5 Channel Partner Program and MSP News Updates: Monday 22 February 2021 -

Here are five (actually, more) technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Monday, February 22, 2021. Sip up.

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Who We Serve: Content for managed services providers (MSPs), IT service providers (ITSPs), technology solutions providers (TSPs), 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.
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A. What’s Brewing Today: Technology News

1. M&A - MSSP-Private Equity Deal Explained: In this MSSP Alert interview,CEO Robert Herjavec explainswhy and how Herjavec Group inked a deal with private equity firm Apax Partners, and what’s next for the MSSP’s cybersecurity business.

2. SPAC - Michael Dell: Yes indeed, Michael Dell is forming a SPAC (special purpose acquisition market). SPACs are blank-check, publicly held shell companies that seek out M&A deals with established businesses. Here's a fast-growing list of more than 30 technology-focuserd SPACs.

3. M&A - Acquired MSP Rebrands: Air IT's recent Microtrading acquisition is now branded as Air IT.

4. MSP Expansion: Rahi, an IT solutions provider, is expanding into Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. The company has committed a $5 million capital investment within each market. Rahi employs over 800 staff in 30 locations worldwide, providing enterprise IT, data center, infrastructure, networking, collaboration and security solutions.

5. MSP IPO Speculation - Middle East: Saudi Telecom Company is considering an initial public offer (IPO) for its MSP subsidiary, known as the Arabian Internet and Communications Services Company, on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul), Arab News reports.

B. Channel Chiefs, Partner Programs and Strategic Alliances

1. Partnership - ServiceNow and Microsoft Teams: The two software giants are focused on virtual agent collaboration technologies...

2. Partnership - Financial Services Data Cloud: BlackRock and Snowflake are partnering to launch Aladdin Data Cloud, a solution for investment managers to expand the utility of data, powered by Snowflake’s platform.

3. Partnership - Storage Services: Cloudian and Veristor have expanded their partnership, which focuses on managed storage and archiving services.

4. Partner - Google Cloud: Technology services firm Mindtree has achieved the Application Development Partner Specialization in the Google Cloud Partner Advantage Program. Mindtree services span SAP, big data, data science, artificial intelligence, and machine learning capabilities.