In The Channel

Beyond the Hype: Bridging the AI Governance Gap with Auvik’s Steve Petryschuk

In this episode of In The Channel, Auvik’s Steve Petryschuk joins Robert Dutt to discuss the findings of the 2026 IT Trends Report. They dig into the “Maturity Mirage,” the rise of Shadow AI, and why the path to AI readiness actually starts with better documentation and visibility.

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The Buzz: SonicWall extends Gen 8 to the cloud, Huntress ties security posture to insurance terms, and Intruder tracks the remediation gap

SonicWall launches a subscription virtual firewall for MSPs and MSSPs, Huntress and Acrisure team up on cyber insurance, and Intruder’s 2026 ASM Index finds midmarket orgs average 56 days to close exposures. Plus ThreatDown ITDR, Cycode AI dev security, an AYCE Capital acquisition, and MSPAlliance’s updated Cyber Verify program.

In The Channel

Top Down Ventures closes oversubscribed C$38M Founders Fund I, with a 5.3x agentic AI exit already in the books

Top Down Ventures has closed Founders Fund I at C$38 million, oversubscribed, as the first institutional VC fund focused exclusively on early-stage MSP software and AI. Managing partner Joel Abramson joined In The Channel on announcement day to unpack the thesis, the zofiQ exit, and the market shift that has the fund bullish on the decade ahead.

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The Buzz: Canada ranks second globally for ransomware, Top Down closes $38M MSP fund, and Barracuda maps the new email threat landscape

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The Buzz: inforcer brings shadow AI monitoring to MSPs, SUSE launches sovereign partner specialization, and Cayosoft targets the Microsoft identity migration gap

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The Buzz: WatchGuard acquires Perimeters.io, Meter launches $100M partner fund, and ServiceNow and Tanium announce Autonomous IT solution

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.

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.