Channel Brief: Upstack, Atera, NinjaOne, ManageEngine

Grab a cup of your favorite morning beverage and check out the return of our regular market briefing for managed services providers (MSPs), IT service providers (ITSPs), technology service providers (TSPs), cloud service providers (CSPs) cybersecurity consultants, systems integrators, VARs, independent software vendors (ISVs), and distributors.

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].

Sip up.

A. Today’s Tech, Channel and MSP News

1. Acquisition - Upstack has acquired the telecom agency services division of CA Communications Inc., based in Wayzata, Minnesota. CA Communications’ Founder, President and CEO Marc Agar will become an Upstack Partner while remaining CA’s chief executive. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

2. MSP platform, cybersecurity partnership - MSP platform provider NinjaOne and cybersecurity MDR provider SentinelOne have launched a bi-directional product integration for endpoint protection by merging of IT operations and security. Teams can immediately view threat alerts in NinjaOne for cyber threats detected by SentinelOne. NinjaOne can also notify technicians via SMS, Slack Microsoft Teams, or other platforms. And NinjaOne can deploye SentinelOne agents to endpoints using policies. 

3. Another MSP platform, cybersecurity partnership - IT platform provider Atera and XDR and MDR provider Cynet have forged a strategic partnership that will put Cynet’s solutions into the Atera App Center.

4. Yet another IT management, cybersecurity partnership - Zoho’s enterprise IT management division, ManageEngine will integrate its unified endpoint management with Check Point’s Harmony Mobile for mobile threat defense.  

5. Third-party support provider expands - Third-party enterprise support and managed services provider Rimini Street has launched Rimini Custom, expanding its end-of-support for enterprise software to a broader range of offerings. 

6. Ransomware ramifications - Healthcare providers across the United States are struggling to get paid following the week-long ransomware outage at a key tech unit of UnitedHealth Group , with some smaller providers saying they are already running low on cash. (Reuters)

7. Cloud prices slashed - China's Alibaba Cloud on Thursday said it will slash prices of some of its products by as much as 55%, its most severe price cut to date, amid intensifying competition to attract heavy users, particularly artificial intelligence software developers. (Reuters)

B. In-Person MSP and Channel Partner Events