Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Thursday, December 14, 2017.
Actually, there are 12 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:
12. Talent: Tech Data has named Sergio Farache to senior vice president, Global Cloud Solutions. A 25-year veteran of the technology industry, Farache previously served as senior vice president, Solutions and Strategy within Tech Data's Americas Enterprise Solutions business.
11. Last Day for Net Neutrality: The Federal Communications Commission today is set to roll back far-reaching rules governing how ISPs treat traffic on their networks, a move expected to empower cable and wireless providers and transform consumers’ online experience, The Wall Street Journal notes.
10. Federal Cloud Services: The Trump administration on Wednesday called for federal agencies to more aggressively adopt third-party cloud services. Hmmm... Didn't the Obama administration announce a cloud first policy back in 2010?
9. AWS Professional Services: Logicworks has launched specialized professional services portfolio for Amazon Web Services (AWS). The program is custom-built to support customers who have made the strategic decision to use AWS as a key platform for their IT infrastructure and need highly specialized expertise, engineering, and consulting services, Logicworks asserts.
8. Business Continuity - Mobile App: Sungard Availability Services has launched the Act with Assurance mobile app, building on its existing AssuranceCM Business Continuity Software to help businesses more efficiently manage and recover from an incident. The app coordinates with the Assurance Software platform to provide a more interactive, efficient way to manage business continuity, the company asserts.
7. Workspace as a Service: CloudJumper's Workspace as a Service sales jumped more than 200 percent in 2017 vs. 2016. SMBs and midmarket organizations migrating their office environments to the cloud drove the surge, though we don't know actual revenue figures.
6. Apple Mac Managed Services: Addigy, a provider of cloud-based Mac management software, grew 10 times faster in 2017 vs. 2016, and the company says it's looking forward to continued growth in 2018. We'll share more details soon.
5. PSA Software Rankings: G2 Crowd has launched this ranking grid for professional services automation (PSA) software. On the one hand I wouldn't put too much faith in the rankings since they're typically based on very few user surveys. But on the other hand the grid at least gives you a feel for the various players across the PSA sector.
4. KPIs for MSPs: Kaseya has launched MSP Insights, an online portal that allows MSPs to benchmark their business metrics against other MSPs in their region, analyze new and emerging MSP service offerings, evaluate bundling and pricing strategies, and review detailed technical trends, the company says.
3. M&A - MSPs Part One: Telstra has acquired Sydney-based professional and managed services provider, VMtech, in a bid to bolster the telco’s strategy to accelerate the growth of its network applications and services business in Australia and further afield, ARN reports. Side note: MSP-related M&A in Australia has accelerated dramatically in recent weeks -- including a five-company merger to create an AUS$20 million MSP.
2. M&A - MSPs Part Two: HighPoint Technology Group has acquired TechForceIT, uniting two Texas-area MSPs that support small, midsize and enterprise customers with Hybrid Cloud, Health IT, Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and TeleHealth capabilities. We'll share more thoughts soon.
1. Today – MSP Security Operations Centers: Should you build one or outsource to a third-party SOC? Attend our webcast today (Thursday), December 14, to find the pros and cons of each approach.
