Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Friday, September 29, 2017.
Actually, there are 14 timely updates designed 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. Oracle Cloud Managed Services: Fujitsu has introduced managed services for Oracle Cloud. The move comes only days before the Oracle OpenWorld 2017 conference in San Francisco. Oracle's cloud is growing quickly but mostly involves SaaS momentum. The company's IaaS market share doesn't even register yet vs. AWS and Azure, according to Gartner.
12. IBM's Sign of the Times: IBM now has more employees in India than in the United States...
11. Nutanix Buyout?: Nutanix turned down acquisition offers from Cisco Systems and HP Enterprise ahead of the company's IPO last year, according to The Information. Nutanix, which develops hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) for data centers. Both HPE (SimpliVity) and Cisco (SpringPath) went on to acquire HCI alternatives.
10. Avaya IPO: Hard to believe but Avaya actually is planning an IPO once the company emerges from bankruptcy later this year. The big question: Is Avaya now built to last -- or is this just another "financial event" to pass the buck from current owners to future owners... (i.e., new investors).
9. Distribution: Ingram Micro Cloud has expanded its distribution relationship with DocuSign. Also, Ingram has agreed to distribute Cambium Networks' wireless technology.
8. Global Expansion: SkyKick, a provider of cloud management software for IT service providers, is opening a European headquarters in the new Amsterdam Spaces Amstel building called “The Cloud.” Along with the move, the company will be doubling its European employee count.
7. Government MSP Contract: CSRA has won a $34 million managed cloud services contract with The Department of Navy. The engagement involves moving next-generation workloads to Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.
6. RMM Power Management: Pioneer Power Solutions has won a contract to provide remote monitoring and management (RMM) for emergency power systems for a leading home improvement retailer. Hmmm... has Home Depot or Lowes signed sign on? Perhaps we'll know the answer when one of those chains keeps the lights on during the next major power outage...
5. Industrial IoT Bubble?: Here's a timely Internet of Things reality check. An impressive 60 percent of manufacturers are testing Industrial IoT programs. However, only one in 20 manufacturers has a clear business case for IIoT application, according to Emerson and IndustryWeek. Ahem... can you say bubble?
4. Managed WiFi Services: Aerohive Networks has launched updates that allow MSPs and Hospitality Service Providers (HSPs) to leverage guest authentication methods and hotspot management tools.
3. PSA and Salesforce.com: Kimble Applications, which appears to be gaining PSA momentum, has inked partnerships with Salesforce.com specialists Parvero and Morphate. Parvero is an Australia-based Salesforce partner that advises SMBs on best-of-breed cloud-based IT solutions. Morphate, which is under the same ownership, deals exclusively with not-for-profit organizations. Both brands will represent Kimble across Australia and New Zealand. Kimble's PSA (professional services automation) software is designed for Salesforce.com.
2. MSP Maturity: Kaseya's latest survey of MSPs, SMBs and midmarket IT departments reveals some interesting operational maturity trends...
1. MSP Security Operations Centers: Should you build your own or partner up for a security operations center? Before you answer, keep an eye on Continuum Navigate 2017 -- a conference starting October 2 in Las Vegas. CEO Michael George is expected to describe the company's new SOC services for MSPs...
