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.

Distribution

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

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

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.

In Case You Missed It

ICYMI: Sherweb goes global, Broadcom’s VMware reckoning arrives, and the commercial refresh just got more expensive

This week’s In Case You Missed It: Sherweb secures its first outside investment in 28 years and expands into the UK. Broadcom faces an EU antitrust complaint as the VCSP deadline hits. Intel and AMD both signal price hikes squeezing the commercial PC refresh. And converging data from Auvik and OpenText reveals how far AI adoption has outrun AI governance.