Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Tuesday, November 14, 2017.
Actually, there are 13 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. SAP Blockchain Momentum: SAP says 27 customers and partners, with a total market value of $819 billion, have embraced the company's blockchain co-innovation initiative. The initiative seeks to integrate the digital ledger system into Internet of Things (IoT), manufacturing and digital supply-chain solutions using the SAP Cloud Platform Blockchain service. Most major enterprise technology companies -- Dell EMC, HP Enterprise, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, etc. -- have aggressive blockchain initiatives under way.
12. Cisco Smart Cities: Cisco Systems has launched the City Infrastructure Financing Acceleration Program. The $1 billion program strives to make it easier, faster, and more affordable for cities around the world to fund and adopt technologies that will transform their communities, the company says. Cisco Capital, in partnership with Digital Alpha Advisors, APG Asset Management (APG) and Whitehelm Capital, will provide the funding.
11. Workday and Midmarket MSPs: Workday claims midsize enterprises are embracing the company's cloud-based HR and financial software. True believers include Inforsacom LOGICALIS GmbH -- the major MSP and IT services provider in Neu-Isenburg, Germany.
10. Cloud Integrations: Skytap today announced Skytap Cloud integration with IBM Cloud, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and other public clouds to extend the value of traditional applications, the company said. These new capabilities will be delivered in the first half of 2018.
9. Microsoft Cloud Ecosystem: Tech Data and Dynasource are promoting partner-to-partner talent sharing in the Microsoft cloud ecosystem. Partners can register here to join the community...
8. OpenStack Private Clouds: HPE and Rackspace have partnered to offer OpenStack Private Cloud with pay per use infrastructure. Delivered as a managed service, OpenStack Private Cloud allows enterprises to receive the benefits of a public cloud -- cloud-like utility pricing, elastic infrastructure and simplified IT – in a private cloud environment located in their datacenter, a colocation facility or a datacenter managed by Rackspace, the companies claim. Still, we're always somewhat skeptical of "private cloud" solutions that promise the complete benefits of a public cloud services. Among the potential stumbling areas: True elasticity...
7. AWS Exits China (Sort Of): Amazon.com Inc is selling off the hardware from its public cloud business in China, amid tightening regulation over online data that is creating a hurdle for technology firms operating in the world’s second-largest economy, Reuters notes.
6. Talent: Lexmark veteran Michael Johnson has been named senior VP of channel and alliances for Kony – which specializes in enterprise mobility and digital apps. Also, distribution veteran Graeme Watt will join Softcat as CEO, effective April 2018. He currently is senior VP EMEA, Advanced and Specialist Solution, Tech Data. Prior to that, he was President for Avnet Technology Solutions, which Tech Data acquired.
5. Google Cloud Monitoring: SignalFx has launched global monitoring for Google Cloud Platform.
4. Cloud Spending Leakage: RightScale says wasted cloud spend over the next year will top $10 billion if the situation is left unchecked. Why's that? Complexity in cloud pricing and billing is a key reason for wasted spend, the company says. A typical cloud bill can contain millions of line items that represent tens of thousands of different resource types and price points. AWS alone has more than 70,000 price points for compute instances, the company adds. We'll share more thoughts soon.
3. Application Performance Management: LightStep has emerged from stealth mode and formally launched LightStep PM. The platform supports monitoring and troubleshooting performance issues -- across web and mobile clients, monoliths, microservices, both on premises and in the cloud, the company claims. Read between the lines and LightStep seeks to compete against Cisco AppDynamics, New Relic and Datadog, among others.
2. SolarWinds MSP: The Empower MSP London conference, hosted by SolarWinds MSP, is under way. Senior Director Dave Sobel shared the company's vision for the future of managed services, according to Security Brief Europe. For a closer look at key messaging from SolarWinds MSP, check out our recent recap of the Empower MSP conference in Orlando, Fla.
1. Attending Ingram ONE?: ChannelE2E is set to attend Ingram ONE later this month in Texas. Want to potentially meet at the event? Email me your request and mention what you'd like to potentially discuss ([email protected]).
