5 Channel Partner Updates: Tuesday 13 August 2019 -

Here are five (actually, far more…) technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Tuesday, August 13, 2019.

A. Our Daily Brew

Who We Serve: Content for managed services providers (MSPs), cloud services providers (CSPs), IT consulting firms, systems integrators, VARs, independent software vendors (ISVs), and any other partner acronym that further caffeinates our already stellar SEO.

Frequency: Every business morning.

Reaching the Barista: Send news, tips and rumors to [email protected].

B. Freshly Brewed News and Chatter

1. ConnectWise-Kaseya Integration - Changes?: It sounds like MSPs that leverage ConnectWise and Kaseya in tandem will need to leverage MSP Assist for new/ongoing product integrations. Details surfaced in the ConnectWise Marketplace. We're checking to see why the integration now apparently requires a third-party, and double-checking to see if the products involved are ConnectWise Manage and Kaseya VSA. We'll provide updated information as soon as we've confirmed more facts about the situation.

2. M&A - MSPs and Private Equity: NexusTek has acquired Notonsite, a Houston-area MSP that supports customers with 10 to 250 computers. Private equity firm Abry Partners owns NexusTek.

3. M&A - Bot Protection Technology: Barracuda Networks has acquired bot detection technology from InfiSecure Technologies. InfiSecure specializes in low-latency detection and mitigation of advanced bots, and adds advanced capabilities to Barracuda’s recently announced Advanced Bot Protection -- which will be available for both the Barracuda WAF-as-a-Service and Web Application Firewall platforms, the company says.

4. M&A - Australia IT Solutions Provider: Brisbane Microsoft partner Wardy IT Solutions has been acquired by MOQ for $7.5 million, CRN Australia reports.

5. Funding - Call Center Artificial Intelligence: Uniphore Software Systems, an artificial intelligence-based speech recognition startup for call centers, has raised $51 million in Series C funding. Key backers include former Cisco CEO John Chambers along with March Capital Partners, with participation from Chiratae Ventures (formerly IDG Ventures), Sistema Asia, CXO Fund, ITP, Iron Pillar, Patni Family, plus other investors.

6. Managed Services - Apple Devices: Stratix Corporation, a provider of managed mobility services in the United States, has unveiled SmartMobile Services for Apple devices. Customers gain lifecycle management and 24x7x365 support for Apple products and services.

7. Startup - Talent on Demand: Relentless Management Group, owned by Alex Minicucci, has launched to provide "experience and resources for virtually everything a tech company needs to grow quickly and efficiently, such as: engineering, client retention and sales," the company says. Moreover, Relentless is looking to build a network of high net worth investors or angel-friendly groups to bring to their companies when the need arises.

C. Channel Partner Programs and Strategic Alliances: MSPs, CSPs, ISVs, VARs

1. Data Protection - Simplified MSP Pricing: Axcient Cloud now features unlimited storage and six SKUs to simplify billing for MSPs.

2. Managed Services - Digital Experience: G-Net has launched Visibility-as-a-Service (GVaaS) with Digital Experience Management (DEM) and Network Performance Management (NPM) solutions from Riverbed, the company says.

3. Distribution - Network and Endpoint Security: Synnex has agreed to distribute Sophos network and endpoint security software to channel partners. Sophos and its centralized management dashboard have a particularly strong following in the MSP market.