Anyone else notice that 20 plus 20 equals 40, like 40 days and 40 nights? For emphasis, 2020 is now threatening to slam not one but two hurricanes into the Gulf Coast this week. How rare is that? Last time it happened was September 5, 1933. But don’t fall into a depression, be happy as we catch up with all these newsbits that snuck by this week.
Security news. ConnectWise rolls out its first IT Nation Secure virtual conference on October 14-15 this year. Aimed at technology solution providers, there’s a free version and a paid option with access to content after the event. Ask about the new ConnectWise Certify Advanced courses, a 12-month program.
Feel like a mashup? How about the new Acronis True Image 2021 with real-time antimalware and AV combined with personal backup tools? Protect the computer and data in one box. Aimed at small businesses.
With new network options popping up, like 5G and those supporting the Internet of Things, security needs an upgrade. Hello to the Trend Micro Mobile Network Security solution, coming next spring.
Netsurion’s EventTracker platform folds in Deep Instinct’s deep learning endpoint security solution to provide all four layers of the predict, prevent, detect, and respond cybersecurity model. You can get this as a stand-alone product or as part of the EventTracker SIEM.
You can now shop the Microsoft Azure Marketplace for Mimecast’s Email Security for Azure Sentinel. Log email activity in real time and track same in Azure Sentinel.
Security awareness training company KnowBe4 just launched a research arm and its first Security Culture Report. Here’s a shock: security culture and awareness matter hugely in company security effectiveness. Worst performers (pointing fingers) were from education, transportation, and energy and utilities.
Now on the shelf? Asigra Cloud Backup with Deep MFA. No, not a Master of Fine Arts, but Deep Multifactor Authentication. Passwordless sign-in now available throughout the software stack to keep data on multiple levels safer.
Ranchers know that when all the cows get loose, some stay gone. Same with workers going remote, since many don’t want to return to their corral, er, cubicle. Forcepoint’s Dynamic Edge Protection integrates Ericom’s remote browser isolation capabilities. The cloud-native SASE tools help against growing spear phishing attacks and deliver a zero-trust browsing experience.
MSPs can now use Alert Logic’s Partner Connect program to provide security tools that detect vulnerabilities, compromise, suspicious behavior, and advanced threats. Tailor-made MSP pricing and more.
Other product news. Quick, jump into Warrior Pose to face the onslaught of five new Lenovo Yoga laptops (pictured). Windows 10, built-in Amazon Alexa functionality, rapid charging for the long-running batteries, and super-fast Wi-Fi 6 in a flexible package. Intel and AMD Ryzen processor options.
- Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i (13-inch)
- Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Pro (14-inch)
- Lenovo Yoga 7i laptop available in 14-inch and 15.6-inch
- Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 Pro (14-inch)
- Lenovo Yoga 6 (13.3-inch) convertible laptop
The term “”home office”” never seemed more serious, so some serious storage makes sense. Hello to the new Buffalo 12 TB LinkStation SoHo Network-Attached Storage boxes with hard drives included. Oh yeah, some new LinkStation 200 Series models as well.
Make your contact center smarter now that the Amazon AWS Contact Center Intelligence (CCi) services are available through AWS Partner Network. Cloud-based learning services, text-to-speech and natural language understanding, and more.
Ooma wants to help its small and midsize phone customers handle networking as easily as their phones. Hello to Ooma Wi-Fi, which includes multiple networks, QoS, guest networks, abuse prevention, and three different access points.
Since we’re talking about phones, how about the Vonage Contact Center now integrating seamlessly with Microsoft Dynamics 365. Nice that your contact tool of choice makes it easier to actually contact people.
Spin up some new versions? Yes, if we’re talking VMware Fusion and VMware Workstation desktop hypervisor solutions. A new edition of Fusion Player as well helps support developers and workflows and expand VMs to Kubernetes. While they were at it, VMware revved up their VMware vRealize Cloud Management on-premises and Software as a Service offerings. AI powered self-driving operations with Kubernetes, monitoring, and more included.
Nutanix became the first HCI platform certified for SAP HANA scale-out, making it easier and faster for greenfield and SAP HANA migration deployments. Verified with the BWH benchmark.
New goodies in Red Hat OpenShift and Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management for Kubernetes use AI and machine learning industrial manufacturing use cases. Manage and scale hybrid cloud environments from a single point. Goes along with the availability of Red Hat OpenShift 4.5 and OpenShift Virtualization. Break down barriers between traditional and cloud-native infrastructure.
Non-product news. Rola Dagher takes over as global channel chief at Dell Technologies on September 7. The former Dell employee spent three years at Cisco before returning.
Paul Hunter, formerly worldwide head of partner sales at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, is now the company’s managing director for North America.
The very next day, September 8, Poly welcomes Dave Shull (pictured) as president, CEO, and member of the board of directors.
Former Microsoftie Andy Lees joins the board of Azure deployment and management MSP Nerdio.
Let’s pull the curtain on the newly expanded Axcient Partner Program. Four tiers, each offering more goodies like training, early product access, marketing help, and sponsorships. More here too.
Set the alarm for this year’s CloudBlue Innovators Virtual Forum from October 12-14. Get the deets on innovations across digitization, subscription management, cloud, remote work, marketplaces, channel enablement, automation, cybersecurity, and more.
Veritas SaaS Backup tools are available to channel partners worldwide on the Ingram Micro Cloud Marketplace.
And look, U.S. resellers and MSPs can now find Arcserve Cloud Direct in the Ingram Micro Cloud Marketplace as well.
Konica Minolta just acquired Depth Security. The cybersecurity consulting company has a team of information security engineers with oodles of security experience to share with Konica Minolta’s All Covered managed services outfit.
This week’s stats ticker:
No one here is surprised to learn that use of public cloud services increased last year. The IDC Worldwide Semiannual Public Cloud Services Tracker gives details, like IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS revenues up 26% over 2019. Totals hit $233.4 billion. The Big 5 public cloud providers (Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Salesforce.com, Google, and Oracle) grabbed more than a third of the world total, growing 36% year over year. The market has doubled since 2016. SaaS apps led, with $122 billion last year. The COVID-19 push scattering workers here and yon makes IDC confident the numbers will go up up up next year.
Malwarebytes’ Enduring from Home: COVID-19’s Impact on Business Security report surveyed 200 IT and cybersecurity decisions makers from small to huge businesses. 20% reported a security breach because of a remote worker. 24% paid unexpected expenses to address fallout from a breach or malware attack. 28% admit they use personal devices for work-related activities more than their work-issued devices. COVID-19 related malware AveMaria jumped up 1,219% from January to April 2020. NetWiredRC malware saw a 99% increase from January to June, primarily aimed at small and medium-sized organizations. Not surprising, since 45% of groups did not perform security and online privacy analyses of software tools deemed necessary for work from home collaboration.
Jumping on the security report bandwagon, Fortinet’s 2020 Remote Workforce Cybersecurity Report sums it up in the title: “”Enterprises Must Adapt to Address Telework Security Challenges.”” 30% of orgs expect more than half of their employees to work remotely after the pandemic. Some 60% expect to spend more than $250,000 in secure telework investments over the next 24 months. New security challenges pop up every day with the influx of non-trusted devices on corporate networks, thanks to work-from-home employees. 64% plan to upgrade or adopt SD-WAN but specifically for the home office. That adds dynamically scalable performance. 17% got into Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) support before the pandemic while 16% signed up during the mess.
The nose knows. Kids put small things in all sorts of wrong places, like in drawers and under beds and inside shoes. They also swallow them and at least at our house, stick them in their ears (hello, emergency room).
So, it wasn’t unusual that the parents of Sameer Anwar of Dunedin, in southern New Zealand, couldn’t find a tiny Lego hammer a couple of years ago. A doctor couldn’t find it, either. Sometimes these things turn up later and sometimes not. Sameer was fine, so no big deal.
Until last Sunday. Sameer took a big sniff of pink cupcakes and complained that his nose hurt. No problem thought his mother. She helped him blow his nose to get the cupcake crumbs out.
Nope—Sameer chuffed out that old Lego piece, now covered in fungus.
The amazing part of this? Not that kids put junk in all the wrong places. It’s that Sameer’s parents searched for a missing single, small Lego piece. What parent does that? As long as your kids have both arms and legs, you’re happy. A single Lego piece? Who knows where that is?
In Sameer’s case, his nose.
