Channel Brief: VMware Explore Focuses on Private Cloud, FifthWall Raises $5M, Nerdio Partners With CIS

VMware Explore kicked off in Las Vegas this week, and during the opening keynote, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan noted that, a decade ago, organizations "fell in love with the notion of the public cloud." But 10 years later, he said, organizations are now wrestling with what he called the three Cs of public cloud PTSD: Costs, complexity and compliance.

He said many CIOs are now moving their workloads back on-premises to deal with these three Cs, which represents a huge change, but also a huge opportunity.

"Here's my view," Tan said. "The future of the enterprise is private. Private cloud, private AI fueled by your own private data. It's about staying on-premises and in control. Of course, you'll continue using the public cloud for elastic demand and bursting workloads, but in this hybrid world, the private cloud is now the platform to drive your business and your innovation, and we have work to do to make that happen."

VMware by Broadcom is, therefore, focusing on VMware Cloud Foundation as the answer to these problems, Tan said. VCF will accelerate customers’ transition from siloed IT architectures to a unified and integrated private cloud platform that lowers cost and risk, Tan said. VMware Cloud Foundation 9 doesn't have a specific release date yet, but the company said it will follow its regular release schedule and partners and customers can expect a standard upgrade path from earlier versions.

What did you see, hear, learn about at VMware Explore today? Drop me a line and let me know! And, as always, drop me a line at [email protected] if you have other news to share or want to say hi!

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

Today’s Tech, Channel and MSP News

1. FifthWall raises $5 million, names new execs: Cyber insurance vendor FifthWall has raised $5 million in Series A funding and tapped Pax8’s Cole Knuth as CEO and Gene Stevens as chief technology officer, CRN reported this week. Doug Wright, who has served as Fifthwall's CEO since October 2015, will transition to board chairman. Knuth was previously at Denver-based Pax8 in a number of roles including director of revenue operations, CRO of EMEA and, most recently, corporate vice president of strategy. The Series A funding will support the development of new technology and the scaling of FifthWall’s operations, including building a robust engineering team, enhancing marketing efforts and streamlining internal processes, the company said.

2. D&H strengthens video solutions for hybrid and remote work: D&H Distribution has strengthened its video collaboration offerings with the addition of several new vendors and solutions, including agreements with Grandstream and PeopleLink, the company said today. In addition, D&H added state-of-the-art, 360-degree videoconferencing solutions from NEAT, Logitech and Yealink. The hybrid workplace is here to stay, and sophisticated new technologies that enhance the collaborative experience for both on- and off-site participants are delivering a more productive and seamless experience than ever. This means effective collaboration can happen in a variety of environments, not just when participants are all in one room.

3. Cribl raises $319M Series E: Cribl this week announced it has raised $319M in a Series E funding round, bringing its total capital raised to over $600 million and increasing the company’s valuation by 40% to $3.5 billion. The funding round is led by new investor Google Ventures, with participation from GIC, Capital G, IVP, and CRV. This is one of Google Ventures' largest investments to date and marks the first by general partner Michael McBride, who will also join Cribl’s board of directors where he will work closely with CEO Clint Sharp to help steer the company toward its IPO.

4. Nerdio integrates CIS hardened images: Microsoft cloud solutions provider Nerdio announced a strategic partnership with the Center for Internet Security, Inc. (CIS) to integrate CIS Hardened Images directly into its products. This integration streamlines compliance efforts and enhances cybersecurity postures without requiring extensive customization or manual configuration, Nerdio said. As part of this collaboration, CIS has produced its first-ever Windows 10/11 multisession images, which are now available in the Azure Marketplace specifically for AVD deployments.

5. Check Point to acquire Cyberint: Check Point Software Technologies, a cybersecurity platform provider, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Cyberint Technologies, a specialist in external risk management solutions. The acquisition will enhance Check Point’s Security Operations Center (SOC) capabilities and expand its managed threat intelligence offerings. Cyberint’s capabilities will be integrated into the Check Point Infinity Platform for collaborative threat prevention and will also be available as a managed service through Check Point Infinity Platform Services, the companies said. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

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