Channel partner programs: Quiz yourself on new developments

The partner conference season continues apace with a packed schedule and, on top of that activity, there's a steady supply of new channel partner programs and revamped initiatives to ponder. Need a quick rewind of recent events? Here's an overview of what we are covering in this installment of the channel news quiz:

Partner conferences: The soon-to-be-merged EMC and the data center-pursuing Lenovo both hosted partner conferences in May. Channel companies are monitoring events to get a sense of future partnering directions.

Channel partner programs: Unify, Sophos and Silver Peak -- operating in the unified communications, security and SD-WAN spaces, respectively -- are just a handful of companies launching, overhauling or updating partner activities.

Disaster recovery: Channel partners can't afford to fail when it comes to protecting themselves and their customers. Certification programs are available in the DR and business continuity field.

Data center technology: CIOs are paying more attention to converged infrastructure and hyper-convergence technology, and hardware vendors are maneuvering to grab market share. The vendors' path to the enterprise often involves channel partners.

IT security: Nearly everyone believes this is a big growth area for service providers, but not everyone agrees on the optimal service mix. Service providers are tinkering with their portfolios to boost their appeal with customers.

Robotic process automation: Large service providers, particularly IT/business processing outsourcing vendors, are adopting robotic process automation for an efficiency edge. The technology may eventually move downstream to smaller channel companies.

Scoring:
10 correct answers: Channel champion
7-9 correct answers: Channel maven
0-6 correct answers: Learning channel