Month: December 2018

Distribution

Roy Rivers takes over top sales job at D&H Canada as Greg Tobin moves to advisory role

December 21, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on Roy Rivers takes over top sales job at D&H Canada as Greg Tobin moves to advisory role
A triumvirate of Rivers, Tim Billing and Jennifer Walcott takes over the day-to-day management of D&H Canada, although Rivers certainly seems to be the first among equals.

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Cloud

Cloudistics looks to drive growth with Lenovo partnership and new tools

December 21, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on Cloudistics looks to drive growth with Lenovo partnership and new tools
Cloud software platform provider Cloudistics has had a strong year, both increasing their own channel significantly and entering into a new partnership with Lenovo. Their software now powers the Lenovo ThinkAgile CP Series, which has a joint go-to-market motion, and Cloudistics expects it will significantly expand their business, outside of North America in particular.

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Managed Services

Liongard strengthens automated documentation platform as IT Glue acquisition by Kaseya impacts documentation landscape

December 21, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on Liongard strengthens automated documentation platform as IT Glue acquisition by Kaseya impacts documentation landscape
Liongard’s new Metrics feature gives their MSPs the ability to generate their own metrics to provide deeper insight into issues of concern to their customers.

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Channel Programs

Vancouver-based engagement platform provider Comm100 continues to build out channel

December 21, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on Vancouver-based engagement platform provider Comm100 continues to build out channel
Comm100, which has been in business since 2009, just formalized its first partner program in September, and has onboarded four new partners, with many more in the pipeline. They are looking to build the channel business to 20 per cent within the next 1-2 years.

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Managed Services

Kaseya CEO Voccola discusses IT Glue strategy going forward

December 20, 2018 Mark Cox 1
Kaseya’s CEO detailed that the IT Glue acquisition actually took place two years ao, and has been kept under wraps. He also indicated what will happen with IT Glue now that the acquisition has been formally announced, and dropped some hints about what is next on the acquisition front.

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Unified Communications

Plantronics, HP launch new collaboration on native Microsoft Teams video conference solution

December 20, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on Plantronics, HP launch new collaboration on native Microsoft Teams video conference solution
Plantronics sees the HP Elite Slice G2 Audio-Ready as providing formidable conference room advantages, including the elimination of cable clutter from tables, and is transitioning from the Polycom MSR series to these Polycom + HP SRS Bundles for Microsoft room systems.

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Partnerships

Untangle strengthens security suite with Malwarebytes partnership, looking to drive channel growth in 2019

December 20, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on Untangle strengthens security suite with Malwarebytes partnership, looking to drive channel growth in 2019
Untangle recently announced their inaugural “Voice of the Channel” survey to determine the state and desires of their small business customers, as well as the priorities of their partners.

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Managed Services

IT Glue founder Chris Day to exit as Kaseya acquires leader in market of IT documentation for MSPs

December 19, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on IT Glue founder Chris Day to exit as Kaseya acquires leader in market of IT documentation for MSPs
Kaseya will maintain Vancouver-based IT Glue as a standalone company to sell to its competitors, while also working closely to integrate its technology into the Kaseya Suite of offerings. Kaseya said IT Glue’s existing management team will guide operations in the wake of Day’s departure.

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Cloud

Palo Alto Networks expands Google partnership to leverage Google Cloud AI capabilities

December 19, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on Palo Alto Networks expands Google partnership to leverage Google Cloud AI capabilities
As part of the enhanced relationship with Google, Palo Alto Networks will now run their Application Framework and GlobalProtect cloud service in the Google Cloud, as they believe its analytics capabilities are the best fit for these applications.

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Managed Services

Malwarebytes looks to continue expansion from remediation into endpoint protection with MSP push

December 19, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on Malwarebytes looks to continue expansion from remediation into endpoint protection with MSP push
Malwarebytes announces a new partnership with Bask Technology, which both highlights their endpoint protection product, and is part of the company’s plan to significantly expand their presence in the SMB space going forward.

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Data Centre

Big Switch Networks deepens Nutanix partnership with AHV Ready Integration designation, and solution bundle

December 18, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on Big Switch Networks deepens Nutanix partnership with AHV Ready Integration designation, and solution bundle
The deep integration with Nutanix, which exceeds that which Big Switch has with other HCI vendors, also includes an optimized Nutanix Ready Interconnect Fabric Bundle.

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Storage

Tintri sends message to market with first product release since being acquired by DDN

December 17, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on Tintri sends message to market with first product release since being acquired by DDN
In addition to their Tintri Global Center 4.0 release, Tintri by DDN announces new staff and resource additions, as they continue their rebuild from the collapse that preceded their being purchased by DDN in September.

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Cloud

Mitel looks to expand Master Agent channel as part of global UCaaS drive

December 17, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on Mitel looks to expand Master Agent channel as part of global UCaaS drive
A new Master Agent agreement with TradeWinds Brokerage establishes Mitel’s first Master Agent in ANZ, where their UCaaS business is already strong. It leverages a U.S. relationship which is part of a growing Master Agent channel in that market.

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Cloud

Blockchain, Flow enhancements and security highlight new Dell Boomi platform release

December 17, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on Blockchain, Flow enhancements and security highlight new Dell Boomi platform release
Other features that expand the release theme of enhancing the platform’s usability for developers include the addition of additional open capabilities, and newly announced free certifications.

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Unified Communications

New Sennheiser sales and marketing VP promises big changes in early 2019 as Sennheiser headset business begins transition to a much larger holding company

December 14, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on New Sennheiser sales and marketing VP promises big changes in early 2019 as Sennheiser headset business begins transition to a much larger holding company
The ending of the joint venture between Sennheiser and William Demant, which will see the Sennheiser unified communications business transition to William Demant on January 1 2020, means a much more aggressive growth strategy, and new VP Jim Fairweather said that planning has already begun, which includes a more focused channel strategy.

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Unified Communications

Avaya adds Device-as-a-Service to subscription-based portfolio

December 14, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on Avaya adds Device-as-a-Service to subscription-based portfolio
The new DaaS service differs from the leasing option in that Avaya retains control of the device, which some customers like because it reduces their risk. It also allows them to upgrade to a higher priced device with no penalty.

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Cloud

Vena Solutions deepens Ad Hoc Analysis in quarterly release with intuitive and insightful analysis theme

December 13, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on Vena Solutions deepens Ad Hoc Analysis in quarterly release with intuitive and insightful analysis theme
Other enhancements reflect top priority being given to mobile optimization and to bringing more of a consumer software experience into FP&A software.

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Managed Services

Avaya sees its new Master Agent channel as the primary route to market for new Online Store

December 13, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on Avaya sees its new Master Agent channel as the primary route to market for new Online Store
Avaya believes its solution provider channel will also have some interest in the store, which offers Avaya’s UC and CC as-a-service options. They also confirmed that this online store is not a direct play.

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Unified Communications

Jabra brings first wireless earbuds to commercial headset market with Evolve 65t

December 13, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on Jabra brings first wireless earbuds to commercial headset market with Evolve 65t
Jabra resellers get access to a wireless earbud headset that has appeal to consumer product users, but at a much higher quality that is certified for Skype for Business, and which can spare them a long series of support issues compared to the kind of products in this form factor that have been available until now.

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Internet of Things

Network performance management vendor Martello one of seven Canadian startups picked for BlackBerry L-SPARK Accelerator Program

December 13, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on Network performance management vendor Martello one of seven Canadian startups picked for BlackBerry L-SPARK Accelerator Program
Martello will develop a solution for the BlackBerry QNX smart car environment that ensures network performance management will work well in the challenging environment of an automobile travelling at speed.

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