SMB

Cloud

Epicor promises both commitment and caution in move to the cloud

April 22, 2016 Mark Cox Comments Off on Epicor promises both commitment and caution in move to the cloud
At its customer event, ERP vendor Epicor laid out its plans to become a cloud-first company, to which it asserted a strong commitment – even though the transition is greatly complicated by multiple factors.

Cloud

ERP vendor Epicor looks to channel for aggressive growth in Canada

April 20, 2016 Mark Cox Comments Off on ERP vendor Epicor looks to channel for aggressive growth in Canada
Epicor has doubled the size of its Canadian business over the last couple years, and while most of its business in the U.S. is direct, the growing Canadian business is going entirely through channel partners.

Security

New Dell SonicWALL Threat Protection Service to be major channel play

March 1, 2016 Mark Cox Comments Off on New Dell SonicWALL Threat Protection Service to be major channel play
The new service combines one sandbox Dell has used internally, and being productized for the first time, with two licensed third party sandboxes, on the principle that modern threats that try and evade sandboxes won’t be able to evade three different ones at the same time.

Cloud

ShoreTel Connect HYBRID Sites offer single user experience for cloud and on-prem

February 24, 2016 Mark Cox Comments Off on ShoreTel Connect HYBRID Sites offer single user experience for cloud and on-prem
The new HYBRID Sites complete the integration of ShoreTel’s cloud and on-prem solutions which began with the new ShoreTel Connect branding last year. They improve partners’ selling ability with the single solution, and its suitability for larger deployments.

Cloud

RingCentral adds Westcon to distribution network in U.S. and Canada

January 22, 2016 Mark Cox Comments Off on RingCentral adds Westcon to distribution network in U.S. and Canada
RingCentral already has a diverse go-to-market strategy which includes several top technology distributors, but they see additional benefits in adding Westcon to the mix.

Big Data

Inside SAP Anywhere

November 24, 2015 Mark Cox Comments Off on Inside SAP Anywhere
SAP’s new HANA-powered CRM solution for SMBs, which will hit general availability in both the U.S. and Canada in 2016, is drawing lots of interest. ChannelBuzz takes a look at why.

Channel Programs

Data protection vendor Druva adds MSP channel, launches MSP partner program

November 17, 2015 Mark Cox Comments Off on Data protection vendor Druva adds MSP channel, launches MSP partner program
Druva is mainly focused on the enterprise space, and its new MSP channel will give them a stronger presence downmarket. They are especially looking to recruit new MSPs who have no data centre.

Servers

Lenovo: We want to be the top OEM for hyperconverged

November 12, 2015 Mark Cox Comments Off on Lenovo: We want to be the top OEM for hyperconverged
Lenovo sees strong momentum in its server business, with its core server business showing signs of beginning to scale growth, and its roster of hyperconverged partners offering significant potential in that space.

Channel Communities

Hewlett Packard Enterprise stresses SMB, channel commitment with new releases

November 12, 2015 Mark Cox Comments Off on Hewlett Packard Enterprise stresses SMB, channel commitment with new releases
For partners, the most interesting thing here may be the Small Business Marketplace e-commerce platform, an explicitly channel-focused online site, rather than a direct-to-customer site that competes with partners. It’s in pilot now in the U.S., but when it will be in Canada is not yet clear.

Cloud

SAP stresses simplicity for smaller firms at SME Summit

November 11, 2015 Mark Cox Comments Off on SAP stresses simplicity for smaller firms at SME Summit
At last year’s SAP SME Summit, SAP emphasized how much it valued its SME customers, including small businesses. This year they added a wrinkle to that, emphasizing that SMEs want and need simplicity, and that those taking their time to decide need to make the move – with SAP solutions.