5 Channel Partner Updates: Thursday 15 August 2019

Here are five (actually, far more…) technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Thursday, August 15, 2019.

A. Our Daily Brew

B. Freshly Brewed News and Chatter

1. M&A - Big Data Consulting: Accenture is acquiring Analytics8, a privately held Australian big data and analytics consultancy that specializes in data management, reporting and visualization, data science and analytics services. Analytics8 has roughly 70 employees, all of whom are expected to join Accenture.

2. M&A - Broadband Services: TDS Broadband Service has agreed to acquire substantially all of Continuum (a cable and broadband provider in Mooresville, North Carolina) for $80 million. The seller is not to be confused with MSP-focused Continuum of Boston, Massachusetts.

3. M&A - Monitoring: Virtual Instruments, a provider of AIOps for hybrid infrastructure management, has completed its acquisition of SaaS-based cloud cost, optimization and monitoring service provider Metricly.

4. Financial Results - Cisco, Lenovo: Both companies delivered quarterly results on Wednesday. Despite multiple bright spots (PCs for Lenovo; applications and security for Cisco), both companies expressed some concerns about the U.S.-China trade war and its impact on business. Cisco also is seeing some signs of a slowing global economy.

5. Cisco Layoffs: Cisco Systems is cutting nearly 500 jobs in San Jose and Milpitas, marking the second round of layoffs to hit the networking hardware maker’s local offices in the past 12 months. The company has roughly 74,000 workers worldwide.

6. Artificial Intelligence Hype: Customers are having a difficult time separating fact from fiction in the AI (artificial intelligence) startup market, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

7. Multi-Cloud Data Protection: Rubrik has launched Andes 5.1, a data protection solution for data classification, automated DR (disaster recovery) orchestration, and continuous data protection across Rubrik Cloud Data Management (RCDM) and Rubrik Polaris SaaS platform, the company says.

C. Channel Partner Programs and Strategic Alliances: MSPs, CSPs, ISVs, VARs

1. Cisco Security Technology Alliance: Cisco Systems has added 15 industry partners with 20 new product integrations to the Cisco Security Technology Alliance (CSTA)–Cisco’s security development, integration and certification framework, the company says.

2. Distribution – Managed Detection and Response (MDR): Synnex has agreed to distribute CriticalStart, a Top 100 MSSP with MDR services, to its U.S. channel partners.

3. All Partner Programs: Search the comprehensive ChannelE2E Partner Program Database here. Also, submit your company information here and your partner program can be listed in the database.

D. Next Five Technology Conferences

Got news to share for our morning update? Email me: [email protected].