14 Hot New Tech Offerings: AI PC Mania, Starlink Resellers, CX Expansion14 Hot New Tech Offerings: AI PC Mania, Starlink Resellers, CX Expansion

From space to artificial intelligence, tech companies are pushing boundaries of all kinds for their business customers.

Channel Futures each month creates a roundup of important portfolio updates from leading technology vendors. These often concern products, including hardware and software, but they may also touch on new service offerings.

AI: From Infrastructure to Assistants

We know you've heard it before, but the AI arms race continues to proliferate. Every company, be it from traditional IT or telecommunications, is looking to get a piece of this. Although Chinese company DeepSeek threw a significant wrench into the U.S. large language model (LLM) market, appetite for AI solutions seems strong. Cisco noted that it has received more than $700 million in orders for AI infrastructure in its last half-year.

While Cisco and other companies have targeted the infrastructure that enables the building and deployment of AI apps, Cisco has also tackled AI on a more granular level. It announced an AI Defense solution, set to launch next month, which detects shadow AI applications that exist in a company's environment.

AI PCs remain a very hot topic. Kelly Teal reported on how shipments of such devices from Lenovo and Microsoft are set to surge in 2025. Dell and HP also made announcements around AI PCs last month.

Related:Lenovo and Microsoft Capitalizing on AI PC Demand

“The PC is the most important personal productivity device of our lifetime and it is being transformed by AI,” Dell CEO Michael Dell said. “Dell has driven PC innovation for the last 40 years and we are well positioned for this moment."

The agent side of AI is a key one. Enterprise resource planning provider Acumatica said it will at some point roll out AI assistants that will help answer users' written and spoken questions.

“As we add more functionality … and make sure that the quality meets our bar, we will give it to you,” Acumatica chief engineering officer Miten Mehta told partners and customers.

Cloud communications provider Sangoma launched some vertical-specific generative AI solutions, including AI that integrates with electronic health records for companies in the health care industry.

UCaaS, CCaaS Providers Look to Differentiate

Speaking of cloud communications, a couple of CX providers recently added new features to their platforms. 8x8 is letting users conduct digital payments through an IVR and additional channels like SMS and email. The platform will let customers make payments without having to wait for an agent.

Rival business communications provider RingCentral expanded its events platform to host larger, more personalized and more complex online events. The platform added real-time streams and deepened audience engagement features.

Related:10 New Tech Offerings for Partners to Sell: Five9, Cato, Zerto, Versa

MSP Platform Providers

A key part of the channel vendor landscape are the software companies whose platforms power MSPs to remotely monitor and manage their customers.

N-able launched an AI assistant that will help developers integrate with N-able APIs and automate repetitive tasks. The developer portal comes with AI-suggested scripts and dynamic code previews, according to the company.

SuperOps launched an endpoint management tool that it said will help internal IT teams with productivity. That came as SuperOps raked in a $25 million funding round and stated it wanted to scale its platform to midmarket MSPs.

On the endpoint front, Guardz deepened its partnership with SentinelOne. Guardz provides a cybersecurity platform for MSPs to use, and is pairing its unified detection and response abilities with SentinelOne's endpoint protection.

Managed Network Service Providers

Channel Futures notes two communications service providers whose new offerings seek to streamline operations for customers. BCM One-owned Pure IP has a new offering that tracks updates to Microsoft 365. The new ChangePilot offering gets support from a community called Empowering.Cloud, which Pure IP, Logitech, Ribbon and other companies support.

Related:Partners Get Hands on Starlink, Low Earth Orbit Satellites

Granite Telecommunications in January announced AccessExpress, which businesses use to vet and order tech services. For example, if partners are looking for new connectivity at one of their locations, AccessExpress tabulates options for different available service providers, giving information about coverage and pricing.

LEO Rising

Granite last month also announced a authorized reseller agreement with Starlink, as did SageNet and Expereo, in January. Starlink provides internet connectivity through low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. These machines reside in the space 1,200 miles above the Earth's surface, and they provide ever-improving speed and latency.

"Providing a low-latency, high-performance option that multilocation businesses can seamlessly deploy across their entire network, even in rural and hard-to-reach locations, will add value and expand our service options," Granite CEO Rob Hale said.

Granite's Rob Hale

So much so that customers are deploying Starlink more and more as a primary option, MetTel senior vice president of channel Tim Hanley told Channel Futures. Hanley said a recent partner deal resulted in a customer deploying more than 100 Starlink circuits for primary internet access.

"This milestone underscores our ability to deliver fast, resilient and intelligently managed connectivity wherever businesses operate," Hanley said.

While Starlink has a business division, it has invested relatively lightly on the services and support side, and that has prompted an opportunity for managed network service providers to resell and support its solution.

“With speeds now surpassing traditional fixed wireless and continuing to improve, Starlink is redefining enterprise connectivity," said Lori Thomas, MetTel's senior vice president of strategic engagement and transformation. "No longer just a backup option, it is becoming a key component of MetTel’s managed network strategy, offering customers across industries a fast, reliable, and scalable alternative where conventional networks fall short.”

Check out our previous roundup of new products and services from technology vendors.