Channel Brief: Avaya Lays Off 180, ServiceNow’s Desai Resigns, MSoft Signals Kernel Changes Post-CrowdStrike

Good morning, folks, and happy Friday! What a week it's been, eh?

Today, we're looking at Microsoft's push to remove kernel access for software like CrowdStrike to prevent another incident like last week's, Avaya's latest round of layoffs, ServiceNow's exiting execs and its acquisition of Raytion to bolster AI-powered search on the Now platform and Bocada Cloud's addition of an integration with HaloPSA.

As always, drop me a line at [email protected] if you have news to share or want to say hi!

Grab your coffee. Here's what you need to know today.

Today’s Tech, Channel and MSP News

1. Avaya Cuts 3% of Workforce in Latest Layoffs: Avaya has cut 3% of its workforce, including some roles in technical pre-sales, consultants and architecture, according to CX Today. An Avaya spokesperson told CX Today that Avaya made “related operational changes” to align its sales, services, and engineering teams. “We are positioning the business for success, reinvestment, and growth,” the Avaya spokesperson said, and added that "other positions" were being created and that any changes wouldn't negatively impact the company's partner and customer support services.

2. ServiceNow Acquires Raytion for AI-Powered Search: ServiceNow announced it has acquired Raytion to enhance generative AI‑powered search and knowledge management capabilities on the Now Platform. Raytion technology, combined with ServiceNow AI Search, enables users to find the answers they require without having to know exactly where the information is located, ServiceNow said in a statement about the acquisition. Raytion’s technology will integrate secure access to information from enterprise data sources, including data within ServiceNow and from third‑party systems.

3. Bocada Cloud Adds Integration With HalsoPSA: Bocada LLC added support in Bocada Cloud for incident ticketing automation with HaloPSA. With this new integration, HaloPSA customers can now use Bocada Cloud to automate backup failure ticket creation within HaloPSA for more efficient remediation. Bocada Cloud's MSPs can now streamline managed backup service delivery and reduce ticket noise, the companies said in a statement. Bocada Cloud is the SaaS edition of Bocada's award-winning backup monitoring software. Bocada Cloud offering is designed for easy MSP adoption with features such as a free tier (up to 25 monitored resources), multi-tenant reporting capabilities, pay-as-you-go billing and now, a HaloPSA ticketing integration.

4. Microsoft to Kick Vendors Out of its Kernel: The Verge reported today that Microsoft is calling for changes to Windows, and hinted that it’s prioritizing making Windows more resilient. To do so, it seems the software giant is willing to push security vendors like CrowdStrike to stop accessing the Windows kernel. Microsoft tried this in 2006 to no avail. Now, however, the conversation might go a little differently. “This incident shows clearly that Windows must prioritize change and innovation in the area of end-to-end resilience,” John Cable, VP of program management for Windows servicing and delivery, said in a blog post detailing “the path forward.” Cable said Microsoft and its partners “who also care deeply about the security of the Windows ecosystem” must collaborate to make security improvements. He called out a new VBS enclaves feature “that does not require kernel mode drivers to be tamper resistant” and Microsoft’s Azure Attestation service as examples of recent security innovations.

5. ServiceNow's Desai, Iyer Resign: Chirantan "CJ" Desai has resigned from ServiceNow after an internal investigation triggered by a regulatory complaint in March found he violated company policy when hiring the former CIO of the US Army, Raj Iyer, as the workflow vendor's public sector boss. The news was announced by CEO Bill McDermott during the company's Q2 earnings call; ServiceNow believes this was as "an isolated incident" and that its executive team can cover for Desai and Iyer. Former chief digital information officer and chief customer officer Chris Bedi will step in as chief product officer.

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