Channel Brief: Dell Continues Layoffs, OpenText Receives Third FedRAMP Cert, Integris Names New CIO

Layoffs at Dell will continue, the vendor said this week. Dell said that it will continue to reduce its workforce this year, trying to control costs amid concerns that demand for PCs hasn’t rebounded and sales of servers optimized for artificial intelligence aren’t as profitable as other products, Bloomberg reported.

Dell said a limitation on outside hiring, job reorganizations and other actions will produce “continued reduction in our overall headcount” in the fiscal year ending in February 2025. Despite the news of job cuts, excitement about AI-enabled tech saw Dell's stock gain 39% this year through Tuesday’s close and it will join the S&P 500 Index later this month, according to Mint.

Overall, the profitability of AI-enabled hardware, including servers, sold by Dell and other large vendors like Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co., is a concern; such servers need expensive computer chips made by companies like Nvidia Corp. In the most recent quarter, Dell said that a higher mix of AI servers hurt margins, but reported improved profit compared with the previous period, according to Bloomberg. And PC sales haven't rebounded as anticipated after a two-year decline.

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

Today’s Tech, Channel and MSP News

1. OpenText receives third FedRAMP authorization: OpenText announced that it received FedRAMP authorization for its IT Management Platform (ITMX), making it the third OpenText solution to achieve this certification. Government agencies use ITMX to modernize the way they work via a unified self-service portal with AI-driven support and mobile access, codeless configurations, ITIL-certified processes and workflow automation. ITMX also includes discovery of IT assets and cloud services, with risk analysis and asset management and extensive analytics capabilities, the company said.

2. NetApp storage to refresh Anaplan data centers: NetApp's unified data storage was chosen by Anaplan to refresh its storage systems in four data centers around the globe, the companies said in a statement. Anaplan is consolidating the storage of its public and private cloud deployments to simplify data operations and build a foundation for future AI-focused solutions.

3. Integris names new CIO: IT managed service provider Integris announced the appointment of its new Chief Information Officer (CIO), Brian Luckey. The position serves as the leader of the information technology and security department. Luckey comes to Integris with a diverse range of technology and leadership expertise across various industries, including national management positions with the national MSP All Covered, the company said in a statement. Luckey holds a Ph.D. in Management Information Systems from Walden University, and two MBAs from Jones International University in Global Enterprise Management and Negotiation and Conflict. He lives in Maryland with his wife and has two grown daughters. Congratulations!

4. Google Cloud BDR updates: SecurityWeek reports that Google Cloud Backup and Disaster Recovery has been updated to include a novel backup storage vault feature that ensures that backup data are adequately protected against ransomware intrusions. With the feature being air-gapped from self-managed Google Cloud projects hindering its resources' visibility, organizations could specify against backup modifications and deletions until a designated timeframe, as well as ensure backup recovery even in the absence of the source resource, according to Google. Such new functionality, which has been touted to facilitate immediate production app recovery, could be leveraged to secure VMware Engine virtual machines, Compute Engine VMs, SQL Server databases, and Oracle databases. "Backups often represent the last resort for recovery when production data becomes unavailable or untrusted. It's critical to not only back up your critical workloads, but also to secure those backups against subsequent modification and deletion. Backup vault provides secure storage for backups," said Google.

5. TD Bank hit with fines over customer data incident: TD Bank has been subjected to a $28 million fine by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau after reporting inaccurate and negative customer information to credit reporting agencies, almost $8 million of which will be provided to individuals who experienced credit, employment, and housing challenges as a result of the misreported data, reports The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future. Despite being aware of the hundreds of thousands of fraudulent or suspicious deposit account openings in January 2022, TD Bank continued sending information regarding such accounts to consumer reporting agencies without investigating if they were owned by their customers until April 2023, alleged the CFPB. "The CFPB's investigation found that TD Bank illegally threatened the consumer reports of its customers with fraudulent information and then barely lifted a finger to fix it. Rather than treating its customers fairly and following the law, TD Bank's management clearly cared more about growth and expanding its empire through mergers," said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra.