channel chief

In The Channel

Networking is not sexy until it doesn’t work

April 28, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on Networking is not sexy until it doesn’t work
When the founders of the SD-WAN market started over, they had a specific problem in mind. What they built next may be exactly what the AI era demands from the network.

Podcasts

The Buzz: Canadian cyberattacks surge, Microsoft’s AI bundle overhaul lands Friday, and OpenAI goes channel

April 27, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on The Buzz: Canadian cyberattacks surge, Microsoft’s AI bundle overhaul lands Friday, and OpenAI goes channel
New CDW Canada and IDC research finds Canadian enterprise cyberattacks jumped 80 percent in the past year, with cloud infection rates at a record high. Microsoft drops new agentic AI-powered 365 bundles on Thursday, May 1. And OpenAI makes a major channel hire, signalling a shift toward building a real partner program.

Channel Programs

Cisco 360, three months in: Canadian partners are responding better than expected

April 24, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on Cisco 360, three months in: Canadian partners are responding better than expected
Cisco Canada’s VP of Partner Organization and SMB Sales takes stock of the first quarter of the new Cisco 360 Partner Program – including the partner feedback that caught her off guard, what “Preferred” means now that Gold is gone, and why Canadian partners should start building their adopt-and-renew practices before the incentive structure forces them to.

Channel Programs

OutSystems’ Ben Yerushalmi on Elevate, agentic AI, and why partner work is moving to the front end

April 20, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on OutSystems’ Ben Yerushalmi on Elevate, agentic AI, and why partner work is moving to the front end
OutSystems SVP of Partners and Alliances Ben Yerushalmi joins In The Channel to discuss Elevate, the vendor’s new outcome-based partner program built for the agentic AI era. The conversation covers where partners are actually generating revenue with agentic AI today, why the services model is shifting from implementation to front-end advisory, and how OutSystems thinks about competing – and coexisting – with Microsoft, ServiceNow, and Salesforce.

Distribution

From bank and warehouse to ecosystem orchestrator: A conversation with Frank Vitagliano

April 16, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on From bank and warehouse to ecosystem orchestrator: A conversation with Frank Vitagliano
Every few years, someone announces the end of distribution. Direct sales was going to kill it. Then e-commerce. Then cloud. Then hyperscaler marketplaces. And yet here we are. Frank Vitagliano is CEO of the Global Technology Distribution
Channel Programs

Palo Alto’s Michael Khoury on what’s actually changing for partners in the NextWave revamp

April 10, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on Palo Alto’s Michael Khoury on what’s actually changing for partners in the NextWave revamp
Palo Alto Networks’ Michael Khoury joins In The Channel to walk through the ground-up redesign of the NextWave partner program – from the elimination of discount caps to the new platform adoption incentives and the CyberArk identity opportunity.

Identity

Okta’s Canadian bet: Data cell, 600 employees, and a plan to triple the business

April 6, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on Okta’s Canadian bet: Data cell, 600 employees, and a plan to triple the business
Okta is running over 80 percent of Canadian revenue through partners and betting big on regulated verticals with a new Montreal-based data cell. Country manager Ryan Sydor talks about what that investment looks like and where it’s headed.

Identity

Beyond the password vault: 1Password’s channel chief makes the case for identity security as an MSP practice

April 1, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on Beyond the password vault: 1Password’s channel chief makes the case for identity security as an MSP practice
1Password’s Larissa Crandall joins the podcast to discuss why identity security has become the front door of the security conversation and what that shift means for MSPs. From the company’s evolution beyond password management to the staggering 82-to-1 ratio of non-human to human identities, Crandall makes the case that the identity opportunity is bigger – and more urgent – than most partners realize.