In The Channel

Okta Canada check-in: Agentic AI hits the boardroom, partner contribution doubles, and the pitch is ‘sell better, not more’

Six months ago, Okta Canada’s Ryan Sydor talked about investment: a data cell, 600 employees, a plan to triple the business. At Oktane 2026, the story is demand – for agentic identity, for agent security, and for partners who can advise rather than sell. Sydor on board mandates, the Blueprint Alliance, Microsoft coexistence, and 100 per cent partner growth.

In The Channel

Frank Balonis on why Canadian partners need to start CPCSC prep now, and what CMMC taught us

Kiteworks chief information security officer Frank Balonis joins In The Channel to explain what Canadian partners need to know about CPCSC, how it differs from CMMC, and why the window to get ahead of Level 2 requirements is already closing.

In The Channel

Is technology expense management the MSP practice you haven’t considered?

Technology expense management doesn’t show up on most MSPs’ radar – but according to Jason Wieser, SVP of channel sales at Calero, it probably should. In this episode, Wieser makes the case for TEM as a genuine recurring revenue practice, and explains why SaaS sprawl has become the front door into the conversation.

In The Channel

Red Hat’s Kennedy on why the swim lanes are gone – and what the partner program looks like now

In The Channel

Cisco brings sovereign infrastructure to Canada with air-gapped portfolio

Cisco has launched its Sovereign Critical Infrastructure portfolio in Canada, giving government, financial institutions, and healthcare providers a new option for air-gapped, on-premises deployment. Cisco Canada president Raj Juneja says the offering is open to the full partner ecosystem, with certifications consistent with existing portfolio requirements.

Podcasts

The Buzz: Cisco Canada launches sovereign critical infrastructure, ScanSource buys MicroAge for $220.5 million, and ESET Canada names cybersecurity scholarship winners

Cisco Canada launches its Sovereign Critical Infrastructure portfolio with Bell as lead partner, ScanSource acquires MicroAge for $220.5 million to augment partner services, and ESET Canada names three Women in Cybersecurity Scholarship winners. Plus CrowdStrike expands Project QuiltWorks to SMBs, Palo Alto Networks and NTT Data sign a $1 billion pact, and Auvik promotes Daniel Ochoa to CRO.

In The Channel

Exabeam rebuilds its MSSP commercial model to fix the economics of managed SIEM

Exabeam says it used to treat MSSPs like regular resellers, with deal-by-deal discounts that made margin predictability nearly impossible. Global channel chief Craig Patterson and senior director of service provider alliances Peter Stratis join In The Channel to explain what changed – and what it means for Canadian service providers building managed SIEM practices.

In The Channel

Michelle Biase on what HP Canada learned from a year of seeding AI PCs to partners

Michelle Biase has been president and managing director of HP Canada for eighteen months. In that time, the company has grown its Canadian sales team by fifty percent, shifted to a unified One HP go-to-market model, and watched AI PC sales accelerate to nearly two-thirds of PC volume. In this episode, she sits down with In the Channel to talk about what partners actually did with early AI PC seeding units, how HP IQ is landing in the channel, the practical realities of memory-driven pricing volatility, and why partners should be paying more attention to the software and solutions layer.

In The Channel

HPE channel chief Jenson on Discover 2026, the Canadian angle, and what partners should stop doing

HPE vice president of North America channel and partner ecosystem Jeremiah Jenson sits down with ChannelBuzz.ca for the final word on HPE Discover 2026, from the show floor temperature to the specific opportunities he sees for Canadian partners in networking, hybrid cloud, and the “great VM reset.”

In The Channel

Xerox IT Solutions’ Curtis Dery on HPE’s financing moves, channel-only expansion, and why AI is a ‘digital goldmine’

Xerox IT Solutions Canada executive vice president Curtis Dery joins In The Channel at HPE Discover 2026 to discuss the partner perspective on HPE’s new 90/9 financing, expanded credit lines, channel-only product expansion, and why he believes AI has created a level playing field for partners for the first time in their careers.