In The Channel

On site at SAS Innovate: global channel chief John Carey on the shift to indirect, the TD SYNNEX bet, and the case for the transparent box

When John Carey joined SAS Institute four years ago, his mandate was to rethink what partnering looked like for a company with a long advisory and delivery history but limited co-sell and no resell motion. Recorded on site at SAS Innovate 2026, Robert Dutt talks to the senior vice president of global channels about what he found, what he built, and where SAS’s channel goes from here.

Podcasts

The Buzz: OMERS-backed Integris targets Australian MSP First Focus, AI agents weaponized for infostealing, M365 E7 launches today

Today’s channel headlines: OMERS-backed Integris announces intent to acquire First Focus, the largest SMB-focused MSP in Australia and New Zealand; NeuShield partners with Ontario-based Data Guards on ransomware recovery that restored 6.2TB in fifteen minutes; and ThreatDown’s ThreatLabs Europe discovers AI agent skills being weaponized to deliver the GachiLoader infostealer. Plus Sublime Security goes 100% channel, Konica Minolta’s AccurioPress C5080, Forescout’s 90-city Mission:Possible partner tour, and Microsoft 365 E7 goes generally available today.

In The Channel

On site at SAS Innovate: SAS Canada’s Ryan MacDonald on AI governance, the partner opportunity, and fifty years of trust

What does fifty years of analytics heritage mean in a market that reinvents itself every eighteen months? Recorded on site at SAS Innovate 2026, Robert Dutt sits down with Ryan MacDonald, managing director of SAS Canada, to dig into the week’s major AI governance and agentic AI announcements, the state of Canadian enterprise AI maturity, and why the channel is SAS’s answer to the SMB opportunity.

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.

Podcasts
Podcasts

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

Cisco 360, three months in: Canadian partners are responding better than expected

Cisco Canada’s VP of Partner Organization and SMB Sales takes stock of the first quarter of the new Cisco 360 Partner Program – including the partner feedback that caught her off guard, what “Preferred” means now that Gold is gone, and why Canadian partners should start building their adopt-and-renew practices before the incentive structure forces them to.

In The Channel
Channel Programs

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