Content, 5 things

5 Channel Partner Updates: Tuesday 08 January 2019

Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Tuesday, January 8, 2019. Actually, there are 20 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. 20. Larry Ellison and Tesla: Oracle Co-founder Larry Ellison owns a $1 billion stake in Tesla. Perhaps not by coincidence, Ellison recently joined Tesla'a board of directors... 19. Samsung Earning Weakness: First Apple, now Samsung... 18. Windows Migrations: Maintech Inc., an enterprise MSP, has launched a service to assist customers migrating from Windows 7 to Windows 10. Windows 7 will reach the "End of Service" date for extended support on January 14, 2020. 17. IBM Quantum Computing: Has the future truly arrived, or is IBM's new Q System One quantum computing system more hype than hot? 16. Distribution: Lifeboat has expanded its distribution agreement with Micro Focus, and will now distribute Micro Focus's entire software portfolio to resellers. It's a key win for Micro Focus, which has struggled since acquiring certain enterprise software assets from HP Enterprise. 15. Commvault Earnings and CEO: Commvault will announce its Q3 earnings on January 29. The company has been seeking a new CEO since May 2018 amid pressure from activist shareholders. Will we finally hear from the next CEO on the earnings call? 14. SMB Networking: Netgear has introduced new switches, wireless access points and routers for the SMB market. The move comes as some MSPs strive to manage and perhaps consolidate a highly diverse base of customer network equipment. 13. IoT Partnerships - Avnet & Microsoft Azure: Octonion, an IoT software provider, has inked partnerships with Avnet and Microsoft Azure. Octonion’s new Brainium portal is designed to help engineers and manufacturers deploy IoT projects with AI and Security at the Edge. The solution leverages SmartEdge Agile, an IoT ready to use device, developed by Avnet and powered by ST Micro’s STM32 micro-controller. The solution is hosted in Microsoft Azure.
LinkedIn: Web.com CEO Sharon Rowlands
12. Talent - Web.com: Website hosting and business marketing giant Web.com has hired Sharon Rowlands as CEO. She previously held executive posts at USATODAY, ReachLocal, Altegrity, Penton Media, ADP and Thomson Financial. Disclosure: Rowlands led Penton when that company acquired our previous business in 2011. 11. Datto for Small MSPs: Even as Datto attracts larger MSPs onto its platforms, the technology company also is opening its arms wide to smaller MSPs... Continue to page two of two for items 10 to 1 in today's spectacular morning update. Welcome to page two of two. The list below is real, and it's spectacular. 10. MSP Integrations - Billing and Datto: Wise-Sync, a provider of financial automation and payment processing solutions, has unveiled a new integration with Datto's Autotask PSA. The result: MSPs can sync financial data to their cloud accounting platform, the companies say. 9. MSP Partnership: Complete Technology Solutions has inked a partnership with The 20, an MSP business development group. The alliance empowers Complete Technology Solutions to provide nationwide onsite and remote IT support to its clients, specifically to their specialized vertical markets of multifamily housing, student housing, and hospitality, the companies say. 8. Ahem: So, just how closely are The 20 and Kaseya partnering these days? Hmmm... 7. M&A - Channel Performance: 360insights, a global channel incentives specialist, has acquired MTC Performance a provider of sales incentive solutions. 6. M&A - Enterprise Services: Chinese cloud giant Alibaba has acquired big data startup Data Artisans for $103 million. 5. M&A - MSP Contracts: Sharp has acquired the service contracts of Pink Hat Technology Management in Southern California. Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America (SIICA), a division of Sharp Electronics Corporation (SEC), now has 16 local Sharp Business Systems branches in 52 locations... 4. M&A - Data Centers: New Continuum Data Centers has acquired a mission critical data center in West Chicago, Illinois.  Post Road Group, a leading real estate bridge lender and investor in U.S. middle-market telecommunications infrastructure, provided the senior debt financing for this transaction. New Continuum is not to be confused with Continuum Managed Services, which offers software, automation and services to the MSP market. 3. Breaking - M&A MSP Software: Continuum has acquired BrightGauge, the companies publicly confirmed this morning. 2. Top 100 Vertical Market MSPs: Participate in our survey here and your company could be honored among the world’s Top 100 Vertical Market MSPs. 1. How Much Is Your Business Worth?: Find out during our next ChannelE2E webcast
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.