Microsoft

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

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.

Podcasts

The Buzz: Fleet goes 100 percent channel, Scale Computing revamps partner program, and N-able’s AI advice

April 20, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on The Buzz: Fleet goes 100 percent channel, Scale Computing revamps partner program, and N-able’s AI advice
Today’s channel briefing covers Fleet’s pivot to a 100 percent channel sales model, Scale Computing’s new Velocity Partner Program, and a pragmatic approach to AI monetization from N-able.

Cloud

Microsoft announces expansion of  Open Data Initiative with Adobe and SAP

March 27, 2019 Mark Cox Comments Off on Microsoft announces expansion of  Open Data Initiative with Adobe and SAP
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella appeared at the Adobe Insight event to highlight the extended initiative, which also saw a demo of how Unilever uses ODI to help reduce their plastic packaging.

Cloud

Adobe doubles down on account-based experiences with extended Microsoft partnership

March 27, 2019 Mark Cox Comments Off on Adobe doubles down on account-based experiences with extended Microsoft partnership
Adobe also announced a brand new partnership with ServiceNow which the companies say will lead to significant advances in the integration of customer experience data.

Cloud

Cloud software suite provider Zoho looks to add to differentiated value – and values

March 26, 2019 Mark Cox Comments Off on Cloud software suite provider Zoho looks to add to differentiated value – and values
Zoho, which has expanded its CRM application into a suite of over 40 applications that sells for $30 per user per month, is proud of some elements of their business and product set that they acknowledge are somewhat offbeat.

Artificial Intelligence

Microsoft Canada integrator partners evolving to meet needs of changing AI market

March 25, 2019 Mark Cox Comments Off on Microsoft Canada integrator partners evolving to meet needs of changing AI market
Systems integrators Adastra, Lixar and Shalom, all of whom had a major presence at Microsoft’s recent forum around AI, talked with ChannelBuzz at the event about what they are doing to be successful in the space.

Artificial Intelligence

Microsoft Canada highlights Canadian AI initiatives at Future Now 2019 event

March 22, 2019 Mark Cox Comments Off on Microsoft Canada highlights Canadian AI initiatives at Future Now 2019 event
Microsoft holds this annual event both to demonstrate Microsoft’s position on the cutting edge of new technology, and to inspire customers and prospects in attendance with examples of how Canadians have had strong results putting these concepts into practice.

Partnerships

Plantronics rebrands as Poly, unveils new product and strategic initiatives

March 22, 2019 Mark Cox Comments Off on Plantronics rebrands as Poly, unveils new product and strategic initiatives
Poly is designed to provide a new joint identity for the Plantronics-Polycom combination. In addition to new pipeline product announced at Enterprise Connect this week, the company also emphasized new and expanded strategic partnerships which have more joint offerings on the way.

Managed Services

RMM/PSA provider Atera upgrades performance and release time with move to Microsoft Azure Service Fabric

March 15, 2019 Mark Cox Comments Off on RMM/PSA provider Atera upgrades performance and release time with move to Microsoft Azure Service Fabric
Atera reworked their own platform to a microservices architecture to take advantage of the new platform, which also greatly improves their ability to work with Big Data.