Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Thursday, December 15, 2016.
Actually, there are 20 timely entries for rebels, 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…
20. Energy Standards: California became the first state in the US to approve energy efficiency requirements for laptops, desktops, and monitors today, in a change that could ultimately impact computers’ energy efficiency across the country, The Verge noted.
19. Yahoo Hack Encore: Seriously?
18. Another Dell Technologies Exit: Amit Yoran is stepping down as president of Dell Technologies' cyber-security unit -- aka RSA -- to run Tenable Network Security, a well-financed private cyber security company that is looking to boost revenue growth, Reuters reported. Dell has had a steady stream of departures since buying EMC, though it doesn't look like an exodus.
17. Network Analytics Acquisition: Nokia is buying Deepfield, a small IP network analytics company with roughly 65 employees. Financial terms were not disclosed.
16. Cloud Management Funding: Logicworks has raised $135 million to help fund its cloud automation and management platform.
15. Cloud Management Tools: Infinite Ops recently upgraded its IO Console, which now includes a marketplace with turn-key cloud solutions for IT-specific workloads. The marketplace includes such offerings as Citrix Xen App, Microsoft RDS, SQL, IIS, Domain Controller, Teradici’s Cloud Access with PCoIP, SQL, and IIS.
14. IT Monitoring: Netreo, which strives to create the "simplest, most effective IT monitoring and management products," says company revenues are up 35 percent (so far) in 2016 vs. 2015. Many of the deployments involve end-user customers; we don't know how many service providers leverage Netreo's tools.
13. WaaS Growth: CloudJumper, a Workspace as a Service (WaaS) platform provider, has grown revenue 80 percent in 2016 vs. 2015. The company's partner ecosystem has doubled in the past year and now includes nearly 1,000 MSPs. Additionally, CloudJumper has experienced a 59% increase in the number of end-customer seats deployed by partners. independenceIT, another WaaS specialist, says revenues for its Cloud Workspace Suite (SWS) grew 70 percent year over year in 2016 vs. 2015. Neither company disclosed actual revenue figures.
12. Security Services: Shield Networks is helping to transform Canadian MSPs into cyber security experts. The effort includes a close working relationship with SonicWall, which has new ownership and recently returned to a pure channel sales model.
11. Security Partner Program: EiQ Networks, which offers hybrid security as a service, has attracted roughly two-dozen resellers to its partner program. New U.S.-based partners include ACCi, BFG Cyber Security Solutions, and Netswitch. New international partners include Altech, Innovatec, Softlogic, and Novigotek.
Wait. You're not done reading. Visit page two for the thrilling conclusion to this blog entry.
Welcome to page two of today's update. We're confident the page load time was worth your wait. Take a look...
10. Office 365 Security: Vera has launched new tools that protect every file created in Microsoft Office 365 and stored in SharePoint or OneDrive for Business, the company claims... 9. SOC Challenges: Roughly 25 percent of enterprise Security Operations Centers (SOCs) are unable to sufficiently investigate 25 percent of security alerts, according to a McAfee Labs threat report for December 2016. Among the potential takeaways: Perhaps it's time for customers and their MSPs to outsource security to third-party SOC providers... 8. Blockchain Investment: Citi, the banking giant, has invested in Cobalt DL, a blockchain startup. Cobalt is expected to raise more funding in 2017. Why should partners care about blockchain? IBM offers this blockchain primer for its partner ecosystem. 7. Service Desk KPIs: Here are seven service desk KPIs to live by, according to ConnectWise. Once you've mastered those KPIs, then check out these 10 KPIs for your small business sales dashboard... 6. Barracuda Meets Google: Barracuda now offers its next-generation firewall for Google Cloud Platform customers. We're curious to see if Barracuda connects the dots between its backup business (Intronis MSP Solutions) and various Google cloud services... 5. MSP-Colo Partnership: ColocationGuard, which operates Brooklyn, N.Y.'s only data center, has partnered with Webair, a fully managed infrastructure service provider. The net result? ColocationGuard customers can now leverage Webair’s suite of managed services. 4. Channel Talent, Part I: Keep a close eye on Blue Medora, which writes plugins that improve hybrid cloud management. The company has hired and promoted several executives to accelerate channel engagements. We first met Blue Medora at a New Relic FutureStack conference (see item 7 here), where the company explained how it could help partners to manage on-premises and cloud services from a single console... 3. Channel Talent, Part II: Datto veteran Carrie Reber has joined DataCore as VP of worldwide marketing, where she'll drive the company's sales and channel initiatives. DataCore specializes in Hyper-converged Virtual SAN, Software-Defined Storage and Parallel I/O Processing Software.2. Business Valuations Rising?: It looks like business valuations are rising, according to M&A data culled by ValueWalk. The typical company buyout now fetches a valuation of 8.5 times EBITDA -- up from 8.0 times EBITDA in Q2. Of course, the figures represent all types of businesses -- not just IT service providers. Generally speaking, IT service providers are worth closer to 5X to 7X EBITDA, according to Service Leadership Inc. But some service providers with their own intellectual property are worth roughly 11X EBITDA...
1. MSP Pricing for 2017: Join our MSP Pricing webcast today (Thursday, Dec. 15) at 2:00 p.m. ET/11:00 a.m. PT. TruMethods CEO Gary Pica will share MSP Pricing guidance and profitability formulas for 2017. More: Read all of our daily 5 Channel Partner Updates. Plus: Subscribe to our daily enewsletter. Thanks to those who already have.
