Microsoft Extends its Services Partnership with EY
Less than a year after the formation of the EY Microsoft Services Group, both companies are extending the partnership for five years. The group created by the accounting, business, and technology services provider this week said they are boosting their collaboration to build new solutions and platforms that will enable their respective enterprise clients to modernize their back-office IT operations. Microsoft is EY’s largest alliance partner. According to EY, 80 percent of its clients’ solutions are platformed on Microsoft Azure. Already, 1,600 businesses run EY’s new Azure-hosed global tax platform, and the goal is to scale that so that 20,000 clients are on it during the next five years, according to a videorecorded explanation by EY chairman and CEO Carmine DiSibio. The EY Microsoft Services Group will also accelerate its effort on helping clients digitize their supply chains. And, EY wants to expand its Canvas audit methodology tool, which also runs in Azure, with plans to embed compliance and risk capabilities.
ServiceNow Taps Deloitte’s Erica Volini to Accelerate Channel Efforts
ServiceNow is signaling that it plans to boost its channel and go-to-market efforts with the hiring of Erica Volini. Set to join later this month, Volini is a veteran of Deloitte Consulting, currently a ServiceNow elite partner. Volini will take on the newly created position, SVP of global alliances & channel ecosystem (ACE) go-to-market (GTM) operations. “ServiceNow has heard from customers that they want us to continue to lean into our partner relationships as we support them in accelerating their digital transformation journeys,” according to a blog post last week announcing Volini’s appointment. ServiceNow also said it plans to acquire Swarm64, a company based in Berlin that provides a PostgreSQL-based analytical and transactional platform designed to automate and process workflows. ServiceNow said the acquisition of Swarm64, set to close by the end of next month, will expand the scalability of its Now Platform. ServiceNow this week also announced that it has agreed to acquire Mapwize, which provide indoor digital mapping software.
Jenne to Distribute SIPPIO Tool that Voice-Enables Microsoft Teams
Value-added distributor Jenne this week said it will carry SIPPIO, a platform designed to migrate legacy voice environments to Microsoft Teams. Jenne will provide SIPPIO to telecom agents, IT systems integrators and managed service providers (MSPs) throughout the U.S. According to a recent description of the platform, it is a mesh distributed across 8 Azure regions using certified session border controllers (SBCs). The fact that its platform runs entirely in Azure, SIPPIO claims that boosts security and ensures compliance. It keeps all voice traffic in a protected network and will not use the internet for SBC-based based intra-communication. In Azure, SIPPIO imposes IP-based rules that limit public exposure to the internet and is designed to provide low latency. To ensure uptime, the SIPPIO stack dynamically expands and is split across different availability zones.
Ocra Security Launches Partner Program
Ocra Security, a provider of various SaaS-based malware detection, workload protection and vulnerability prevention tools, this week launched a global partner program. The company said the program targets partners consisting of global systems integrators, solution providers and referral partners. It also focuses in its three cloud service providers, AWS, Microsoft and Google Cloud. Ocra’s SideScanning technology runs on the three providers’ platforms, enabling partners to onboard the company’s different offerings. The program also includes technology partners. Among them are Atlassian Jira, ServiceNow, Splunk, Okta, PagerDuty, Slack, OpsGenie, Axonius, IBM Radar and Sumo Logic. Ocra said it is seeking additional partners, who can apply here.
Ingram Micro Cloud Touts Growth of AWS Certifications
Ingram Micro Cloud this week said it has racked up 200 AWS certifications since the two companies formed a global strategic collaboration agreement (SCA) earlier this year. The certifications represent a milestone that Ingram Micro Cloud said signifies its added competence to work with its network of roughly 1,000 AWS Partners. Ingram Micro Cloud said the certifications provide credibility among its IT pros.
Cradlepoint Gives its Partner Portal a Facelift
Cradlepoint has revamped its partner portal, offering a more simplified way to engage with the provider of wireless WAN and 5G network edge hardware. The company this week described its new Cradlepoint Cascade portal as a new engagement platform that gives partners access to customer accounts, training and deal registration.
Vitriana SaaS Observability Platform Available in AWS Marketplace
Virtana, which offers what it describes as a unified observability platform, is now available in the AWS Marketplace. The Virtana Platform, which provides on-premises data collection is designed to assess costs and risks of migrating to AWS. Virtana, which is a member of the AWS Advanced Technology Partner Program, said it is working with systems integrators with AWS expertise to tap their expertise and methodologies focused on migration.