Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Tuesday, April 2, 2019.
Actually, there are 10 timely updates designed for managed services providers (MSPs), cloud services providers (CSPs), IT consulting firms, systems integrators, VARs, independent software vendors (ISVs), and telco agents to sip on.
12. M&A - Storage: Pure Storage is acquiring Compuverde, a Sweden-based developer of file software solutions for enterprises and cloud providers. Financial terms were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close this month.
11. Talent - Global Pay Parity: McAfee has achieved global gender pay parity, claiming to be the first cybersecurity company to reach that milestone.
McAfee's journey to pay parity involved:
- An audit covering 45 countries and more than 7,000 employees.
- The company identified gender pay gaps in nine countries.
- Closing the gap required an investment of $4 million.
- Salary adjustments were made on April 1, 2019, and the company will continue to monitor and address pay parity annually.
Chatelle Lynch, chief human resources officer at McAfee, played a key role in the journey toward parity. As part of the effort, the security company has released an inclusion and diversity report.
The McAfee news surfaces on Equal Pay Day.
10. Talent - Managed Data Center Services: ServerFarm, a data center developer and operator, has hired MSP veteran Ziv Catriel as executive VP, InCommand services. Catriel focuses on IT (data center and cloud) management and InCommand services.
9. Talent - Scholarships: One hundred high school seniors from 32 states will receive the first-ever Amazon Future Engineer scholarship of $10,000 per year over four years to study computer science at a college of their choice. The scholarship winners will also receive a guaranteed paid internship offer at Amazon after their freshman year of college to gain work experience.
8. IT Services Momentum?: Deutsche Telekom’s IT services arm T-Systems is on track to boost core profits this year, the unit’s CEO Adel Al-Saleh told Reuters, but still has its work cut out to start delivering a cash return to Europe’s largest telecoms group.
7. Partner Program - Cloud ERP: NetSuite has launched SuiteLife, a new partner engagement initiative. New partners will be able to start selling and delivering NetSuite to customers in 90 days, while existing partners will benefit from new offerings to expand their NetSuite practice and amplify their growth, NetSuite claims. The Oracle company already has roughly 550 partners across 85 countries.
6. Partner Program - VMware: The software company has made multiple moves at its annual partner conference. The updates include:
- VMware Partner Connect, "a new, dramatically simplified and flexible program that will go live early next year," the company says.
- The VMware Cloud on AWS Master Services Competency. The new competency joins four other Master Services Competencies offered by VMware.
- A new HCI Partner Sales Incentive, available only through partners.
- For a limited time, customers who have not yet deployed VMware vSAN in their environments can purchase three nodes of vSAN licenses for the price of two.
- For VMware NSX, partners who achieve the Network Virtualization Master Services Competency will now earn increased rewards for completing product deployments.
5. Funding - Intel Capital: The chip giant's global investment arm has pumped $117 million into 14 technology startups. The focus areas include artificial intelligence, communications, healthcare and manufacturing.
4. M&A - Private Equity & Email: Thoma Bravo has acquired majority control of Mailgun, which develops email API services for partners. Financial terms were not disclosed.
3. M&A - CSP Acquires AI: Evolve IP, a CSP with managed services expertise, has acquired Jog.ai, a speech analytics and natural language technology firm based in Austin, Texas. The result: Evolve IP cloud communications services will gain technology that helps users remember, retrieve and record everything that happens on a phone call. The technology is ideally suited for contact centers, sales professionals, executives, and businesses that have compliance requirements or transcription needs -- particularly the Healthcare, Finance and Legal verticals, the company says.
2. M&A - Physical Security Integrator: The Cook & Boardman Group, a specialty distributor of commercial door entry solutions, has acquired A3 Communications Inc. A3 is a systems integrator focused on electronic security (video surveillance and access control), enterprise networking, structured cabling, electrical services, unified communications, virtualization / storage solutions, audio / visual, and managed services.
1. Top 100 Vertical Market MSPs 2019: We’ll unveil the complete list — yes, all honorees — and associated research during our April webcast. Register now to join us.
