Channel Brief: Datto Sues Slide, Microsoft Revamps Partner Rules, and More This Week

This week, Dave Sobel broke a big story: Datto is suing Slide, the new backup company founded by Datto’s own original CEO, Austin McChord. The lawsuit claims Slide stole Datto’s Hardware Independent Restore technology, the engine behind how Datto restores systems to new hardware. Slide says that’s not true, insisting everything was built from the ground up with legal safeguards and no shared code. Beyond the courtroom, this fight signals a deeper tension in the MSP world. As private equity-backed giants like Kaseya work to protect their turf, upstart innovators are pushing back. For MSPs caught in the middle, it’s not just about who wins - it’s about whether they can still trust the vendors and products that keep their businesses running.

This Week's Tech, Channel, and MSP News

Microsoft Updates Partner Rules, AI Specializations, and 365 Pricing: Microsoft rolled out several partner updates this month aimed at tightening compliance and expanding AI-driven specialization opportunities. The MAF and certification letter process has changed - requests now go through distributors or CSP support rather than being tied to Partner Program membership. The SAP on Azure specialization adds a new “Run SAP on Microsoft Cloud” skilling path to validate AI and cloud capabilities. Partners also got new POR readiness resources ahead of December 1 API enforcement, with checklists and tools for distributors and indirect resellers to confirm PLA IDs and tenant alignment. Finally, in response to the European Commission settlement, Microsoft will adjust Microsoft 365 and Teams pricing and packaging on November 1, reintroducing suites that bundle Teams, lowering prices for suites without Teams, and raising the standalone Teams Enterprise price to reflect the new regulatory commitments.

AMD inks AI compute deal with OpenAI: AMD and OpenAI have announced a multi-year, multi-generation partnership that will see OpenAI deploy 6 gigawatts of AMD Instinct GPUs, beginning with 1GW of MI450 series GPUs in the second half of 2026. The deal positions AMD as a core compute partner for OpenAI’s next wave of large-scale infrastructure, extending a collaboration that began with the MI300X and MI350X series. As part of the agreement, AMD issued OpenAI a warrant for up to 160 million AMD shares tied to performance and deployment milestones. The partnership is expected to generate tens of billions in revenue for AMD while giving OpenAI the scale needed to power next-generation AI models and services.

DataCore introduces Freedom360 Partner Program: DataCore has introduced the Freedom360 Partner Program, giving resellers, distributors, and service providers new ways to grow and earn more. Announced at DataCore Days 2025, the program offers clear partner tiers, better incentives, and modern training built around the company’s expanded storage portfolio, including SANsymphony, Swarm, Nexus, Puls8, and recent additions from ArcaStream, Pixitmedia, and StarWind. Designed with partner feedback, Freedom360 helps partners cross-sell across cloud, edge, and AI workloads while building stronger customer relationships and new revenue opportunities.

SOTI Relaunches Altitude Partner Program: SOTI has revamped its Altitude Partner Program, introducing new partner tracks for resellers, MSPs, distributors, device makers, ISVs, and platform providers. The program now offers better training, sales tools, and rewards to help over 6,500 partners grow faster and expand across industries like retail, logistics, and healthcare. With added incentives and a new Altitude Accelerator track, SOTI aims to make partner collaboration and business growth simpler and more rewarding.