In Case You Missed It

ICYMI: Bell Canada bets big on AI in Saskatchewan, WBM says buy your RAM now, and AWS brings AI agents to partner selling

March 23, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on ICYMI: Bell Canada bets big on AI in Saskatchewan, WBM says buy your RAM now, and AWS brings AI agents to partner selling
Bell Canada’s $12-billion, 300-megawatt AI data center in Saskatchewan is the biggest Canadian tech infrastructure story in a while. WBM Technologies’ March procurement update has one message for partners: buy now. AWS brings AI sales agents to Partner Central. And Exabeam launches a new MSSP commercial framework.

Distribution

Why reports of distribution’s demise have always been overstated

March 20, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on Why reports of distribution’s demise have always been overstated
I could have been writing that distribution was about to be disintermediated since the late 1990s. Direct sales, e-commerce, the cloud, marketplaces — the argument has always been there. And yet distribution didn’t disappear. It evolved, repeatedly. In this solo episode, I work through why the “this finally kills distribution” prediction keeps failing, what distribution actually does that’s harder to replace than it looks, and why the next chapter might be the most ambitious one yet.

In The Channel

Your managed services are hitting every SLA metric and the customer still thinks you’re failing – here’s why

March 19, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on Your managed services are hitting every SLA metric and the customer still thinks you’re failing – here’s why
Jeff Collins, CEO of WanAware, digs into why MSPs are increasingly accountable for outcomes they can’t fully see. As AI workloads and ephemeral infrastructure reshape customer environments without formal network redesigns, the gap between what IT monitors and what the business actually runs on is becoming a real problem – and a real opportunity.

In The Channel

Firewalls, rogue devices, and your own tools: what Barracuda’s threat report means for MSPs

March 18, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on Firewalls, rogue devices, and your own tools: what Barracuda’s threat report means for MSPs
Barracuda’s latest threat report draws on more than two trillion IT events to reveal how attackers are exploiting firewalls, rogue devices, and legitimate MSP tools to move through networks. Merium Khalid, director of SOC offensive security at Barracuda, joins the podcast to break down what the data means for MSPs — and what they can do about it.

Channel Programs

Zero Networks goes all-in on the channel, and why Canadian partners should pay attention

March 17, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on Zero Networks goes all-in on the channel, and why Canadian partners should pay attention
Zero Networks VP of go-to-market strategy Adam Hofeler talks about the company’s shift to a fully channel-driven model, its updated Zero to Sixty partner program, and why Canadian MSPs have an early-mover opportunity in the microsegmentation space.

In Case You Missed It

ICYMI: Nearly 60% of channel partners expect a Q1 profit crash, Check Point adds Canadian data region

March 16, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on ICYMI: Nearly 60% of channel partners expect a Q1 profit crash, Check Point adds Canadian data region
Omdia sounds the alarm on profitability. Check Point plants a data sovereignty flag in Canada. Canadian partners make the CRN MSP 500. ESET opens its Women in Cybersecurity Scholarship. And we remember two people who shaped this community.

Cloud

Eric Gales on 20 years of AWS and what comes next for the Canadian channel

March 13, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on Eric Gales on 20 years of AWS and what comes next for the Canadian channel
On the eve of AWS’s 20th anniversary, Eric Gales sits down to talk about the arc of cloud in Canada, what separated the partners who thrived from the ones who didn’t, and where AI is taking the channel next.

Artificial Intelligence

What Nutanix’s latest Enterprise Cloud Index tells MSPs about shadow AI, sovereignty, and the infrastructure shift ahead

March 12, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on What Nutanix’s latest Enterprise Cloud Index tells MSPs about shadow AI, sovereignty, and the infrastructure shift ahead
Nutanix’s 8th annual Enterprise Cloud Index reveals that nearly 80 per cent of organizations are encountering AI tools deployed outside of IT’s control, data sovereignty has become a top-tier infrastructure priority, and containerization is accelerating faster than many solution providers realize. SVP Lee Caswell, a VMware veteran now watching the infrastructure market reshape from inside Nutanix, unpacks the contradictions in the data, explains why MSPs may be the “governed alternative” to shadow AI, and offers practical guidance for Canadian solution providers navigating what comes next.

ESET Sponsored Content

ESET’s Tony Anscombe on the cybersecurity trends MSPs can’t ignore in 2026

March 11, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on ESET’s Tony Anscombe on the cybersecurity trends MSPs can’t ignore in 2026
ESET chief security evangelist Tony Anscombe joins the podcast to talk about what’s genuinely different in the threat landscape this year, including the emergence of AI-powered malware, why VPN servers without MFA are now the leading source of cyber insurance claims, and why MSPs should start framing security as a business risk conversation, not a technology one.

In The Channel

Inside Check Point’s three-acquisition bet on AI security and the MSP market

March 10, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on Inside Check Point’s three-acquisition bet on AI security and the MSP market
Check Point has acquired three companies simultaneously as part of a deliberate four-pillar platform strategy. CSO Roi Karo and Canadian channel leader Angelo Valentini explain what the acquisitions of Cyclops, Cyata, and Rotate mean for MSPs, how the “open garden” platform approach works in multi-vendor environments, and why the window to prepare for AI-driven threats is closing faster than most partners think.