5 Channel Partner Program and MSP News Updates: 23 December 2021

Here are five (actually, more) technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Thursday, December 23, 2021. Sip up.

What’s In Our Daily Brew?

A. Today’s Technology, Channel Chief and Partner Program News

1. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) - Cisco Systems: The networking giant's 2021 Purpose Report describes Cisco's progress on environmental, social and governance initiatives. Related: See an overall technology industry DEI progress report here.

2. Partnerships - MSP Software: N-able continues to tout the company's Technology Alliance Program, which drives software integrations into the company's RMM- and MSP-focused software tools. Roughly 65 businesses are now in the program, up from about 40 in 2020. Key partners to join the program in 2021 include Cisco Systems, Liongard, Sophos, Webroot and Zomentum, among others. Security partners have also been key to the program. Examples include Armor, Blackpoint Cyber, Corent, Bandura Cyber, Infosec, Vonahi and Zeguro, according to N-able.

3. Partnership - Workflow Automation: ServiceNow, Carahsoft and Intact Technology have won a five-year workflow automation contract with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the companies disclosed. The project involves consolidating 12 legacy systems into a single platform of record, ServiceNow indicated. Financial terms were not disclosed.

4. Partnership - Contact Center Solutions: PlanetOne has agreed to promote LiveVox to U.S. channel partners -- including agents, sub-agents, MSPs and VARs.

5. M&A - Private Equity and Sales Automation Software: Vista Equity Partners will acquire Salesloft at a $2.3 billion valuation, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Salesloft partner ecosystem spans technology companies that plug into the platform; solution providers that offer consulting, implementation and advisory services; and growth partners that send qualified leads to Salesloft.

6. Private Equity - 2021 Technology Investments: As of mid-December, private equity firms have announced $401.71 billion of technology deals in the U.S. alone, including new purchases, sales of assets and add-on deals, according to data provider Dealogic. Last year, tech deals totaled $196.34 billion. Source: The Wall Street Journal.

7. Venture Capital: J2 Ventures has raised $52.4 million and beat its fundraising goal for a venture-capital fund targeting startups with products that could benefit both the civilian and government sectors, The Wall Street Journal reports. Key investments include LightSource Labs Inc., a San Francisco-based provider of software that helps procurement professionals collaborate with suppliers, The Journal notes.

8. Funding - Mobile Security: Privoro has raised $30 million in Series B funding led by Tracker Capital Management.

9. Antitrust Investigation - Amazon Web Services (AWS): The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is moving forward with an investigation into AWS over competition issues, Bloomberg reported. Related: See all Big Tech antitrust investigations involving Amazon, Alphabet (Google) Apple, Facebook and Microsoft.

10. Vaccination Requirements - Intel: Intel employees have until January 4, 2022 to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or seek an exemption. Employees who remain unvaccinated or don’t get an exemption for religious or medical reasons will be on unpaid leave beginning in April 2022, US News reported. Related: See list of employers and their vaccination policies.

B. Channel Partner Summits, MSP Conferences and Virtual Events Calendar