Channel Brief: CrowdStrike Recovery Continues, Microsoft Releases Free Fix

Hi, folks! I'm assuming many of you spent the weekend working through the ongoing fallout from last week's CrowdStrike outage. Do you have any stories from the trenches you're willing to share? Thoughts on how this will impact the channel? I want to hear them -- heartwarming, gut-wrenching and everything in between. You can remain as anonymous as you'd like -- drop me a line at [email protected].

Microsoft this morning released a tool it said will help affected organizations escape from the BSOD loop if repeated restarts don't do the trick.

In other news, Evergreen Services Group has acquired ETHOSystems, which will tuck into its dedicated ERP vertical Pine Services Group, startup Heeler Security has raised $8.5 million for its AppSec platform, Calvin Goom is named Trustmarque's new CRO and Fusion5 acquired IntegrationWorks to expand its Australian and UK presence.

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

Today’s Tech, Channel and MSP News

1. Evergreen Buys ETHOSystems: Earlier this month, Evergreen Services Group made its one hundredth acquisition when it bought integrated construction and commercial real estate software company ETHOSystems. ETHOSystems will join Pine Services Group, Evergreen's dedicated ERP vertical, the companies said in a statement. ETHOSystems will continue to operate independently and retain its core employee base within Pine Services Group, while receiving the benefits and opportunities of being part of a larger ERP partner network, such as access to best practices, shared resources and strategic guidance from the Pine and Evergreen teams.

2. CrowdStrike Fallout Continues; Microsoft Releases Free Fix: As remediation continues, there's already speculation about how things will shake out for CrowdStrike and those affected by Friday's outage. Will anyone be compensated? What's the liability? Although CrowdStrike itself has issued guidance on recovery, as well as another update that fixes the corrupt file at the center of things, getting past the blue screen of death issue is not simple when so many devices are impacted, as Forbes' Kate O'Flaherty reported Friday. Microsoft suggested impacted users should try turning it off and on again multiple times if they are running virtual machines inside Azure. Today, Microsoft, which said the CrowdStrike update left 8.5 million Windows machines out of action, also released a free tool to help people recover if turning a machine off and on again multiple times doesn't work. The tool is designed to enable IT admins recover from the blue screen of death boot loop. Have you tried it? Does it work?

You can read full coverage of the story across our network here:

3. Heeler Security Raises $8.5 Million for AppSec: Application security startup Heeler Security Inc. has raised $8.5 million in new funding to improve detection, posture management and response orchestration throughout the software development lifecycle (SDLC), according to Silicon Angle reporting. Heeler Security was launched in June 2023 to address the growing complexity of modern applications and the resulting expansion of the attack surface. The company's main offering is ProductDNA, a service that unifies the code, behavior and business context of applications in real-time. The technology automates the assessment of the impact of security issues on business applications, significantly reducing noise and false positives, the company said. That helps developers understand the security impact of their changes as they code so they can build more resilient applications. Heeler Security claims ProductDNA is used by clients ranging from unicorn startups to Fortune 500 firms, despite it not yet being generally available. The service will be generally available starting in the fourth quarter of this year.

4. Fusion5 Acquires IntegrationWorks to Boost Australian, UK Presence: Reseller News reported that ICT service provider Fusion5 has acquired Wellington-based systems integrator (SI) IntegrationWorks to boost its presence in Australia and the UK. IntegrationWorks has seven offices worldwide, with three offices in New Zealand – Auckland and Christchurch, in addition to its Wellington base. It also has three offices in Australia – Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and one in Bath in the UK. Under the deal, 80 integration consultants will be added to Fusion5’s existing Integration and Innovation unit, with IntegrationWorks officially becoming part of Fusion5 on August 1, 2024.

5. Trustmarque Group Names Goom to CRO Role: Trustmarque Group has named Calvin Goom, managing partner at Smart/tasking, to be its chief revenue officer (CRO), effective immediately. Goom will report directly to CEO Simon Williams and will oversee the sales, marketing and alliance divisions, spearheading the group's strategic growth initiatives, Trustmarque said in a statement. He succeeds Donavan Hutchinson, who left the CRO post in March to pursue his DEI consultancy venture, D&A Services International. Goom previously served as senior vice president at SaaS fintech LeapXpert, where he established and led operations in EMEA. Between 2003 to 2016, he was managing director, United Kingdom and Ireland (UK&I) at DimensionData, responsible for the overall strategy, execution and performance of the UK&I business. Congratulations!

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