 17 people earlier this month.

Chris Essex
Chris Essex

7. Talent: AppRiver has hired Forcepoint and Websense veteran Chris Essex as senior vice president of global sales -- a new position at the comany. The move reinforces AppRiver's strategic goals for rapidly expanding its reseller channel, dominating the Office 365 and Microsoft 365 space, and taking a leadership position in new markets around the world. Marlin Equity Partners acquired AppRiver in October 2017 to accelerate the company's growth worldwide.

Konstantin Ebert

6. Partner ProgramTeamViewer, a software provider for IoT, connectivity, monitoring, support and team collaboration, has enhanced its Global Channel Partner Program with new deal registration benefits, a newly designed partner program, and a new ITbrain offering that spans asset management, monitoring, anti-malware and backup. VP Konstantin Ebert is leading the effort.

5. Dell-VMware M&A Concerns: Should a VMware/Dell "reverse merger" occur, Barclays said that it would be an "obvious negative" for VMware shares in the near term, according to Business Insider. And in the meanwhile, uncertainty around the issue could cause some continued price volatility, analysts said. Dell's board is exploring a range of potential financial options to drive growth, the company has said, though there's no guarantee any particular move will happen.

4. MSP for AWS: TeraGo, a Canadian hybrid IT provider of end-to-end managed cloud services, has added managed services for AWS Cloud.

3. M&A and IPO: ConvergeOne now trades on the NASDAQ via a previously announced M&A deal with Forum Merger Corp. ConvergeOne, a well-known IT services provider, trades under the symbol CVON.

2. M&A - Network Services:  GTT Communications is acquiring Interoute, operator of one of Europe’s largest independent fiber networks and cloud networking platforms, for approximately €1.9 billion ($2.3 billion) in cash, the companies confirmed today. We'll share more details soon.

1. Mobile World Congress 2018: Find complete daily coverage of #MWC18 here.

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.