Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Tuesday, February 13, 2018.
Actually, there are 15 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…
15. IBM Partner Lawsuit: Kalibrate Asset Management Solutions is suing IBM, claiming IBM failed to honor an agreement to pay incentives for selling its software, Financial Review reports. Kalibrate claims IBM owes it over $500,000 in incentive payments for a deal it struck to provide software to a Tasmanian water utility company in 2015, the report says. IBM declined comment on the lawsuit.
14. Talent - Lawsuit: IBM sued its former executive Lindsay-Rae McIntyre, who was named Microsoft's new chief diversity officer over the weekend, alleging violation of a one-year non-competitive agreement, Reuters says.
13. Talent - IoT: Google has hired Samsung veteran Injong Rhee to lead the search giant's Internet of Things business, according to his LinkedIn account.
12. Talent - Amazon Layoffs: Amazon has cut staff in its Seattle headquarters...
11. SD-WAN Developers: CloudGenix has launched an SD-WAN ecosystem for developers. It includes tools, source code, and documentation for customers and developers.
10. SD-WAN Managed Services: GCI, a communications and digital services provider (DSP) in the Pacific Northwest, has launched CloudFlex SD-WAN, a cloud-based networking solution.
9. Private Equity: Thoma Bravo has completed its $1.6 billion private equity buyout of Barracuda Networks. Amid the ownership shift, the security and data protection company maintains a "business as usual" approach to MSP and channel partner engagements.
8. Google Nest Missteps?: Google's announcement this week that it's bringing Nest back under its wing has some former employees of the smart-thermostat maker saying the company never should've been spun off in the first place, according to CNet.
7. SMB IT Spending: The latest forecasts look positive -- if MSPs evolve their businesses accordingly.
6. ESET-ConnectWise Automate Integration: ESET has launched Direct Endpoint Management with ConnectWise. The new Remote Management and Monitoring (RMM) plug-in for ConnectWise Automate speeds up and improves installation processes of ESET endpoints, the company says.
5. New PSA Software: Arrow PSA, a professional services automation (PSA) offering, has surfaced on the Salesforce platform. Multiple PSA offerings are now competing in the Salesforce ecosystems. Key rivals include Kimble and FinancialForce.
4. MSP Conference: Registration for Continuum Navigate 2018, the company's annual user conference, is now open. This year’s event is set for September 24-27 in Boston. “Wicked” Early Bird tickets (featuring a $250 discount) are available until March 16. Regular registration will remain open until the event sells out. Track ChannelE2E's ongoing Continuum Navigate-related conference news here.
3. M&A - Network Management: Citrix has acquired Cedexis, a network traffic management specialist that allows partners and customers to optimize application and content performance, the companies say.
2. M&A - Government IT Services: General Dynamics is acquiring CSRA for $9.6 billion, making a deeper move into the government IT services market. We'll share more details soon.
1. Startups: ChannelE2E is attending the Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA) today in Manhattan. Stay tuned for perspectives on accelerators, incubators, and those that help startup businesses to stand tall.
