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5 Channel Partner Updates: 12 October 2016

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Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Wednesday, October 12, 2016.

Actually, there are 14 entries 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. Palo Alto Momentum?: Traps, a next-generation endpoint security product from Palo Alto Networkshas achieved PCI DSS & HIPAA compliance. The HIPAA item is particularly important -- especially as the U.S. government potentially launches new audits of MSPs. Roughly 50 Palo Alto partners have earned the "Traps Specialized" designation. And more than 500 customers have already deployed the platform, Palo Alto leaders said on a recent earnings call. 

14. Samsung's Financial Setback: Samsung slashed its quarterly profit estimate by a third on Wednesday, soaking up a $2.3 billion hit from ditching its flagship Galaxy Note 7 smartphone in what could be one of the costliest product safety failures in tech history, according to Reuters.

13. Fall of a Unicorn: Ever wonder how a unicorn -- a $1 billion startup -- potentially falls from grace or collapses? This look at Fab.com provides some clues. The key line in the lengthy piece... "entrepreneurs often assume that as long as they can keep raising money, they can fix their business models down the line."

12. PC Shipments Fall: Worldwide PC shipments fell 3.9 percent in Q3, according to IDC -- however the slide was narrower than IDCs original expectation. The company had forecast a 7.1 percent decline. PC shipments have now declined for eight consecutive quarters -- the longest such decline in the history of the PC, Gartner said. Lenovo commands about 21.2 percent of the market, followed by HP at 19.7 percent, IDC said.

David Hauser
David Hauser

11. IoT Funding: PlumChoice Inc., a provider of premium technical services to cloud and Internet of Things (IoT) service providers, IoT manufacturers, cloud solution providers and distributors, has raised more funding to further accelerate company growth. Total funding figures were not disclosed. Among the names to know at PlumChoice: David Hauser, GM of cloud and managed services.

10. Next Microsoft Partner Moves: Microsoft is set to launch Dynamics 365 on November 1. Also, keep an eye on Microsoft's growing AppSource ecosystem -- which is now attracting systems integrators.

9. AT&T Partner Exchange: The telecom giant's partner conference wraps up today in Dallas. AT&T announced multiple cloud and solution provider moves ahead of the show.

8. Partner Programs: Recent moves include...

  • Cirrus Data Solutions, which specializes in data migration and data acceleration, unveiled a new global Data Migration Accelerator Partner Program.
  • CloudJumper, focused on Workspace as a Service (WaaS), has launched the CloudJumper Channel Partner Program for managed service providers (MSPs), independent software vendors (ISVs), agents, and other IT service providers. The move comes as rival Itopia raised $3.5 million to drive its channel-centric WaaS growth.
  • IGEL Technology has launched an overhauled North American Partner Program for the companies workspace management software and thin client solutions. ChannelE2E has been tracking IGEL's U.S. ambitions since about May 2016...
  • Pulse Secure, which specializes in secure access solutions, has increased its registered partner count to 2,900 companies in over 100 countries. The company spun off from Juniper Networks in 2014.
Joe Tucci

7. Joe Tucci's Next Gig: Former EMC CEO Joe Tucci has joined Bridge Growth Partners as chairman of the firm. Tucci has served on the private equity firm’s Investment Committee and Advisory Board since Bridge Growth Partners was established in late 2013.

6. AWS Migrations: Logicworks has launched a Cloud Migration Service – a three-part consultation that helps new and existing customers accelerate success with Amazon Web Services, the company claims. Logicworks is one of the top MSPs supporting AWS customer workloads.

5. Secure Cloud Connections: Verizon’s Secure Cloud Interconnect services now support Oracle Cloud. Telcos have been launching similar secure connection services to most of the major public clouds.

4. Rackspace IPO Deja Vu?: Rackspace recently exited public markets through a private equity buyout. But Rackspace founder Graham Weston predicts the managed cloud provider will launch an IPO again within five to seven years...

3. More Data Centers for Sale?: Silver Lake Partners, the private equity firm, might be looking to sell Vantage Data Centers, according to Fortune. The potential move comes as both CenturyLink and Verizon seek to sell their respective data center businesses...

2. StorageCraft Talent: StorageCraft has hired Jawaad Tariq is its new vice president of engineering. Tariq, a 17-year industry veteran, Tariq, joined StorageCraft from Fusion-io/Sandisk. StorageCraft, acquired by a private equity firm in January 2016, has built a new executive and channel team in recent months.

Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell

1. Meet at Dell EMC World?: ChannelE2E is set to attend Dell EMC World 2016 next week in Austin, Texas. If you're attending and you'd like to potentially meet please email me ([email protected]).

More: Read all of our daily 5 Channel Partner UpdatesPlusSubscribe to our daily enewsletter. Thanks to those who already have.

Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri is co-founder & editorial director of MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E, the two leading news & analysis sites for managed service providers in the cybersecurity market.