News

News

• May 12, 2016 12 May'16

  Making the strategic Skype for Business voice decision

  With Microsoft's Skype for Business voice posed as a serious option for the enterprise, businesses have to weigh the pros and cons of unplugging their traditional voice systems.

• May 11, 2016 11 May'16

  ID management, SSO critical for mobile access

  Okta and Box expand their partnership to include mobile identity management and single sign-on capabilities. EMM vendors, such as MobileIron and VMware AirWatch, also get in on the game.

• May 11, 2016 11 May'16

  Analysts say 'meh' to SAP and Apple partnership

  A new partnership between SAP and Apple for an SDK that enables developers to build iOS apps that link with SAP HANA Cloud Platform underwhelms some observers.

• May 10, 2016 10 May'16

  Lenovo partner program boosts incentives on services

  At Lenovo Accelerate 2016, Lenovo revealed a new emphasis on services, spurring its channel partners to sell more by increasing back-end points.

• May 10, 2016 10 May'16

  Lenovo channel to see focus on PCs, services, data center

  Lenovo's North American channel chief points to premium PCs, hyper-converged technology and services as some of the key opportunities for the company's channel partners.

• May 10, 2016 10 May'16

  Comparing Cisco, Microsoft UCC cloud platforms

  Microsoft wins on price, but enterprises that have complex telephone systems will find benefits in Cisco's options for cloud communications.

• May 09, 2016 09 May'16

  Sophos partner program gets new MSP addition

  Sophos has unveiled its MSP Connect Program, which enables managed service providers to access a cloud-based partner dashboard and integrate with third-party software tools.

• May 09, 2016 09 May'16

  Microsoft gives SharePoint biggest update in 15 years

  Microsoft announced several SharePoint updates, including a mobile app for iOS and Android, making the product more modern and compatible with the cloud-based Office 365.

• May 09, 2016 09 May'16

  Get ready to use Cisco and VMware SDN technologies

  Many companies won't be able to avoid using both Cisco and VMware SDN software to manage physical and virtual networks in the data center, an expert says.

• May 09, 2016 09 May'16

  IT ops pros add consultative value under DevOps

  As companies increasingly seek full-stack developers, IT operations specialists must find new ways to add value and remain relevant.

• May 06, 2016 06 May'16

  Unify partner program reduces certification demands

  In an effort to simplify its channel partner program, UC vendor Unify has cut back certification requirements across its portfolio; more IT channel news from the week.

• May 06, 2016 06 May'16

  Apple, SAP team up on enterprise apps

  Apple and SAP agree to a deal similar to that of Apple and IBM's, where SAP will use its technologies to better enable iOS apps. The two companies will also help businesses build their own.

• May 06, 2016 06 May'16

  Azure storage adds "cool" option for infrequently accessed data

  Azure storage options now include Cool Blob Storage. The service answers demand for cheap data repositories with the closest answer yet to cold storage from Google and Amazon.

• May 06, 2016 06 May'16

  EMC president discusses Dell-EMC product synergies, flash

  EMC president discusses potential opportunities for EMC products under Dell, open source efforts, the state of hybrid arrays and opportunities around object storage.

• May 05, 2016 05 May'16

  EMC adds all-flash systems, Unity draws fire

  EMC unveils three all-flash systems at EMC World 2016, including new midrange Unity platform that draws fire from smaller competitors.

• May 05, 2016 05 May'16

  Parallels offers app publishing alternative

  Parallels Remote Application Server 15 automates several tasks that frustrate IT, and it includes many of the same features as Citrix and VMware's app publishing products.

• May 05, 2016 05 May'16

  Microsoft unveils Skype for Business for Mac users

  Microsoft released its long-awaited Skype for Business Mac preview. The application, to be rolled out in three phases, will be available publicly later this year.

• May 05, 2016 05 May'16

  Citrix XenApp user base grows, thanks to Windows 10

  Citrix's app virtualization platform sees an increase in customers in the first quarter of this year, thanks to companies adopting Windows 10 and ditching full virtual desktops.

• May 04, 2016 04 May'16

  D-Day for GDPR is 25 May 2018

  The European Parliament’s official publication of the General Data Protection Regulation means it will become enforceable on 25 May 2018

• May 04, 2016 04 May'16

  Scale flash nodes expand its hyper-converged play

  The Scale flash base configuration includes 1.2 TB of raw SLC NAND per cluster for tiering hot data blocks to solid-state drives. SMB customers tune flash workloads from zero to 11.

• May 04, 2016 04 May'16

  EMC and Dell begin to paint a picture of post-merger world

  A raft of new solutions unveiled at EMC World this week are eclipsed by a rather large, Dell-shaped, elephant in the room

• May 04, 2016 04 May'16

  EMC World 2016: With eCDM, vendor addresses copy sprawl

  With rollouts at EMC World 2016, Enterprise Copy Data Management and ViPR 3.0 extend EMC's software-defined storage push into copy sprawl and heterogeneous storage support.

• May 04, 2016 04 May'16

  EMC VxRack Neutrino Nodes launched for OpenStack cloud storage

  EMC adds VCE VxRack System 1000 Neutrino Nodes for enterprises eyeing 'third platform' applications that run natively in the cloud.

• May 03, 2016 03 May'16

  Partners to play 'significant role' in Dell Technologies

  Gregg Ambulos, EMC's senior vice president of global channel operations, said channel partners will be an important part of Dell Technologies' go-to-market strategy.

• May 03, 2016 03 May'16

  Dell adds software VP to its channel exec roster

  Dell has appointed Pete Koliopoulos as vice president of global software channels and alliances at Dell Systems and Information Management Group.

• May 03, 2016 03 May'16

  Dell Technologies: Partners ponder new firm's channel stance

  Channel partners are contemplating the level of channel commitment they'll find in the combined Dell-EMC organization, which will be called Dell Technologies.

• May 03, 2016 03 May'16

  New Viptela vEdge SD-WAN router for low-bandwidth sites

  The latest Viptela vEdge brings SD-WAN to sites that need a router with a maximum throughput of 100 Mbps.

• May 03, 2016 03 May'16

  Unify launches range of tools for channel partners

  Unify continues its channel romance with a handful of new tools and offerings for partners

• May 03, 2016 03 May'16

  Epic VP: Healthcare interoperability standards face challenges

  When it comes to interoperability standards in healthcare, there are many barriers. One of Epic System Corp.'s vice presidents weighs in.

• May 02, 2016 02 May'16

  EMC launches Unity flash and hybrid arrays at SME customers

  EMC World the venue for launch of Unity, SME-targeted all-flash and hybrid flash arrays built on a new Linux OS on commodity hardware with services run from containers

• May 02, 2016 02 May'16

  OpenStack Mitaka brings new wave of storage features

  OpenStack Swift, Cinder and Manila storage software get feature updates in latest Mitaka release, as open source project teams plot future capabilities.

• May 02, 2016 02 May'16

  New Verizon data centers support businesses, jar suppliers

  New Verizon data centers are part of a two-pronged strategy of helping customers and taming suppliers through open technology.

• April 29, 2016 29 Apr'16

  CompTIA: IT industry business confidence dips in Q2

  CompTIA's business confidence index saw a slight decline in Q2, but most companies surveyed say they are on track to meet their 2016 revenue objectives.

• April 28, 2016 28 Apr'16

  Intelligent automation systems spark Accenture-Splunk pact

  Accenture, a global professional services firm, has entered a formal alliance with Splunk to tap the company's operational intelligence products and services.

• April 28, 2016 28 Apr'16

  PCI DSS 3.2 focuses on encryption and multifactor authentication

  PCI DSS 3.2 marks the start of refining the payment data regulations rather than minor changes and includes requirements to strengthen encryption and multifactor authentication.

• April 28, 2016 28 Apr'16

  Dell, Aerohive partner in WLAN infrastructure management

  Partners Dell and Aerohive have collaborated on software for managing WLAN infrastructure hardware, including switches and access points.

• April 28, 2016 28 Apr'16

  Thin client market loses luster, thanks to inexpensive PCs

  The value thin clients bring to businesses has dropped off, as new, inexpensive PCs dampen the appeal of thin client devices and offer better computing power.

• April 28, 2016 28 Apr'16

  EMC World 2016: What will Dell-EMC look like post-merger?

  Attendees can expect to hear a fair amount about a new all-flash array and the pending Dell merger at the 2016 EMC World conference in Las Vegas.

• April 28, 2016 28 Apr'16

  Technology moving too fast for governments to keep up, says former Darpa chief

  Former US defence technology chief supports encryption and privacy, despite intelligence services’ fears

• April 27, 2016 27 Apr'16

  Ingram Micro opens arms to SME resellers

  Ingram Micro is looking for fresh business in the SME market as it cuts the ribbon on a fresh website and a team to support those partners

• April 27, 2016 27 Apr'16

  IBM all-flash storage expands with enterprise, cloud arrays

  IBM adds a new all-flash array platform for enterprises and large-scale clouds, and ships DS8888 all-flash for mainframes and high-end enterprises.

• April 27, 2016 27 Apr'16

  Object-file system combo rapidly expands

  Object-based storage adoption took longer than expected, so object vendors have added file systems to their products to make them look more familiar to users.

• April 26, 2016 26 Apr'16

  SimpliVity OmniCube helps medical supplier jump into HCI

  Hyper-convergence was a bit of a leap of faith for Neil Medical Group, but SimpliVity OmniCubes brought the organization better backup and simpler management.

• April 26, 2016 26 Apr'16

  DDoS attacks hit three-quarters of global brands in 2015

  DDoS attack tactics evolve from single, large attacks, intended to take a website offline, to multi-vector barrages – but organisations are fighting back

• April 26, 2016 26 Apr'16

  Juniper provides container firewall to banks, cloud

  Juniper Networks has added a container firewall to its SRX portfolio. The latest product provides container protection for banks, carriers and cloud providers.

• April 25, 2016 25 Apr'16

  Focus on the "M" in SMB market

  The SMB market is a mixed bag this year, with spending declines forecast for small businesses and increased IT spending expected for mid-size companies.

• April 25, 2016 25 Apr'16

  Nexsan storage software brings Unity to its hardware

  Unity software supports Nexsan with NST block devices, Assureon object storage and Transporter cloud sync functionality that it picked up from Connected Data.

• April 25, 2016 25 Apr'16

  Polycom acquisition raises questions over vendor partnerships

  Following Mitel's announcement that it was acquiring Polycom, analysts speculated on what will become of the vendors' endpoint and channel partnerships.

• April 25, 2016 25 Apr'16

  Why some IT leaders aren't falling for edge data centers

  Buzzword bingo games these days typically include 'edge data centers,' but how much real interest is there among users?

• April 25, 2016 25 Apr'16

  Virtualized applications and storage don't always mesh

  Legacy storage technology wasn't designed to support multiple virtualized applications competing for simultaneous I/O. Tintri's Dan Florea explains how to get from mess to mesh.

• April 25, 2016 25 Apr'16

  Riverbed SD-WAN design goes beyond optimization

  The Riverbed SD-WAN strategy blends optimization, orchestration, management and other services in a single platform, called SteelConnect.

• April 22, 2016 22 Apr'16

  Partner opportunity: Midmarket email migrations to cloud

  A report by Intermedia revealed slow uptake of cloud-based email in the midmarket -- and an untapped opportunity for partners; more IT channel news from the week.

• April 22, 2016 22 Apr'16

  Promise's hyper-converged VSkyCube launches

  Promise VSkyCube customers can start with one node and scale to 36 appliances per cluster. Small to medium-sized enterprises are the target audience.

• April 22, 2016 22 Apr'16

  IT pros confident in iOS after Apple-FBI feud

  Apple's enterprise security features draw praise from IT pros who say iOS data protection and encryption make the operating system a strong business platform.

• April 22, 2016 22 Apr'16

  Microsoft highlights channel role in driving Office 365

  Microsoft has highlighted the role that an expanding channel has played in driving sales of Office 365 into the SME market.

• April 22, 2016 22 Apr'16

  A different take on public cloud dependent on vCloud Air partners

  VMware's public cloud strategy strays greatly from what most of the market is offering, with a heavy reliance on helping large enterprises through its vCloud Air partners.

• April 21, 2016 21 Apr'16

  Oracle patches 136 security flaws

  Oracle patches 136 security flaws in various products and a number of vulnerabilities were rated more critical because of a switch to CVSS 3.0.

• April 21, 2016 21 Apr'16

  Pivot3 prepares 'killer' HCI product with NexGen QoS

  Pivot3 CEO Ron Nash said integrating NexGen Storage's QoS features will increase the number of applications that can run effectively on hyper-converged storage.

• April 21, 2016 21 Apr'16

  Unpatched JBoss vulnerability exposes millions to attacks

  Up to 3.2 million servers with unpatched JBoss vulnerability from 2010 are open to spread ransomware through networks; experts urge keeping up with software patches to stay safe.

• April 21, 2016 21 Apr'16

  Android Security Report shows gains and troubles

  The second annual Android Security Report details a number of ways Google has been working to improve security on its mobile platform, but also highlights persistent problems.

• April 20, 2016 20 Apr'16

  CompTIA: Channel companies should expand security offerings

  A CompTIA report says more IT channel firms are offering security services, but suggests many partners aren't positioned to deliver a modern security offering.

• April 20, 2016 20 Apr'16

  AWS migration capabilities expand to address major challenge

  Expanded AWS migration tools and proactive security measures are the focus of a string of new products from Amazon aimed at luring in more enterprise workloads.

• April 20, 2016 20 Apr'16

  Intel to cut workforce despite strong Q1 results

  Intel says strong first quarter results show that its business transformation is working, but it also means cutting 11% of the global workforce.

• April 20, 2016 20 Apr'16

  CompTIA increases channel training resources

  As part of its ongoing efforts to improve the quality of service delivered by the channel, the organization CompTIA has made more training resources available.

• April 20, 2016 20 Apr'16

  Dell introduces ISV-targeted IoT partner program

  Dell continues to make moves to bolster its position as an IoT player and has introduced a partner program to help identify those specializing in this area.

• April 19, 2016 19 Apr'16

  Carrier NFV work pushing vCPEs to enterprises

  Carrier adoption of software-based network functions will lead to better virtual CPE for enterprise branch networks.

• April 19, 2016 19 Apr'16

  Asigra offers free tool to manage EBS snapshots in AWS

  Backup vendor Asigra has launched a free software tool to smooth the management of Elastic Block Store snapshots in the Amazon Web Services platform.

• April 19, 2016 19 Apr'16

  Everspin Technologies' spin-torque MRAM chips ship to OEMs

  Memory channel storage vendor Everspin sells ST-MRAM devices with byte-addressable memory channel storage designed as a write cache with predictable latency.

• April 19, 2016 19 Apr'16

  IBM financials squeezed but sales up in cloud and mobile

  Cloud, security, mobility and analytics are the future for IBM as revenue drops for 16th quarter.

• April 18, 2016 18 Apr'16

  Analytics, reporting tools make Office 365 more useful

  Microsoft has introduced Office 365 tools that monitor employee time and email activity to improve productivity at work.

• April 18, 2016 18 Apr'16

  Mitel, Polycom merger boosts portfolios, market reach

  Mitel and Polycom agree to a merger that strengthens each company's product portfolio and global market reach. The combined company will have $2.5 billion in annual revenue.

• April 18, 2016 18 Apr'16

  Typing queries into search box yields instant analytics

  With businesses running at cloud speed, employees need to generate instant analytics reports via search bar queries. ThoughtSpot and Informatica come to the rescue.

• April 18, 2016 18 Apr'16

  X-IO exploits NVMe to develop super-fast Axellio flash storage

  X-IO comes out of stealth with Intel-backed Axellio that will see up to 0.25PB and 12 million IOPS from a 2U box using NVMe as an internal interconnect to speak natively with CPUs.

• April 15, 2016 15 Apr'16

  NetScout acquisition channels unite for enterprise share

  NetScout Systems targets the enterprise market with Connect360, a channel program uniting partners of Fluke Networks, Tektronix Communications and VSS Monitoring; more IT channel news.

• April 15, 2016 15 Apr'16

  Microsoft fights back against FBI surveillance

  Microsoft has sued the Department of Justice in an effort to be allowed to notify users of FBI surveillance requests; expert worried about continuous surveillance.

• April 15, 2016 15 Apr'16

  Google, Kinvey offer HIPAA-compliant MBaaS

  Mobile backend as a service provider Kinvey's new HIPAA-compliant offering, which runs on the Google Cloud Platform, tackles the problems of free-flowing mobile data.

• April 15, 2016 15 Apr'16

  Nyansa debuts tool blending monitoring with analytics

  Cloud-based analytics, real-time DPI and an easy-to-digest console anchor Nyansa's network performance monitor for wired and wireless networks.

• April 15, 2016 15 Apr'16

  SanDisk adds faster InfiniFlash all-flash array

  SanDisk's InfiniFlash System IF150 replaces the IF100 base hardware building block. The company also released its IF550 upgrade for OpenStack and Ceph storage.

• April 15, 2016 15 Apr'16

  Mitel to acquire Polycom for $1.8B

  Spurred on by activist investor Elliott Management, Mitel Networks has agreed to acquire Polycom in a $1.8B cash-and-stock deal.

• April 15, 2016 15 Apr'16

  Google cloud outage about more than just downtime

  A massive Google cloud outage this week went largely unnoticed compared to the type of outcry that accompanies downtime for its competitors – and that's not a good thing.

• April 14, 2016 14 Apr'16

  Responsible disclosure takes a beating on Badlock flaw

  The much-hyped Badlock bug is still important to patch, but raised issues with celebrity vulnerability promotion and responsible disclosure of security vulnerabilities.

• April 14, 2016 14 Apr'16

  Zadara adds objects to private cloud storage

  Zadara Storage's Virtual Private Storage Arrays that run in the cloud now support object storage and large flash cache for performance with the launch of Intelligent Object Store.

• April 14, 2016 14 Apr'16

  Aerohive's Wave 2 APs run on existing power systems

  Aerohive's latest Wave 2 access points are aimed at companies looking for higher speeds on existing Power over Ethernet infrastructure.

• April 13, 2016 13 Apr'16

  HPE unveils hybrid server, targets SMBs via channel partners

  HPE has launched a server-as-a-service offering that it will sell through channel partners, which will be able to add cloud services for small and medium-sized businesses.

• April 13, 2016 13 Apr'16

  FalconStor primes FreeStor to analyze storage health

  The FreeStor Analytics upgrade integrates code licensed from Cumulus Logic to aid in capacity planning, service-level management and storage health monitoring.

• April 13, 2016 13 Apr'16

  Evaluating the risks of HCI buys from newbie vendors

  Deciding between the new guy and the old standby has driven purchasing decisions for decades, but what do users think when it comes to hyper-converged infrastructure?

• April 13, 2016 13 Apr'16

  Windows PowerShell tied to more than a third of cyber attacks

  Security firm Carbon Black confirms widespread abuse of Windows PowerShell by attackers flying under the radar in line with the trend of exploiting operating systems.

• April 12, 2016 12 Apr'16

  Cloud delivery: Ingram Micro launches platforms for channel

  Taking advantage of its purchase of Odin Service Automation, distributor Ingram Micro has launched cloud delivery platforms geared toward channel partners.

• April 12, 2016 12 Apr'16

  Microsoft: Channel companies to see revised competencies

  Microsoft said partners have 18 months to move toward its revised competencies, which aim to help customers select the appropriate cloud technology partner.

• April 12, 2016 12 Apr'16

  Cloudian HyperStore can find lost objects

  Cloudian adds stronger data durability and resiliency capabilities to its HyperStore object software. The management software now includes an object GPS.

• April 12, 2016 12 Apr'16

  April 2016 Patch Tuesday has complex patches

  Microsoft's April 2016 Patch Tuesday includes a patch for Badlock, a vulnerability which experts call "overhyped", but the most important patches may need extra care to apply.

• April 12, 2016 12 Apr'16

  Micron all-flash includes NVMe drive, VSAN, Ceph bundles

  Micron Accelerated Solutions includes recommended all-flash hardware configurations for VMware VSAN and Ceph storage in its most recent server-side storage launch.

• April 12, 2016 12 Apr'16

  Windows 10 upgrade offer drives enterprise adoption

  More businesses plan to take advantage of Microsoft's free Windows 10 upgrade offer before it expires in July, but IT pros still have concerns about cost and privacy.

• April 11, 2016 11 Apr'16

  Microsoft taps app developers to bolster Office 365 Groups

  The Microsoft Connectors feature in Office 365's Groups has been expanded, with more than 50 third-party partnerships, months after the feature's release last November.

• April 11, 2016 11 Apr'16

  Cisco HyperFlexes hyper-converged muscles

  Cisco's HyperFlex hyper-converged strategy depends largely on startup Springpath's file system performing better than those from Nutanix, VMware and other competitors.

• April 08, 2016 08 Apr'16

  Professional services business development focus of new Gigamon program

  Gigamon introduced a program to help VARs and SIs build professional services practices around its platform; other IT channel news from the week.

• April 08, 2016 08 Apr'16

  Zendesk integration deepens Microsoft collaboration

  In UC news, Zendesk integrates with Office 365 Groups for customer service collaboration. Also, a report on mobility trends reveals that security concerns are effecting adoption.

• April 07, 2016 07 Apr'16

  Riverbed Partner Summit: New program aims to boost marketing

  Riverbed took the wraps off a multicomponent channel marketing program that includes marketing value proposition development, localization and marketing automation.

• April 07, 2016 07 Apr'16

  Rackspace debuts OpenStack-based private cloud packages

  Rackspace claims pre-configured hardware, software and services stack will smooth enterprise path to OpenStack-based clouds.

• April 07, 2016 07 Apr'16

  App performance optimization is a multicloud affair

  As cloud-based services and providers proliferate, application performance optimization grows increasingly complicated. What to do?