New RingCentral UCaaS Partnership, CenturyLink Channel Chief Among the Week's Best

A CenturyLink channel leader spoke to Channel Partners, and Adaptiv Networks bought Elfiq Networks.

As world economy reels in crisis, the indirect IT/telecom sales channel is finding positives. Even when ScanSource announced a round of layoffs, its subsidiary Intelisys posted strong revenues in the agent channel. We written about Intelisys, CenturyLink, Adaptiv and several other channel-oriented business in the last five days.

The seven stories listed below stood out as the most popular on our website this week. Check them out before you start your weekend.

7. LogMeIn’s LastPass Enterprise Password Manager Now Available to MSPs Globally

Managed service providers, as well as referral and reseller partners, can sell the vendor’s LastPass Enterprise password manager service.

MSPs played a crucial role in bringing the service to market according to LogMeIn’s vice president of global channels. For example, they participated in market interviews and help run beta tests. The announcement brought LogMeIn’s total number of channel-available solutions to 17.

Edward Gately has the scoop.

6. Q2 Mergers and Acquisitions Hit 5-Year Low Due to Pandemic

GlobalData revealed dismal second-quarter M&A numbers.

The firm’s study noted 253 large technology, media and telecom transactions in the first half of 2020. That number equates to 40% of the deals in the first half of 2019. COVID-19 understandably played a huge role in the decrease.

See more analysis.

5. SD-WAN M&A Strikes Again! Adaptiv Networks Buys Elfiq Networks from Martello

Two Canadian companies partook in SD-WAN consolidation as Adaptiv Networks purchased Elfiq Networks from Martello Technologies.

Martello choose to sell the subsidiary because it is focusing its efforts on digital experience monitoring. Moreover, the Elfiq division sustained losses in the latest fiscal year.

Adaptiv, on the other hand, sees a strong fit between its SD-WAN solution and Elfiq’s.

Learn more about the transaction.

4. Master Agent News Update: Intelisys, Avant, TBI, Telarus, More

Remote solutions played a big role in our latest agent channel news recap.

Intelisys/ScanSource unveiled a work-from home campaign, which culminated in a virtual summit. Intelisys and its peers worked hard in March and April to give their agents the resources they needed to help customers amid the pandemic.

We also wrote about two master agents that expanded their European footprint in the last quarter.

Check out the gallery we compiled to summarize the last four months in the agent channel.

3. ScanSource Layoffs ‘Very Difficult,’ But Intelisys Investment Remains Strong

ScanSource‘s $30 million expense cuts will include approximately 200 jobs.

Non-customer-facing positions specializing in premises-based hardware suffered the most.  CEO Mike Baur noted that premises-based communications had already been declining as a revenue source.

“So it was easy to say we had to reduce our investment there,” Baur said. “But at the same time, we continue to invest heavily in our Intelisys business.”

In other news, the South Carolina-based distributor hired a chief diversity officer. Ken Peterson earned the promotion, as ScanSource also unveiled a diversity and inclusion program.

Read about the layoffs and the new chief diversity officer.

2. CenturyLink Channel Chief Wants ‘Larger, Strategic’ Deals for Partners

CenturyLink’s Ed Morche

Ed Morche now leads the CenturyLink indirect channel, following Lisa Miller’s departure from the company.

The longtime Level 3 Communications veteran will work alongside …

… Garrett Gee, who serves as senior vice president of indirect sales. Morche spoke to us about what he envisions for CenturyLink channel partners. He said his team aims to standardize and streamline the partner experience.

“Also, we are always focused on simplification of our solutions, including more digital enablement tools and easier self-service capabilities,” Morche said.

Check out Edward Gately’s Q&A with Morche.

1. RingCentral’s Unify Office Deal ‘Echoes’ Avaya Partnership

RingCentral deepened its Atos partnership to launch a new UCaaS offering.

Unity Office will feature as Atos’ exclusive UCaaS solution, starting Aug. 31. We learned that RingCentral is in the process of certifying 90-some Atos channel partners to sell the offering.

“Organizations are returning to their offices in a new normal and require accelerated digital transformation of their workplace environment,” Atos’ CEO said. “With our unique heritage in unified communications, we’re excited about combining our knowledge with the market leader in UCaaS to start a new chapter for business communication solutions worldwide.”

Read the story.