5 Channel Partner Updates: Friday 28 February 2020 -

Here are five (actually far more) technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Friday, February 28, 2020. Sip up.

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A. What’s Hot Today

1. M&A - Broadband Services Provider: Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners is acquiring Xplorenet Communications, Canada's largest rural broadvand service provider.

2. Investment - ITSM: Abry Partners has invested in Asignet, a provider of IT asset management and lifecycle expense management technologies.

3. Enterprise Cloud Backup: Clumio claims it continues to disrupt the enterprise backup market with SaaS solutions. The company did not disclose actual revenue figures, growth figures or income figures, but points to these business milestones:

Raised $186M in total funding in less than two-and-a-half years since inception, including a $135M Series C round led by Sutter Hill Ventures in November 2019.
More than tripled its employee headcount, adding almost 80 new employees across all locations.
Opened a research and development center in Bangalore, adding more than 20 employees in six months with plans for significant growth.
Made a number of key strategic hires, including: Chadd Kenney, VP and chief technologist; Brian Kerr, VP finance; Shane Jackson, VP marketing; Glenn Mulvaney, VP of cloud operations and security; Sandeep Soni, GM and VP of engineering, India Operations; Jess Taclas, VP inside sales; and Chris Degnan, board member.

4. Lenovo Accounting Questions: Multiple media reports are raising questions about Lenovo accounting practices -- particularly as they pertain to accounts receivable. Lenovo has dismissed the allegations. Also, it's important to note: Some of the allegations were raised by analysts who are shorting Lenovo's stock -- which means those investors profit if Lenovo's stock experiences a decline.

B. Strategic Alliances and Partnerships

1. Xerox Cloud - Direct Sales First, Partners Second: Xerox has launched Virtual Print Management Service and Workplace Cloud Fleet Management for enterprise customers. The Virtual Print solution is available now for enterprise companies in regions served directly by Xerox, with plans to expand to channel partners later this year, the company says. SMB-focused channel partners will be able to provide customers with Workplace Cloud Fleet Management early in the second quarter of 2020, Xerox adds. Memo to Xerox: When you introduce new technologies, make sure channel partners are supported on Day One. A channel lag is simply not acceptable in the MSP-driven SMB market.

2. Talent - Cloud PBX: Broadvoice has made three strategic moves to support its channel partner efforts. The talent moves include:

Mike Gottwalt, a 15-year veteran of the channel, is Broadvoice’s first VP of strategic relationships, a new role created as a liaison between Broadvoice and strategic partners, including national and regional master agencies and technology vendors.
Jason Shawgo, a 14-year UCaaS veteran, has joined the company as the company’s Area VP - East Coast, and will oversee channel sales teams and strategies in the region.
Nick Madsen, a direct and channel sales operations pro with 12 years of experience, has recently been promoted from his role as Regional Sales Manager to Area Vice President – West Coast, and will oversee channel sales teams and strategies in the region.

3. Partnership - Office Equipment: Office1, an office technology and IT solutions provider, has partnered with Nevada Office Machines, a local document imaging service provider in Reno, Nevada.

4, Azure MSPs: SHI International is now a Microsoft Azure Expert Managed Services Provider (MSP).

5. Alliance - SaaS Applications: Impact Advisors, a health care IT consulting firm, is now a Workday Alliance Services Partner. Workday. Impact will focus on SaaS-based financial management, human capital management (HCM), and supply chain management for healthcare.