Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Tuesday, November 29, 2016.
Actually, there are 13 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…
13. Ransomware Hits Public Transit System: The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency said on Monday it had contained a ransomware attack, which disrupted its ticketing systems and forced it to offer free service to some customers during the Thanksgiving weekend, according to Reuters. Someone claiming to be the attacker apparently demanded $73,000 to unlock the encrypted files. It's unclear if the transportation system paid the ransom.
12. Cognizant Under Pressure: Elliott Management Corp. unveiled a $1.4 billion stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions and is seeking a meeting with directors to discuss proposals that it argues could boost the company’s value, Bloomberg reported. Cognizant has been one of the world's most successful IT solutions providers over the past decade. But mixed performance in recent quarters has pressured the company.
11. Microsoft Azure Security Glitch: Whoops. The Microsoft Azure team apparently forgot to secure Red Hat Linux instances running in the Azure cloud. The major security whole -- which potentially granted admin rights to hackers -- has been closed.
10. Cloud Firewalls: The worldwide cloud firewall management market will grow at an estimated CAGR of 27.7% from 2016 to 2022, according to Infoholic Research. Some of the players included in the report are Cisco, Check Point Software Technologies, McAfee, Fortinet, and Palo Alto Networks.
9. IoT Partner Programs, Part I: Avnet has agreed to distribute relayr's Internet of Things technology to partners in the U.S. and Canada. The offering includes a starter kit to help partners develop IoT solutions for their customers from prototype to roll-out, along with end-to-end support, relayr says.
8. IoT Partner Programs, Part II: Industrial automation manufacturer and IoT application toolset provider Opto 22 has joined the Dell IoT Solutions Partner Program. Dell has continually expanded the IoT partner program throughout 2016.
7. Business Continuity Customer Adoption: The Salvation Army Western U.S. Region has selected Zetta to provide cloud-first, end-to-end backup and recovery to protect its data-heavy IT operations. Zetta has been working more closely with MSPs this year, though I don't know if this particular customer win involved channel partners. Zetta's business continuity platform is a pure-cloud approach that requires no on-premises appliances.
6. PSA-RMM Upgrade: Atera has updated its cloud-based MSP software platform. The combination RMM-PSA (remote monitoring and management, professional services automation) platform has gained new patch management, IT automation, scripting, reporting and security features, Atera claims. Atera has quietly but quickly caught on with hundreds of MSPs, according to software vendors that integrate with the platform. PS: For more on Atera and other MSP software providers, check out our Top 10 MSP Predictions for 2017.
5. ShoreTel Partner Program: ShoreTel has launched PartnerStart, which allows partners to take ownership of the installation process for ShoreTel Connect CLOUD customers, the company says. The move, led by Channel Chief Heather Tenuto, is particularly timely. ShoreTel's channel team has remained focused on partner program enhancement even as the company's executive suite considers potential strategic alternatives for the business.
4. New ConnectWise Integrations: BNG Design has launched a WordPress and ConnectWise Plug-In, essentially linking the PSA platform to the blogging and content management system (CMS). Also, Druva has expanded its support for channel organizations and technology businesses through a new integration with ConnectWise, the company asserts. Druva specializes in cloud data protection and information management.
3. Top 50 Cloud Management Tools: Here's the list...
2. Tech Earnings: Watch for quarterly earnings from Splunk and Nutanix later today. Splunk has been ramping up its partner program, while Nutanix has partnered with Lenovo and other hardware companies to focus on hyperconverged data centers. We'll check to see if the latest earnings results from each company reveal any new partner trends...
1. Live From Las Vegas: We're blogging live from the Ingram Micro ONE and Amazon AWS re:Invent conferences this week in Las Vegas. Use the links in the previous sentence to track all of our coverage. Trying to find me? I'll be in the general sessions at Ingram Micro ONE and blogging at the Aria Resort's Starbucks near the convention hall. I'll also be stopping by AWS re:Invent on Wednesday afternoon.
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