Here are five (actually more) technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Wednesday, June 24, 2020. Sip up.
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A. What’s Happening Today
1. Funding - Chatbots and Customer Support: Rasa Technologies, which specializes in conversational AI technology, has raised $26 million in Series B funding led by Andreessen Horowitz and including participation from the firm's Cultural Leadership Fund, a strategic fund designed to bring African American cultural leaders onto the cap tables of new technology companies.
2. Private Equity - ERP Software: Charlesbank Capital Partners has invested in Aptean, a provider of industry-specific enterprise resource planning (ERP) and supply chain solutions. Charlesbank will join existing investors TA Associates and Vista Equity Partners as institutional shareholders in Aptean. As part of the transaction, TA Associates will also make a further investment in Aptean. Former Continuum Chief Revenue Officer Robert Kocis is now CRO at Aptean.
3. Talent - CFO: Palo Alto Networks has hired Amazon Web Services (AWS) veteran Luis Felipe Visoso as chief financial officer (CFO). Visoso will assume the role on July 1, 2020. He will succeed Kathy Bonanno, who is exiting to join Google Cloud.
4. Talent - MSP: Navisite has named Peter Berry as the company’s chief technology officer (CTO) of cloud technologies. Berry joined Navisite following the company’s acquisition of clckwrk in February 2019, where he was the co-founder and CTO.
5. MSPs and Data Protection: Axcient is simplifying its three business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) products into one unified BCDR SaaS product called Axcient x360Recover. The offering combines Replibit, BRC, and Fusion.
6. AWS & Azure Cloud Monitoring: LiveAction, a provider of network performance management software, has unveiled cloud monitoring capabilities that will extend network and application visibility into Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure.
7. Data Center Expansion: Equinix has expanded its Dallas Infomart Data Center campus by opening a$142 million International Business Exchange (IBX) data center and the launch of its 5G and Edge Proof of Concept Center (POCC).
8. Migrations - SAP on Amazon Web Services: Larsen & Toubro Infotech has announced an Accelerated Migration Program for customers of SAP with Amazon Web Services (AWS). As part of this program, LTI will help customers move their SAP ERP, SAP S/4HANA, and other SAP workloads from on-premise to AWS, the company says.
9. Security Analytics: Cisco Stealthwatch offers five benefits to channel partners and end-customers, the networking giant asserts.
10. HPE Software: Hewlett Packard Enterprise has introduced HPE Ezmeral, a new brand and software portfolio designed to help enterprises accelerate digital transformation across their organization, from edge to cloud. HPE Ezmeral capabilities include container orchestration and management, AI/ML and data analytics, cost control, IT automation and AI-driven operations, and security, HPE asserts.
11. HPE GreenLake Services: Hewlett Packard Enterprise has introduced new HPE GreenLake cloud services, which span container management, machine learning operations, VMs, storage, compute, data protection, and networking. The majority of Greenlake services are expected to live on premises, in colocation facilities, and increasingly at the edge. The GreenLake services are priced as a service.
B. Partner Programs, Strategic Alliances and Distribution
1. Talent - Channel Leader: Extreme Networks has hired Mitel, ShoreTel and Arrow veteran Joe Vitalone as chief revenue officer. Vitalone oversees global sales, channel and sales operations teams.
2. Partnership - Converged Infrastructure: Cisco and NetApp continue to enhance their converged infrastructure partnership.
3. Distribution - Wireless Networks: Connectronics has agreed to distribute Rajant Kinetic Mesh wireless networks with a focus on such markets as public safety, utilities, oil & gas, and other emerging markets.
4. Cloud Distribution - SMB Accounting Software: Ingram Micro Cloud's North America marketplace now offers FreshBooks small business accounting software to partners and their end-customers.
