Channel Bytes April 21, 2023 – CDN Channel Innovation Awards and Top 100 celebration; Microsoft Office 2013 hits end of support; Lookout launches EDR offering for MSSPs; and more

Staying informed is a constant challenge. There’s so much to do, and so little time. But we have you covered. Grab a coffee and take five while you nibble on these tidbits.

CDN Channel Innovation Awards and Top 100 event next Wednesday

CDN’s annual Channel Innovation Awards celebration takes place next Wednesday, Apr. 26. The event, which honours the nation’s top solution providers, will be held at The Broadview Hotel in Toronto and be viewable online. Those who attend, live or virtually, will not only enjoy a keynote presentation and panel discussion and be the first to congratulate the winners, they will also receive a copy of the 2023 edition of the Top 100 Solution Providers Industry Benchmark Report.

To register, click on this link.

Lookout launches new EDR offering for MSSPs

Lookout Inc., an endpoint-to-cloud security company, has announced the availability of Lookout Mobile Endpoint Security, a mobile endpoint detection and response (EDR) offering for managed security service providers (MSSPs).

The offering, it said, “enables MSSPs to deliver a complete turn-key program for identifying risk, protecting sensitive data and securing their customers’ mobile devices. With Lookout’s Mobile EDR, MSSPs can help organizations reduce the risk of a data breach through mobile phishing, ransomware and exploitation of device and app vulnerabilities.”

Lookout said that, according to industry data, less than half of SMBs specifically have any form of mobile security in place. As a result, mobile threats are on the rise year over year. It added that its recent Global State of Mobile Phishing report, 2022 marked the highest percentage of mobile phishing encounter rates ever, with an average of more than 30 per cent of personal and enterprise users exposed to these attacks every quarter.

Forcepoint launches new program for its SSE platform

Security vendor Forcepoint this week launched a new Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) program for service providers, distribution partners and other resellers.

“With managed services based on the Forcepoint ONE Security Service Edge (SSE) platform, Forcepoint partners can simplify Zero Trust security and gain predictable, repeatable revenue streams through cloud-first, hybrid-ready security,” the company said in a release.

“Using the Forcepoint management portal, partners can update customer configurations and offer multi-tenant services with a few clicks. Subscriptions with simple billing help providers scale their profitability when end-user licensing needs change. With no significant up-front expenses, partners can offer Forcepoint ONE and Secure SD-WAN solutions quickly over the internet and customers can add more services anytime.”

Forcepoint MSSP partners, it added, “can help enterprises and government agencies turn security into a competitive advantage by increasing productivity, streamlining costs and simplifying regulatory compliance.”

Caylent earns AWS Data and Analytics Competency status

Caylent, an Amazon Web Services (AWS) premier tier services partner and 2022 AWS Innovation Partner of the Year, has announced that it has achieved AWS Data and Analytics Competency status.

This designation, a release stated, recognizes that Caylent has demonstrated success helping customers evaluate and use the tools and best practices for collecting, storing, governing, and analyzing data at any scale.

To receive it, AWS Partners must possess deep AWS expertise and deliver solutions seamlessly on AWS, it added.

LogRhythm signs partnership with Zscaler

Security vendor LogRhythm has signed a technology agreement with Zscaler, a company that specializes in cloud security. As part of the deal, the two firms say they will work together to help organizations around the globe increase network insight and address a variety of cloud access security challenges faced by the modern security operations centre (SOC).

LogRhythm SIEM and the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange platform combined, a release stated, will provide visibility and security to facilitate a modern Zero Trust architecture.

According to the release, Zscaler “secures all user, workload, and device communications over any network, anywhere. The integration with LogRhythm provides visibility into everything occurring in your network, and the websites and cloud-based resources employees are using.”

“Securing an organization’s systems and networks begins with high-fidelity and trustworthy log data,” said Andrew Hollister, the chief information security officer at LogRhythm. “The combined benefits of LogRhythm SmartResponse and Zscaler Internet Access facilitate modern Zero Trust architecture that is the security backbone of companies across the globe.”

Microsoft warns Office 2013 has reached end of support; end imminent for Office 2019 for Mac

It’s had a good run, but on Apr. 11, Microsoft Office 2013 reached its final end of support. It will no longer receive security updates, bug fixes, technical support, or online technical content support.

Office 2019 for Mac will hit its end of support on Oct. 10, and on the same date, Microsoft will cease support for connecting Office 2016 and Office 2019 for Windows to Microsoft 365. While it won’t block those connections as long as the software is kept up to date, the company said that improvements to Microsoft 365 services will no longer be tested with those Office versions. So, it said, “users could experience performance or reliability issues.”

Microsoft renames cloud service description language

Microsoft has announced that, as of its March 2023 release, it has completed the renaming of its language for describing cloud service APIs and generating other API description languages, client and service code, documentation, and other assets from Cadl to TypeSpec.

The newly renamed TypeSpec provides highly extensible core language primitives that can describe API shapes common among REST, GraphQL, gRPC, and other protocols, Microsoft said. In the new version’s release notes, the company added, “the new name better aligns with the functionality and benefits of the product, and we believe it will make it easier for our customers to understand and remember.”

“Quantum Ballerina” to keynote at Alliance of Channel Women event

Dr. Merritt Moore, the “Quantum Ballerina,” will keynote the Alliance of Channel Women ACWConnect Live! event on May 1, at the Channel Partners Conference & Expo at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas. In her keynote address, Dr. Moore will share how she followed her dreams to realize her unconventional career path (professional ballerina and quantum physicist), how she’s risen to the top in two seemingly opposite pursuits and what lessons she can share for staying motivated and achieving peak performance.

The ACWConnect Live! Networking Event is open to all genders attending the Channel Partners Conference & Expo event. Advance admission is free to all ACW members and US$40 for non-members. Click here to register. Become an ACW member and attend for free.

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Jim Love, Chief Content Officer, IT World Canada

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Lynn Greiner
Lynn Greiner
Lynn Greiner has been interpreting tech for businesses for over 20 years and has worked in the industry as well as writing about it, giving her a unique perspective into the issues companies face. She has both IT credentials and a business degree

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