Channel Brief: MSP Vendors Pax8, ConnectWise Cut Jobs

Plenty of big tech companies went on a hiring frenzy during the pandemic, poaching top talent from each other and building up what looked to be a formidable army to prepare for a digital age. But a hangover soon followed where tech companies admitted to over hiring. Many have made big cuts since then.

ChannelE2E is tracking some recent cuts among companies that provide software, clouds and marketplaces to MSPs. The reasons for the cuts at these companies may be very different from the cuts at the tech giants.

It's very possible that these smaller layoffs reported by Pax8 and ConnectWise and "performance-based terminations" reported by Kaseya are related to redundancies after acquisitions as well as pressure from private equity and venture capital investors to hit certain financial performance goals. Because none of these companies are public, we don't have clear visibility into what's going on inside. Let us know if you have insider information to share.

We also have some cybersecurity news from SentinelOne and Trellix to share today as well as a new CISO appointment at a telecom, cloud and communications provider. In addition, longtime data analytics and AI provider SAS has been expanding its channel partner program efforts and took that a step further today via a partnership with a hyperscaler.

Don't forget to check out our industry Mergers and Acquisitions list, updated daily, with a data archive goes all the way back to 2020. Check out the whole thing here. Scroll down for a quick view of upcoming in-person channel and MSP events at the bottom of this post (while we spiff up our industry calendar behind the scenes. It will return!)

And please send your news tips, information, and industry chatter to editorial director [email protected].

A. Today’s Tech, Channel and MSP News

1. Layoffs at Pax8 - MSP cloud marketplace Pax8 is reportedly reducing its workforce by “less than 5%,” with most of the layoffs coming in North America. Pax8 declined to confirm all the details contained in a supposed email to employees that was posted to Reddit. Pax8 raised an additional round of funding in April 2022, just before the investment markets began their slowdown. The round was for $185 million and put Pax8 at a $1.7 billion valuation. The recent Reddit post raised the question about whether Pax8 had achieved profitability. ChannelE2E has reached out to Pax8 for comment.

2. ConnectWise layoffs - Another report says ConnectWise has cut about 80 jobs across multiple departments in the MSP software platform company, due to redundancies following acquisitions. This move follows a recent move by Kaseya where 150 cuts were attributed to “performance based terminations.” ConnectWise and Kaseya are both funded by private equity firms. 

3. Another SentinelOne partnership - SentinelOne has forged a strategic collaboration with Smarttech247 to deliver AI-backed MDR solutions to the mid-market. Smarttech247 is building a new MDR offering by integrating its VisionX MDR platform with the SentinelOne Singularity Platform. With SentinelOne and its Purple AI as the foundation, Smarttech247 will provide mid-market companies with advanced threat detection, analysis, and response capabilities. SentinelOne told ChannelE2E that the collaboration proves that Purple AI is being used in real world implementations.

4. New CISO - Canadian telecom company Mitel has appointed Bill Dunnion as chief information security officer (CISO). Dunnion will oversee Mitel’s information security strategy, security architecture, and security standards compliance. He will also assess, develop, and implement industry best practices for security across Mitel. Before joining Mitel, Dunnion held IT and cybersecurity leadership positions at Calian Ltd, 2Keys Security Solutions, and Bell Canada. 

5. Cybersecurity partnership - XDR provider Trellix is introducing a new data loss prevention (DLP) feature with Google Chrome Enterprise to enable secure browsing protection against insider threats by identifying and preventing data leaks. Trellix DLP for Chrome Enterprise will be available within the Chrome Enterprise Recommended program as an integrated API.

6. SAS expands hosted managed services - Data and artificial intelligence (AI) provider SAS is expanding its SAS-hosted managed services to Amazon Web Services (AWS). A strategic addition to the SAS Managed Services portfolio, the expansion gives customers more options for how they choose to deploy and manage their investments in industry-leading SAS technology and solutions. 

B. In-Person MSP and Channel Partner Events