Channel Brief: Darktrace Launches Partner Program, DataStrike Completes MiCORE Buy

Good morning, folks!

I spent a good portion of yesterday morning thinking it was Wednesday. Imagine my surprise when I realized that wasn't the case! In any event, today is actually Wednesday, and there's a bunch of great news items as July winds down. MSP DataStrike completed its acquisition of MiCORE last month and is now the largest MSP focused on bringing data infrastructure management services to SMBs. MSP Integris has launched a new legal practice area, Lineaje has raised $20 million in Series A funding to further supply chain security, Darktrace has a new global partner program and Securonix has a new president and CEO.

It's also day two of CompTIA's ChannelCon. If you're there, drop me a line at [email protected] and tell me what's going on or just to say hi!

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

Today’s Tech, Channel and MSP News

1. Integris Launches a Legal Practice: IT service provider Integris this week announced plans to establish a legal practice dedicated to servicing law firms nationwide. The specialized practice highlights Integris’ existing commitment to the IT, cybersecurity, and compliance needs of the legal industry. Since its founding, law firms have been woven into the fabric of Integris’ identity as a company. In 1997, Integris founder and CEO Rashaad Bajwa planned to attend law school, but found his passion in providing technology services to law firms instead. Integris is now one of the largest IT MSPs in the country, servicing hundreds of law firms nationwide, and ranked among top MSPs in the country servicing the legal industry by ChannelE2E. The legal practice will mark the second specialized industry vertical for the IT MSP -- In 2023, Integris launched its Financial Institution Division. 

2. Securonix Names New President and CEO: SIEM solutions firm Securonix announced that Kash Shaikh has been appointed president and CEO and member of its board of directors, effective immediately. Shaikh has over 30 years of experience of fostering business transformation and delivering innovative technology solutions for global enterprise organizations. He most recently served as president and CEO of Virtana, a leading hybrid-cloud infrastructure observability solutions provider. Prior to Virtana, Shaikh served as global vice president and general manager for Dell’s Enterprise Solutions Unit. Shaikh has also held leadership and executive positions at Ruckus Wireless, Hewlett Packard, Cisco and Nortel Networks. Congratulations!

3. Lineaje Lands $20M Series A to Further Supply Chain Security: Lineaje, a software supply chain security management startup, today announced a $20 million Series A funding round led by Prosperity7 Ventures, Neotribe, and Hitachi Ventures, alongside existing investor Tenable Ventures. This round also includes participation from Carahsoft, the world’s largest software distributor serving the U.S. Government, alongside Wipro Ventures, Secure Octane Investments, J-Ventures and Alumni Ventures. With additional contributions from executives at Zscaler, CrowdStrike and Trellix, this investment brings Lineaje’s total funding to $27 million. Lineaje said it will use the new investment to accelerate customer acquisition and fortify its AI-powered platform, expanding its innovative BOMbots insights and introducing new advancements to autonomously resolve software supply chain issues.

4. Darktrace Launches New Global Partner Program: Darktrace, a cybersecurity AI firm, today introduced its new global Darktrace Defenders Partner Program. The program aims to encourage deeper collaboration, empower partners and help organizations improve cyber resilience with the Darktrace ActiveAI Security Platform and products, Darktrace said in a statement. The program features three tiers – Elite, Premier, Preferred – with requirements for entry and benefits varying by tier. More info on the partner program can be found here.

5. DataStrike Acquires MiCORE, Becomes Largest SMB-Focused Data Infrastructure MSP: In mid-June (yes, we're a bit late!) DataStrike, a data infrastructure services provider, announced it completed the acquisition of database and cloud management pioneer MiCORE. The transaction formed the largest MSP specializing in data infrastructure services for small- and mid-sized businesses (SMBs). The company also appointed a new management team with deep roots in the data infrastructure space. DataStrike's leadership includes CEO Buddy Flerl, president and COO Rob Brown and CMO Kelsic Pross, all former executives from database administration MSP RDX. DataStrike provides SMBs with an end-to-end portfolio of onshore managed services, including data management, cloud, enterprise application management and analytics, the company said. Through the acquisition of MiCORE, the combined company now boasts more than 200 clients and thousands of databases monitored across North America.

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