7 Channel People Making Waves This Week at Splunk, KPMG, Microsoft, Triella
Also, MSP GreenPages has a new name. It represents the latest phase of the firm’s 30-year evolution.
July 21, 2023
Shutterstock
GreenPages has a new name: Blue Mantis. This represents the latest phase of the firm’s 30-year evolution from a local company sourcing components through a catalog to a managed service provider offering a full suite of advanced services to clients in a broad swath of the country.
“Back then it was a play off the Yellow Pages, which is not really the image we want to project to the market today as we help customers digitally transform their businesses,” said Josh Dinneen, who became president of GreenPages in March.
The name change coincides with a new brand identity; a more modern, user-friendly website; and the tagline “Let’s Meet the Future.” The phrase represents Blue Mantis’ growth over the years from a component sourcing company to a VAR, an integrator, and then an MSP and CSP offering cybersecurity, GitOps and FinOps, networking, carrier services, modern workspace solutions and data center modernization.
Discover the meaning behind “Blue Mantis.”
Splunk .Conf23 kicked off with the unveiling of a new partnership to build Splunk’s enterprise security and observability offerings on Microsoft Azure.
Gretchen O’Hara, Splunk’s vice president of worldwide channels and alliances, said the launch of Splunk on the Azure marketplace makes “absolute sense” to make sure that availability is there for partners. This is part of an ongoing effort to ensure that it’s easier for partners to work with Splunk.
O’Hara said she’s gathered feedback from partners globally, and Splunk is focused on “taking that feedback to heart and turning it into action.”
“This is all about building a partner-first culture at Splunk in three ways: simplifying the partner experience; delivering market-leading solutions and leveraging the power of joint selling,” she said.
Learn how Microsoft will collaborate with Splunk to develop a differentiated product offering.
Nevada-based technology advisor and award-winning Intelisys agent Sidepath Global will be acquired by Upstack.
Upstack, bolstered by private equity firm Berkshire Partners and other institutional investors, is buying Sidepath Global’s book of business, while forming a partnership with Sidepath’s VAR division. All four Sidepath Global employees will get positions at the acquirer. In addition, the deal makes Sidepath co-owner and president Jim Andronaco a partner and managing director at Upstack.
“Upstack is a great fit for us on many levels,” said Andronaco, a Channel Futures Technology Advisor 101 honoree. “The company has the back-office and marketing support to grow and support the agency business. And, it has an existing customer base that we expect to drive new sales opportunities for our VAR business.”
So, how many technology advisors has Upstack invested in? Find out more here.
KPMG seeks to “reshape” the professional services it offers by committing $2 billion to Microsoft AI offerings. The expansion of the KPMG-Microsoft 13-year alliance calls for them to collaborate on delivering workforce modernization, secure development and responsible use of AI.
KPMG expects the Microsoft AI alliance will generate roughly $12 billion in revenue over the next several years through the delivery of cybersecurity services, cloud migration and workforce automation applications that use generative AI.
“When you look at generative AI and AI, it’s exploding,” said Cherie Gartner, Microsoft global lead partner executive at KPMG. “Demand is massive because organizations can look at how they gain insights faster, how they increase their time to market and the efficiency levels they can gain and which areas they can streamline.”
Gartner added: “You have your chief information officers looking at how they leverage the technology and your chief digital officers looking at how you look at innovation, leveraging this technology. Your CFO is looking at how to streamline their supply chain operations to drive more productivity and streamline areas to increase output. But then you can have the [chief human resources officer] wanting to increase their base by looking at different resource criteria that can help them look at their recruitment efforts. So, every single line of business is looking at generative AI and how it can help them.”
Read more of the interview with Gartner here.
As Microsoft embeds artificial intelligence into every product and solution it offers, the company is priming its go-to-market ecosystem with its new Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program.
The new program aims to equip Microsoft’s entire ecosystem of channel partners, including VARs, MSPs, systems integrators, ISVs and digital natives to offer Microsoft’s emerging new AI offerings and to leverage its underlying platform.
Dezen said the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program has all of the benefits of the Microsoft Cloud Partner Program but provides access to new offerings and capabilities specific to AI.
“Just as AI capabilities are infused throughout our portfolio, our AI benefits are wired throughout our program,” she said.
Find out why this is the year of the marketplace for Microsoft.
Charlesbank-backed Bridgepointe Technologies has announced a strategic investment in Midwestern technology advisor and voice services provider Parallel Technologies.
Parallel, a 40-year-old partner based in Dublin, Ohio, has agreed to an undisclosed transaction with Bridgepointe. As a result of the investment, Parallel now uses the branding “Parallel Technologies powered by Bridgepointe,” but the company states that its client engagement and employee tasks remaining the same as before. A Bridgepointe executive told Channel Futures that Parallel brings a healthy customer base in Ohio and the surrounding region, as well as professional services capabilities.
“Bridgepointe’s strategic investment provides us with an exceptional opportunity to continue to do what we do best, which is build deep and lasting relationships with our clients while building value for our employee-owners,” said Parallel president Don Poling.
Parallel’s roots in the Ohio Valley made it attractive to Bridgepointe. Its local clients include the Columbus Zoo and law firm Bricker and Eckler.
Find out which firms Parellel lists among its supplier partners.
After hearing about the Ingram Micro layoffs that could send hundreds of employees packing, Pamela Miranda, owner of Triella, an MSP in Ontario, Canada, had a message for the IT distribution giant: Don’t lay off my rep.
“I love him; he’s amazing,” she said of her new account rep who focuses on business development. “He’s a real go-getter. I felt like we weren’t getting any service from the person before him. I like this one. I hope he stays.”
The relationship with her Ingram Micro rep is important because it’s otherwise difficult for smaller MSPs to be heard by such a big company.
The number of people laid off by Ingram Micro ranges from 50 to about 300, according to posters on thelayoff.com. One said the cuts were in preparation for Ingram’s proposed IPO, which the California-based company filed for confidentially last September.
Learn more about what recently laid off employees had to say about the company.
After hearing about the Ingram Micro layoffs that could send hundreds of employees packing, Pamela Miranda, owner of Triella, an MSP in Ontario, Canada, had a message for the IT distribution giant: Don’t lay off my rep.
“I love him; he’s amazing,” she said of her new account rep who focuses on business development. “He’s a real go-getter. I felt like we weren’t getting any service from the person before him. I like this one. I hope he stays.”
The relationship with her Ingram Micro rep is important because it’s otherwise difficult for smaller MSPs to be heard by such a big company.
The number of people laid off by Ingram Micro ranges from 50 to about 300, according to posters on thelayoff.com. One said the cuts were in preparation for Ingram’s proposed IPO, which the California-based company filed for confidentially last September.
Learn more about what recently laid off employees had to say about the company.
Channel People Making Waves is once again bringing the most-read stories on Channel Futures to the forefront. Individuals at Splunk, KPMG, Microsoft, Triella and more made our list this week.
When it comes to layoff news, it’s not uncommon to hear outspoken former employees discuss their distress publicly. However, when Ingram Micro decided to lay off some of its workers, not only did we hear from employees but we also heard from the owner of an MSP who said she felt the ripple of effects from the cuts. Pamela Miranda of MSP Triella, Ontario, Canada, said that she hoped Ingram Micro wouldn’t lay off her new account rep because “he’s a real go-getter.” Her concerns made it to the No.1 story of the week.
Microsoft is perhaps setting a trend with its Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program. It has all the benefits of the Microsoft Cloud Partner Program but with new offerings and capabilities specific to AI. It’s likely other companies will follow the tech giant’s lead.
That’s not the only Microsoft news. Splunk has unveiled a new partnership to build its enterprise security and observability offerings on Microsoft Azure. Splunk officials said it was about creating a partner-first culture at the company in three ways. View our slideshow above to learn how and to see the most-read stories of the last seven days.
And that’s a wrap for Channel People Making Waves. In case you didn’t catch our previous edition, you can find it here.
Want to contact the author directly about this story? Have ideas for a follow-up article? Email Claudia Adrien or connect with her on LinkedIn. |
About the Author(s)
You May Also Like