Microsoft

Networking

Riverbed lays out channel, integration plans for “Meraki-killer” Xirrus

April 28, 2017 Mark Cox Comments Off on Riverbed lays out channel, integration plans for “Meraki-killer” Xirrus
The integration of two companies with fundamentally different partner bases poses specific challenges, but also creates new opportunities.

Backup

Hyper-V specialist backup vendor Altaro officially launches in North America

April 10, 2017 Mark Cox Comments Off on Hyper-V specialist backup vendor Altaro officially launches in North America
Malta-based Altaro simultaneously announced the version 7 of their VM Backup, which was originally a Hyper-V backup solution, but has also supported VMware environments since Version 6.

Servers

ARM hyper-converged vendor KALEAO enlists Vancouver’s Tuangru as key channel partner

March 31, 2017 Mark Cox Comments Off on ARM hyper-converged vendor KALEAO enlists Vancouver’s Tuangru as key channel partner
KALEAO, which first brought product to market last October, provides an update of both its overall and channel strategies, and where Tuangru fits in.

Virtualization

Dell refreshes low end of thin client lineup with new quad-core Wyse 3040 model

March 28, 2017 Mark Cox Comments Off on Dell refreshes low end of thin client lineup with new quad-core Wyse 3040 model

The quad-core processor in the Dell new low-end thin client will be able to handle demanding apps like Skype for Business, which strained the resources of earlier models with less powerful processors.

Cloud

Barracuda Liveboot 2.0 adds Hyper-V support, speeds up boot times, enhances UI

March 16, 2017 Mark Cox Comments Off on Barracuda Liveboot 2.0 adds Hyper-V support, speeds up boot times, enhances UI
The faster reboot time applies in both VMware and Microsoft environments, and allows new machines to be spun up in a couple of minutes.

Cloud

CafeX integration for omni-channel service beefs up Microsoft Dynamics 365

March 15, 2017 Mark Cox Comments Off on CafeX integration for omni-channel service beefs up Microsoft Dynamics 365
CafeX provides Dynamics with full omni-channel capabilities for both mobile and Web, upgrading its capabilities significantly against its competition.

Cloud

Microsoft Teams chat-based workspace now globally available

March 14, 2017 Mark Cox Comments Off on Microsoft Teams chat-based workspace now globally available
Microsoft Teams is significant for the channel because it deepens Office 365’s functionality further, and gives partners another arrow in their quiver to pitch this already hot product.

Backup

Acronis extends Office 365 backup functionality to on-prem Backup 12 solution

February 7, 2017 Mark Cox Comments Off on Acronis extends Office 365 backup functionality to on-prem Backup 12 solution
Acronis’ on-prem product in their hybrid cloud architecture now has the same feature set as their cloud offering.

Channel Programs

Kitchener-based Intranet provider Igloo looking to build out channel in North America

January 27, 2017 Mark Cox Comments Off on Kitchener-based Intranet provider Igloo looking to build out channel in North America
Igloo, which makes a cloud-based SaaS solution that includes Intranets within a broad array of collaboration and other business apps, presently has no partners in North America. Now, however, having piloted a partner program in other geos last year, they are looking to change that.

Cloud

Sage People Human Capital Management solution launches in Canada

January 27, 2017 Mark Cox Comments Off on Sage People Human Capital Management solution launches in Canada
Sage sees the new offering, which is likely to be sold primarily, though not exclusively for the X3 platform, as a strong opportunity for channel partners.