In The Channel

Reporter’s Notebook: Bill McDermott’s three big bets on the enterprise AI era

Fresh from a press session with Bill McDermott at Knowledge 2026 in Las Vegas, we unpack the strategic argument underneath the keynote headlines: why governance beats models, why the labor math makes AI inevitable, and why ServiceNow thinks it was built for exactly this moment.

In The Channel

Third-party risk management: The recurring revenue opportunity hiding in your clients’ vendor stack

Third-party risk management is emerging as the next major service category for MSPs. The starting point, according to Cynomi Chief Evangelist Tim Coach, isn’t a vendor questionnaire. It’s a conversation about how your client actually makes money.

Podcasts

The Buzz: ServiceNow makes the case for “Agentic Business” as it repositions as an AI governance platform

At Knowledge 2026 in Las Vegas, ServiceNow is moving past the AI pilot conversation entirely. A new “Go Live AI” satisfaction guarantee, a live prompt injection demo, and FedEx production numbers are ServiceNow’s argument that the agentic era is operational — and that governance is the new competitive moat.

In The Channel

Sustainability is now a procurement gating factor in Canada: HP’s Frances Edmonds on what that means for MSPs

Podcasts

The Buzz: ServiceNow bets on partners to close the gap between AI ambition and AI reality

In The Channel

On site at SAS Innovate: Deloitte Canada’s Nat D’Ercole on Viya migrations, the data governance gap, and the 80/20 flip AI might finally deliver

What does a Viya migration actually look like from inside a major enterprise engagement? In the final episode of In The Channel’s SAS Innovate 2026 series, Robert Dutt sits down with Nat D’Ercole of Deloitte Canada to talk data governance maturity, the reality of untangling decades of SAS implementation, OSFI E-21 as a catalyst, and why the organizations most ready for AI are the ones that solved their data governance problem years ago.

In The Channel

On site at SAS Innovate: global channel chief John Carey on the shift to indirect, the TD SYNNEX bet, and the case for the transparent box

When John Carey joined SAS Institute four years ago, his mandate was to rethink what partnering looked like for a company with a long advisory and delivery history but limited co-sell and no resell motion. Recorded on site at SAS Innovate 2026, Robert Dutt talks to the senior vice president of global channels about what he found, what he built, and where SAS’s channel goes from here.

Podcasts

The Buzz: OMERS-backed Integris targets Australian MSP First Focus, AI agents weaponized for infostealing, M365 E7 launches today

Today’s channel headlines: OMERS-backed Integris announces intent to acquire First Focus, the largest SMB-focused MSP in Australia and New Zealand; NeuShield partners with Ontario-based Data Guards on ransomware recovery that restored 6.2TB in fifteen minutes; and ThreatDown’s ThreatLabs Europe discovers AI agent skills being weaponized to deliver the GachiLoader infostealer. Plus Sublime Security goes 100% channel, Konica Minolta’s AccurioPress C5080, Forescout’s 90-city Mission:Possible partner tour, and Microsoft 365 E7 goes generally available today.

In The Channel

On site at SAS Innovate: SAS Canada’s Ryan MacDonald on AI governance, the partner opportunity, and fifty years of trust

What does fifty years of analytics heritage mean in a market that reinvents itself every eighteen months? Recorded on site at SAS Innovate 2026, Robert Dutt sits down with Ryan MacDonald, managing director of SAS Canada, to dig into the week’s major AI governance and agentic AI announcements, the state of Canadian enterprise AI maturity, and why the channel is SAS’s answer to the SMB opportunity.

Podcasts

The Buzz: SAS Innovate 2026 special – Viya opens to AI agents, Navigator introduced

A special edition of The Buzz from SAS Innovate 2026 in Washington. SAS opens Viya to external AI agents via MCP, AI Navigator gets automated discovery and lands on Azure Marketplace, and SAS’s chief operating officer gives the most candid AI ROI read of the week. Plus: Microsoft beats Q3 with 40% Azure growth and Copilot at 20 million seats with M365 E7 landing tomorrow, Lenovo acquires Phoenix Technologies’ firmware business, Auvik launches Aurora AI agents for MSPs, and Aviatrix introduces agentic AI containment through the channel.