7 Channel People of the Week at Broadcom, Civo, Swimlane, More

SMBs are the bread and butter of the channel, so protecting them from cyber threats is essential. But how can an MSP do that in a meaningful way? One executive offered his perspective.

"By integrating robust tech stacks, educating clients about security and emphasizing the importance of compliance, MSPs can effectively protect SMBs against cyber threats and build resilient cybersecurity and compliance programs," Syncro's Tim Lasonde wrote in a guest column for Channel Futures. "Today, compliance is as critical as cybersecurity, and MSPs need to embrace tools and strategies that ensure their clients aren't just protected but also compliant."

You can read Lasonde's full column.

There was a lot of news in the cloud computing space this week, from Microsoft layoffs to the latest in AI from Google Cloud and AWS'.

Civo, one of the independent cloud providers that has been most vocal about the repercussions of the Broadcom-VMware combination, also published research revealing that most customers were feeling "significant dissatisfaction" with Broadcom's $61 billion acquisition.

“Broadcom's acquisition of VMware has not been beneficial for customers, drastically hindering the cloud services they had grown accustomed to while leaving many of them in the lurch over prices and services,” said Mark Boost, CEO of Civo.

Read more about Civo's thoughts and other updates in our cloud computing news roundup.

One of the tools necessary to withstand cybersecurity attacks from an assortment of threats is the establishment of a cyber resilience framework. Not only does it proactively address risks created by vulnerabilities and threats, but it helps websites hold up under such attacks.

Cyber resilience is crucial because IT has gotten “so good, so powerful — and it's so pervasive now," said Ronald Ross, fellow at NIST.

“In fact, computers are in everything that we care about today, from pacemakers in your chest, to the power plants that control the electric grid and the water distribution systems,” he said. “Those computers are driven by software and firmware, and they have … to be reliable and resilient, which means they have to withstand a lot of different types of threats.

Read more about cyber resilience in our definitive Channel Futures guide.

Funding for cybersecurity products jumped in the second quarter, according to data from Pinpoint Research Group. That surge is a net positive for the industry, as it means that the industry is still maturing and innovating.

“While there is no question that investment rebounded when compared to the same period last year, funding for Q2 2024 remains below Q2 funding for 2022 ($4.3 billion) and 2021 ($4.9 billion),” Pinpoint founder Mark Sasson said. “Funding trends and baselines are still developing for security vendors. Massive investment in 2021 and 2022, in hindsight, may have been driven by hype. [Last year's] economic challenges may have caused the pendulum to swing far in the opposite direction. As opposed to a surge, we may simply be seeing the shaping of a more sustainable trendline with the numbers in 2024.”

Learn more about the state of the cybersecurity market in our summary.

Nearly 2.5 million people connected to Prudential Financial were affected after a ransomware attack on Patelco Credit Union led to the shutdown of several of its customer-facing banking systems.

Some working in the channel saw the breach as a result of disjointed cybersecurity tools.

“Cybercriminals are taking advantage of these gaps, leading to frequent and costly breaches,” Nick Tausek, lead security automation architect at Swimlane said. “According to a recent report from Swimlane and Omdia, 42% of financial organizations have had at least one breach with a total cost of $1 million in the last 12 months, with 20% experiencing a breach with a total cost of more than $5 million.”

Read about the Prudential Financial security hack in our report..

Longtime channel leader Eileen Gibson announced that she was leaving Broadcom after 42 years in the industry. Gibon departed her role on July 5, leaving the company where she started as head of OEM sales and partnerships at the time that Broadcom and VMware merged.

Several people expressed a fondness for Gibson's impact on the industry.

“I witnessed her growth as a rising star in her early days at Avnet, to a thought leader and co-founder of Channel Savvy, to a true channel champion at VMware and now Broadcom,” ITPartners president Steve Tepedino told Channel Futures. “Eileen has many gifts, but the one that stands out the most is her ability to bring out the best in others.”

Read about Gibson's departure and what it means for the channel.

Ericsson issued a write-down of $1.1 billion relating to the company's acquisition of UCaaS provider Vonage. The company has been fairly quiet, which has concerned some analysts about what Ericsson is trying to do or its plans for the company.

"I am not hearing very much from Vonage these days. We're not getting a lot of updates, news, nothing that's moving the needle, so clearly they are struggling," principal analyst at J Arnold & Associates Jon Arnold told Channel Futures.

Read more of our analysis about what this write-down means for Vonage and Ericsson.

Ericsson issued a write-down of $1.1 billion relating to the company's acquisition of UCaaS provider Vonage. The company has been fairly quiet, which has concerned some analysts about what Ericsson is trying to do or its plans for the company.

"I am not hearing very much from Vonage these days. We're not getting a lot of updates, news, nothing that's moving the needle, so clearly they are struggling," principal analyst at J Arnold & Associates Jon Arnold told Channel Futures.

Read more of our analysis about what this write-down means for Vonage and Ericsson.