MSP

In The Channel

Communications 101: Gareth Pettigrew on why PR has never mattered more for MSPs

April 7, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on Communications 101: Gareth Pettigrew on why PR has never mattered more for MSPs
As the industry shifts from search to chat, earned media has become one of the primary ways LLMs surface information about companies – which means partners who aren’t thinking about communications are increasingly invisible. Gareth Pettigrew, who spent years in communications at Cisco and Okta, including leading Cisco’s partner communications efforts, breaks down why PR matters more now than it ever has, why it doesn’t have to be the heavy lift you think it is, and offers a practical week-by-week roadmap for MSPs ready to start – no budget or comms team required.

Identity

Okta’s Canadian bet: Data cell, 600 employees, and a plan to triple the business

April 6, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on Okta’s Canadian bet: Data cell, 600 employees, and a plan to triple the business
Okta is running over 80 percent of Canadian revenue through partners and betting big on regulated verticals with a new Montreal-based data cell. Country manager Ryan Sydor talks about what that investment looks like and where it’s headed.

In Case You Missed It

ICYMI: SonicWall names the seven deadly sins, Cisco pulls deal reg, and Lenovo bets on services

April 6, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on ICYMI: SonicWall names the seven deadly sins, Cisco pulls deal reg, and Lenovo bets on services
This week’s In Case You Missed It: SonicWall reframes SMB security around seven predictable, preventable failures. Cisco eliminates compute deal registration amid rising memory costs. Lenovo evolves its partner framework toward services as hardware headwinds build. And CDW Canada delivers sobering Canadian-specific data on the state of enterprise cybersecurity.

Channel Programs

Fortra: building a channel platform from 20-plus acquisitions

April 2, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on Fortra: building a channel platform from 20-plus acquisitions
Faraz Siraj, vice president of global channels and alliances at Fortra, joins the podcast to talk about what it looks like to build a channel program around a cybersecurity platform assembled through more than 20
Identity

Beyond the password vault: 1Password’s channel chief makes the case for identity security as an MSP practice

April 1, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on 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 The Channel

WatchGuard CEO Joe Smolarski on doubling MSP margins, the Kaseya playbook, and why Canada’s cybersecurity moment is now

March 31, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on WatchGuard CEO Joe Smolarski on doubling MSP margins, the Kaseya playbook, and why Canada’s cybersecurity moment is now
WatchGuard’s new CEO sits down for a wide-ranging conversation about why 2026 may be the year MSPs stop being commodity IT providers – and what the company’s 30-year track record, Kaseya-honed economics playbook, and new Bell Cyber partnership mean for Canadian partners.

In The Channel

ESET’s cybersecurity scholarship is building a talent pipeline

March 30, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on ESET’s cybersecurity scholarship is building a talent pipeline
ESET Canada country manager Bob Bonneau joins In The Channel to talk about the company’s Women in Cybersecurity Scholarship — now in its eleventh year and fifth year in Canada — and why the talent it produces isn’t ending up where you might expect.

In Case You Missed It

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

March 30, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on 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.

In Case You Missed It

ICYMI special: RSA Conference 2026, curated for the Canadian channel

March 26, 2026 Robert Dutt Comments Off on ICYMI special: RSA Conference 2026, curated for the Canadian channel
A special midweek edition of In Case You Missed It, cutting through the RSA Conference 2026 noise to highlight what actually matters for Canadian IT channel partners. From the dominant agentic AI security theme to new partner revenue opportunities from Barracuda and Sectigo, here’s what you need to know.

Big Data

Splunk announces new global channel chief and additional partner incentives

February 26, 2019 Mark Cox Comments Off on Splunk announces new global channel chief and additional partner incentives
Microsoft vet Aziz Benmalek takes over as Splunk’s global channel chief, while the company announced new partner incents, improvements to their partner portal, and the implementation of the new partner tracks announced at last fall’s Splunk .conf18.