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.
Nominations open for CDN Channel Innovation Awards
It’s that time of year again: nominations are open for CDN’s Channel Innovation Awards, to be presented at the virtual Channel Innovation Conference 2022: Finding the Growth Opportunities on Apr 26. Nominate yourself or someone else in one or more of six categories (you can make a maximum of three nominations). The deadline for nominations is March 4.
Windows Server 2008 and 2012 end of support
Microsoft is reminding users that the end of year 2 of extended security updates (ESU) for Windows Server 2008/2008 R2 was Jan 11, and year 3 will terminate on Jan 10, 2023. Customers can get an additional fourth year of free ESUs only on Azure (including Azure Stack HCI, Azure Stack Hub, and other Azure products). For Windows Server 2012/2012 R2, the end of support will be Oct 10, 2023, and ESUs will be available for purchase by Oct 2022.
The company notes that customers can migrate to Azure to get free ESUs to protect their workloads while they are planning their upgrade to the latest version of Windows Server.
Global Technology Distribution Council adds member
The Global Technology Distribution Council (GTDC), a worldwide association comprised of the computer industry’s top distributors dedicated to serving the channel, has announced that its ranks now include European distributor The Nuvias Group. It joins organizations such as Ingram Micro, Arrow, and TD Synnex in the Council, whose members drive $150 billion in annual worldwide sales of products, services and solutions. The GTDC serves over one million resellers globally.
Cloud security player goes channel first
Unified container and cloud security provider Sysdig this week announced a channel-first approach for sales outside the Global 500. It says it is investing in its channel partners by providing more training and incentives, along with increasing go-to-market funding and support. In addition, Sysdig is building out its dedicated channel partnership team, which is expected to grow 200 per cent by the end of March. The company said that this channel-first approach will give partners the tools needed to bring Sysdig cloud and container security to their customers.
Alithya acquires Vitalyst
Montreal-based Alithya Group announced this week that it has acquired U.S.-based Microsoft Gold Partner Vitalyst, which provides employee experience and transformative change enablement via its on-demand, Adaptive Learning proprietary platform This adds change enablement and subscription-based adaptive learning to Alithya’s stable of strategic offerings. Vitalyst’s more than 165 professionals currently support over 350 business applications for over 400 Fortune 1,000 clients that operate in more than 20 countries. Its services are offered in over 10 languages and drive usage and awareness of Microsoft applications. Alithya employs 3,600 professionals in Canada, the United States, and Europe.
Clearlake Capital completes acquisition of Quest
Clearlake Capital Group this week announced that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Quest Software, a global cybersecurity, data intelligence, and IT operations management software provider, from Francisco Partners. Quest chief executive officer Patrick Nichols will continue to lead the company, supported by the existing executive management team. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Securicy rebrands, advances flagship platform to make enterprise-class security accessible to high-growth SaaS companies
On Feb 1, Sydney, Nova Scotia-based Information security and data privacy management platform provider Securicy announced it has changed its name to Carbide.
“Drawing inspiration from the region’s historic role in the mining industry where carbide lamps were an essential tool to illuminate the path ahead, Carbide aims to do the same for high-growth SaaS companies as they navigate the ever-changing information security landscape,” the company said in its announcement.
At the same time, it announced a series of updates to its platform, including the introduction of technical integrations and support for key industry frameworks and regulations including ISO 27001, PCI DSS and NIST.
Kyndryl and Pure Storage announce global alliance
Kyndryl and Pure Storage this week announced a global alliance that will see Kyndryl become a key delivery partner for Pure, expanding on already integrated solutions and increasing its existing Pure skills and capabilities to drive transformative business outcomes for customers. The companies will jointly deliver optimized solutions to address the complex challenges enterprises face related to application and infrastructure modernization, automation, multi-cloud management, containerization, and more – providing cyber resiliency elements natively at the storage layer to enable cloud-based applications coupled with data portability in the cloud or on-premises.
