Customer Acquisition

Managed Services

ConnectWise lays out key business issues for MSPs, with roadmap of portal and platform changes to address them

November 9, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on ConnectWise lays out key business issues for MSPs, with roadmap of portal and platform changes to address them
At IT Nation Connect, ConnectWise Chief Product Officer Craig Fulton discussed metrics MSPs need to better understand and use, as well as changes that ConnectWise will be making in its platform to help them do that.

Cloud

Microsoft lays out FY19 vision, strategy and plans for execution at Inspire kickoff

July 16, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on Microsoft lays out FY19 vision, strategy and plans for execution at Inspire kickoff
Consistency is the big strategic theme this year, following a massive restructuring a year ago, but Microsoft still had a to-do list for partners for the year ahead.

Channel Programs

Lenovo unveils channel transformation in response to partner feedback from Accelerate

July 9, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on Lenovo unveils channel transformation in response to partner feedback from Accelerate
The changes involve restructuring the deployment of Lenovo resources to better support partners, new rewards for alignment and new logos, and changes to improve slow pricing policies – although a big one won’t roll out until next year.

Channel Programs

Nutanix raises channel program into the cloud with new charter, tiering, programs and certifications

May 10, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on Nutanix raises channel program into the cloud with new charter, tiering, programs and certifications
Nutanix, which sells entirely through channel partners, is moving away from emphasizing pure volume of sales to allow them to reward smaller partners with deep Nutanix practices.

Servers

Dell EMC, Nutanix, collaborate on new XC Core licensing and support model

March 6, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on Dell EMC, Nutanix, collaborate on new XC Core licensing and support model
Nutanix also announced a pair of incents, one of which is explicitly around XC Core sales, and the other, covering all Nutanix sales, introduces a five per cent rebate for bringing new customers to Nutanix.

Channel Programs

Riverbed unveils new channel chief and significantly changed channel program

January 17, 2018 Mark Cox Comments Off on Riverbed unveils new channel chief and significantly changed channel program
Ex-Cisco veteran Bridget Bisnette has been formally announced as global Riverbed channel chief, along with a much more simplified – and very different – channel program aimed at penetrating lower into the enterprise and midmarket from Riverbed’s traditional sweet spot.

Cloud

Salesforce offers CRM for very small businesses with Salesforce Essentials

November 7, 2017 Mark Cox Comments Off on Salesforce offers CRM for very small businesses with Salesforce Essentials
Priced at $25 per user per month, Salesforce Essentials contains core CRM components like Einstein Artificial AI to help customers work smarter, and includes the Salesforce Trailhead online learning environment to make their experience easier.

Cloud

Cloud distributor Pax8 deepens integration with ConnectWise

June 21, 2017 Mark Cox Comments Off on Cloud distributor Pax8 deepens integration with ConnectWise
The latest Pax8 ConnectWise integration has optimized their interface within ConnectWise Manage to reduce the clicks in ordering, updating and linking cloud subscriptions.

Big Data

Building new offerings to adapt to changing customer needs

January 27, 2017 Guest Poster Comments Off on Building new offerings to adapt to changing customer needs
In this sponsored video from Avnet Technology Solutions, SIS discuss how working with the distributor is helping them evolve towards managed services.

Cloud

Sage launches massive campaign to build brand

July 26, 2016 Mark Cox Comments Off on Sage launches massive campaign to build brand
Sage delivers on the promises it made last year to invest to make its products better known. It laid out its marketing strategy here to partners, and indicated that partners need to respond by stepping up to the plate in their turn.