Channel Brief: Oracle Deals Overshadow Earnings Miss, Cayosoft Launches Channel Program

The biggest news is the Oracle-Google-OpenAI deals, of course. The upshot of the news is that Google Cloud will offer Oracle Cloud Infrastructure database services and high-speed network interconnect with Oracle. Separately, Oracle signed a deal with generative AI firm OpenAI to use Oracle's cloud infrastructure to extend the Microsoft Azure AI Platform.

In other news, Microsoft Active Directory solutions firm Cayosoft announced its first channel program, which will go live in Q3. AI-led automation platform Pia announced new usage-based pricing, and we're also looking at two acquisitions -- well, one that's certain and one that may or may not happen. Cognizant will acquire digital engineering firm Belcan and Reuters reported in an exclusive that Apollo Global and Kyndryl are in talks to make a joint bid for IT services vendor DXC Technology.

I'm traveling home from Pax8 Beyond today, but drop me a note at [email protected] if you want to pass along news, tips, share your impressions of Pax8 Beyond or just say hello.

In the meantime, grab your coffee. Here’s what you need to know today.

Today’s Tech, Channel and MSP News

1.  Oracle's Google Cloud, OpenAI Deals Overshadow Earnings Miss: Oracle and Google Cloud announced a partnership that will combine Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) and Google Cloud technologies to help accelerate customers' application migrations and modernization, the companies said. Google Cloud's Cross-Cloud Interconnect will be initially available for customer onboarding in 11 global regions, allowing customers to deploy general purpose workloads with no cross-cloud data transfer charges. Later this year, a new offering, Oracle Database@Google Cloud, will be available with the highest level of Oracle database and network performance, along with feature and pricing parity with OCI. Both companies will jointly go to market with Oracle Database@Google Cloud, targeting enterprises, financial services, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, and more. Separately, Oracle signed a deal with OpenAI to use Oracle's cloud infrastructure to extend the Microsoft Azure AI Platform. These announcements overshadowed Oracle's near-miss earnings news, which saw the company earn an adjusted $1.63 per share on $14.3 billion in revenue for the period ending May 31, 2024. Analysts expected Oracle to earn an adjusted $1.65 per share on $14.57 billion in revenue.

2. Pia Intros Usage-Based Pricing: Pia, an AI-led automation platform for MSPs, this week announced a new usage-based pricing model for its partners. This model allows partners to pay only for the resources and automations needed, providing a flexible alternative to Pia’s fixed-base pricing model. Benefits of the new model include improved cost control and savings, greater flexibility and enhanced transparency into usage and cost for better expense management, the company said in a statement.

3. Apollo Global, Kyndryl Discuss Joint Bid for DXC Technology: Reuters reported that buyout firm Apollo Global and IT services provider Kyndryl Holdings are in talks about making a joint bid for DXC Technology. Citing "sources familiar with the matter," Reuters said Apollo and Kyndryl discussed an acquisition offer for DXC of between $22 and $25 per share. DXC shares jumped on the news and ended trading in New York on Monday up 11% at $18.45, giving the company a market value of $3.3 billion. DXC, which is also an IT services vendor, is separately soliciting bids to sell its insurance software business for more than $2 billion, according to Reuters, and may opt to remain an independent company under Raul Fernandez, who was appointed chief executive in February, the sources added.

4. Cognizant to Acquire Belcan for $1.3 billion: IT services provider Cognizant Technologies will acquire digital engineering firm Belcan for nearly $1.3 billion in cash and stock, Reuters reported this week. The deal would expand Teaneck, New Jersey-based Cognizant's footprint in the aerospace, defense, space and automotive sectors. Reuters noted that Cognizant, which has a market value of $33 billion, is looking to strengthen its offerings in specialized areas as client spending slows down. Cognizant cut its annual revenue forecast to between $18.9 billion and $19.7 billion, below prior expectations of $19.0 billion to $19.8 billion. Cincinnati, Ohio-based Belcan, which has been owned by private equity firm AE Industrial Partners since 2015, employs 10,000 people across 60 locations globally.

5. Cayosoft Announces New Channel Program: Microsoft Active Directory solutions firm Cayosoft Inc. announced plans to roll out a new channel partner program in early Q3 2024. At launch, the Cayosoft partner program will support resellers, distributors, systems integrators and technology alliance partners and will expand to include managed service providers (MSPs) in 2025. Cayosoft supports all on-premises and cloud Microsoft environments, including Active Directory (AD), Entra ID/Azure AD, hybrid AD, Office 365, Intune, and other Microsoft platforms. The Cayosoft platform offers a core set of solutions that support and augment identity and access management, governance, threat detection, and business continuity service offerings. The company’s patent-pending, instant Active Directory forest recovery technology can restore all Microsoft directories within seconds to minutes, the company claims.

6. Hurry Up, Cloud MSPs! Submit Your Survey to Our Top Cloud MSPs List - Don't forget! Our Top 250 Public Cloud MSPs survey is open now, but it closes soon. Don’t wait until the last minute. Get it done and check it off your list today so you don’t miss the deadline. If your MSP practice includes working with a cloud provider, this survey is for you. Here’s the link to participate. Participation is free. The survey closes in June. Submit your MSP here for recognition today! And if you want to check our lists from previous years, you can find them here.

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