While everyone focuses on the cicadas crawling above ground after a 17-year nap, the tick population has exploded. The Weather Channel calls this a “”tick time bomb,”” and no phrase ending in “”time bomb”” is a happy one, right? Special warning to the upper Midwest, where lots of humidity and an early spring prompted a tick explosion.
Microsoft and SAP news. Microsoft, at its annual Build conference, told the world it wants to power the hybrid work model like it powers the desktop world, and that Teams is a crucial part of the plan. Developers have an entire new class of collaborative apps from Microsoft (sample pictured) to encourage third-party developers.
More goodies for developers include Azure Applied AI Services to make it easier to build AI-based applications. Need more database-oriented apps? Azure database services include multiple ways to tie into Azure SQL, Dynamics 365, and Power Platform applications.
Prep now for the third quarter and the launch of SAP PartnerEdge Cloud Choices, flex model. New revenue share, go-to-market model support to win more cloud customers, and more rewards for driving customer adoption.
Hardware news. Acer added two new members to its TravelMate P6 series of premium thin-and-light notebooks (pictured) with 11th Gen Intel Core vPro processors and Corning Gorilla Glass screens. All packed into a 0.6-inch high unit that starts at 2.2 pounds for the modern exec. For the creators, the Acer ConceptD notebooks add some new models as well, with NVIDIA RTX displays including a 16-inch model with a resolution of 3072 x 1920.
Less portable but just as exciting are the three new HDR Predator gaming monitors from Acer. The NVIDIA G-SYNC units range from 28 to 42.5 inches, with refresh rates of 155 Hz, 175 Hz, and 144 Hz, respectively. All have VESA DisplayHDR certifications.
Schools and enterprises glommed onto Chromebooks in a big way during the last 15 months. New glom-worthy models include the Acer Chromebook 317 (CB317-1H), the OEM’s first 17-inch model, and other display sizes of 13.5 and 14 inches.
Not every mobile user works on spreadsheets. For those with Halos around their Fortnites, Acer announced new Predator Triton and Helios series gaming notebooks. Wide range of 11th Gen Intel Core processors including i9s, NVIDIA graphics options, DTS:X Ultra audio, and more. To power those screens, peruse the new Acer Predator Orion and Nitro gaming desktops. All the same deets as the notebooks along with AMD Ryzen 5000 Series desktop processors available.
Speaking of AMD Ryzen, the new Acer Swift X ultrathin-and-light notebook can be loaded with the AMD Ryzen 7 5800U Mobile Processor and 16 GB of RAM. And, oh yeah, up to 2 TB of SSD storage.
Gamers need everything fast, including keyboards, hence the new Razer BlackWidow V3 Mini HyperSpeed compact and wireless keyboard. The 65% keyboard fits in a small space and provides low-latency gaming control.
Other product news. Prefer your container APIs, cluster management, workload scheduling, and so on consistent across your hybrid system? Then try the new Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS) Anywhere and run container-based applications on-premises.
Provisioning, monitoring, managing, and securing SaaS apps just got easier, says Augmentt, thanks to its newest app: Engage.
Time to get serious about Wi-Fi 6, and the new Aruba AP-635 (pictured), the first enterprise-grade Wi-Fi 6E access point and member of the 630 series of APs, has arrived to help.
The multicloud content governance team from Egnyte announced new integrations with Google Workspace and Dropbox.
Have some SMB customers that need more cybersecurity? Silly question. SOCSoter released Cyber Connect, a new Amazon Alexa Skill that answers questions about its cybersecurity status.
StorCentric company Retrospect announced general availability of Retrospect Backup18 and Retrospect Virtual 2021, featuring new ransomware protection and security enhancements. Protects data across Microsoft Azure, Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, and more.
Commvault introduced Metallic Backup for Microsoft Dynamics 365 with support for all three Microsoft clouds—Microsoft Dynamics 365, Microsoft 365, and Microsoft Azure.
Would you prefer real-time notifications for sysadmins in one place for security alerts? Lucky that Keeper Security rolled out Webhooks across all messaging platforms.
One Identity now provides its Active Roles and Password Manager products in a SaaS version called Starling CertAccess.
There’s a new version of Endpoint Health from Adaptiva which extends health checks and remediation capabilities to remote endpoints disconnected from the corporate network.
Process management and automation player Nintex outlined the innovation roadmap for its Nintex Workflow Cloud during Nintex ProcessFest 2021.
Remote desktop access solution RemotePC keeps things interesting with an enhanced web viewer designed to provide better performance by allowing users to securely access remote computers via a web browser without software downloads.
The word is out: StorMagic SvSAN and Zerto are now validated with HPE ProLiant servers through the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Complete Program.
There’s a new API for Zylo so you can add data about even more applications into the platform and export data into other business systems.
Data team, meet machine learning team, said Databricks as it launched the Databricks Machine Learning data-native platform. But wait, there’s more! Delta Sharing, an open protocol for securely sharing data across organizations in real time, has joined the Delta Lake project.
Storage startup 22dot6 launched what they claim is the industry’s first software-defined Transcendent Abstracted Storage System (TASS) architecture.
Non-product vendor news. CompTIA’s inaugural MSP Champions Council includes ChannelPro Peer of the Year Corey Kirkendoll (pictured) and recent ChannelPro Weekly podcast guest host Vince Tinnirello, plus 13 other folks from across the country. The group will be part of the CompTIA Information Sharing and Analysis Organization (ISAO).
Forcepoint welcomes two new executives: Peter Brant joins as senior vice president of North America sales, and Myles Bray comes aboard as senior vice president of EMEA sales.
Avant promoted Matt Bochenek to CEO.
Flexible customer financing for new products is always a good thing, so Tech Data launched Tech Data Capital, a captive finance company offering payment solutions.
UPSTACK has acquired consulting firm M2 Enterprise Group. Terms were not disclosed.
In order to help drive growth for its Broadcom Software program, Broadcom launched Expert Advantage, an expanded global channel services partner program.
M-Files announced an enhanced partner program with new onboarding and training programs and four new certifications.
You can now find Fortanix expanded security offerings in the Microsoft Azure Marketplace.
This week’s stats ticker:
Barracuda’s The Evolving Landscape for the MSP Business report for 2021 includes responses from more than 400 global partners. No surprise that 80% feel “”overall security”” was a significant business opportunity. Remote work leads the lucrative list with 90% of those responding tagging it as money-making opportunity. 59% have expanded their services portfolios in the last 12 months, but security remains the top driver in services. Another 59% expect to generate up to half of their overall income through services. Some of those services? Digital transformation, remote work adoption, and ransomware attack training and protection, all driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Proofpoint and the Ponemon Institute released a new study on “”The Cost of a Cloud Compromise and Shadow IT.”” Cloud account compromise costs reached an average of $6.2 million over a 12-month period, according to the 600 IT respondents in the U.S. 68% believe cloud account takeovers is a significant security risk to their organizations. More than half say the frequency and severity of cloud account compromises has increased over the past 12 months. Respondents reported an average of 64 cloud account compromises per year. Over half say phishing is the most frequent method attackers use to acquire legit cloud credentials. Oops. Over 70% support multiple identity federation standards.
Research commissioned by ThycoticCentrify with CensusWide polled 150 I.T. decision makers across the U.S. on the most common privileged access risks and zero-trust adoption trends. Nearly half experienced a data breach as a result of giving an employee or contractor too much access in the past year. 77% currently use a zero-trust approach in their cybersecurity strategy, and 42% listed cyberthreats as the top motivator for adoptions. Common barriers for adoption include complicated or inadequate security solutions (57%), fear of disrupting user experience (43%), budget (38%), and staffing resources (30%).
Our animal friends. The cicadas are coming! The cicadas are coming! And if a Maryland candy company has its way, they’ll be coming to your candy dish.
Yes, Chouquette Chocolates is selling cicadas dipped in either milk or dark chocolate (after being frozen, bathed in boiling water, coated in spices, air fried, and finally dropped in chocolate). If you’re feeling really brave, they’ll just give you the recipe and let you turn the cicada problem into a DIY project. Bon appetit!
Perhaps chocolate-coated cicadas were what the uninvited guests to a high school pool party were looking to score. During a Jefferson County High School Junior ROTC celebration, seven black bears in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, ambled out of their Great Smoky Mountain habitat, jumped in the pool, and took over the tennis courts.
Yep, bears crashed the high school JROTC party. Not a one of the ingrates saluted properly.
Photo: Chouquette Chocolates
