Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to sip on for Friday, May 20, 2016.
Actually, there are 18 entries for VARs, managed services providers (MSPs), cloud services providers (CSPs) and independent software vendors (ISVs) to sip on. Take a look…
18. Veritas Layoffs: Yup, the storage company is making job cuts -- just like former parent Symantec. Overall, the tech industry remains healthy but there are signs of growing layoffs, particularly in Oregon (Veritas, Intel) and Silicon Valley.
17. Google Enterprise Strategy: Google Senior VP Diane Greene says the company is rolling out simplified tools that will allow enterprises to build powerful apps "without having to know so much about everything else." That's an intriguing statement, especially for IT service providers. Many pundits think channel partners will need to learn more about APIs and software development to drive profits in the cloud era. I tend to agree.
16. Android Apps on Chromebooks: Google's Android mobile app store is set to run on Chrome OS for personal computers, the latest sign of the two operating systems slowly converging, Bloomberg notes. That's a huge deal. Chromebooks already are popular. The ability to run Android Apps will surely pull Chromebooks further into mainstream markets.
15. Encryption Battle: You know the FBI and Apple have battled over encryption and privacy laws. But the battle won't end there. This in-depth piece describes the FBI's next potential moves in the ongoing encryption and privacy debate.
14. APM Skills: Want to master application performance management (APM)? In many ways, you need to act more like a developer than an MSP. Indeed, you'll need these skills to optimize application performance and facilitate monitoring, DZone asserts.
13. Who's In, Who's Out?: DocuSign Inc., a corporate-software startup valued at $3 billion by investors last year, recently lost four of its nine senior executives, Bloomberg says. Deeper details emerged on GeekWire. Still, it sounds like a channel strategy is taking shape. Former IBM Vice President Mark Register joined DocuSign in January to lead business development and channel partner engagement globally. More recently, IDC veteran Darren Bibby joined as AVP, channel strategy and programs.
12. StorageCraft Licensing: StorageCraft has unveiled annual subscription-based licensing for its StorageCraft ShadowProtect SPX backup and disaster recovery software. Yes, the licensing model is available to partners. Acquired by a private equity firm last year, StorageCraft has a new executive team and new channel leadership -- all of whom are seeking to further accelerate the company's MSP and channel business.
11. Cybersecurity -- We're Flying Blind: A majority of senior federal cyber officials say they don’t think the U.S. government can detect cyber attacks while they’re under way, according to a survey by KPMG and the International Information System Security Certification Consortium.
10. Cybersecurity - When Automation Backfires: Digital automation, intended to make the U.S. electric grid run more smoothly, may actually make it more difficult to get up and running after a cyberattack. The Wall Street Journal says. Among the most depressing stats: There are about 45,000 transformers in the United States, with 200 to 700 of them considered critical to operating the electric grid nationwide. It can take 18 months to have a transformer delivered and installed in the U.S., the paper reported...
9. IT Service Management, Sweet 16: Axios Systems, which develops IT Service Management (ITSM) software, says its Assyst product is the first in the world to achieve accreditation for all 16 PinkVERIFY ITIL processes. Somewhere, Jake and Samantha are still celebrating the news...
8. Cloud Systems Management: The global cloud system management software market will have a 33 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2013 to 2018, according to Radiant Insights. I'm intrigued but also confused. BMC, IBM, VMware, CA Technologies, Dell, Red Hat, Cisco and Adaptive Computing are listed as major players in the market. That may be true. But what about these 50 cloud systems management tools, many of which are catching on with VARs and MSPs?
7. Office 365 Migrations: BitTitan says all migrations to Microsoft SharePoint Online are free for BitTitan partners as part of the company's end-to-end cloud service enablement platform MSPComplete. Meanwhile, Office 365 is now available through Comcast Business's cloud application marketplace for small- and medium-sized businesses -- Comcast Business Cloud Solutions (formerly Upware).
6. Yahoo Still Falling: Verizon and others are expected to bid around $2 billion to $3 billion in the auction for Yahoo Inc.’s core business, less than what the troubled Internet pioneer was expected to fetch, The Wall Street Journal says. Bids are due the first week of June.
5. CIO Job Change: CIO Cynthia Stoddard is jumping from NetApp and joining Adobe Systems on June 13. Her core priorities will include building a scalable technology and business infrastructure, and associated data tools for real-time decision making. The side story: Can NetApp slow the revolving door of executive turnover?
4. Data Center M&A: India's Tata Communications Ltd is selling a 74 percent stake in its data center business to Singapore-based ST Telemedia for about $630 million including debt, according to Reuters. Meanwhile, we're still waiting to see if or when CenturyLink and Verizon will sell any of their respective data centers. CenturyLink in particular has said it's listening to offers for about 60 data centers worldwide.
3. Solution Provider Sales Tools: Netformx, which provides sales-enablement platforms for solution providers, has hired Pete Eggimann as VP of business development and alliances. Eggimann is an EMC veteran. Meanwhile, EMC has spent the past year overhauling its own alliance strategy -- unlocking new opportunities in key vertical markets like telecom services.
2. Questionable Math: Roughly 70 percent of UK employees use unauthorized cloud services at work. Hmmm... I suspect the other 30 percent are lying or bending the truth...
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