5 Companies That Came To Win This Week

For the week ending July 22, CRN takes a look at the companies that brought their ‘A’ game to the channel.

The Week Ending July 22

Topping this week’s Came to Win list are Microsoft and Oracle for a collaborative effort that makes it easier for customers to use the Oracle Database by way of the Azure cloud.

Also making this week’s list are solution provider ePlus and security tech vendor Huntress for making strategic acquisitions. Cisco Systems makes the list for launching a new partner opportunity around its Webex collaboration platform. And Google and cybersecurity provider Mandiant passed a key regulatory milestone on the way to completing their $5.4 billion acquisition deal.

Oracle Co-Founder Larry Ellison (left) and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella

Microsoft-Oracle Collaboration Creates ‘A Great Opportunity For Partners’

Software giants Oracle and Microsoft are long-time rivals, competing – sometimes heatedly – across broad areas of IT including database software, ERP and CRM applications, and cloud platforms.

So the two vendors deserve kudos this week for announcing a new collaboration between them, the Oracle Database Service for Microsoft Azure. The fully managed service allows provisioning, accessing and operating enterprise-class Oracle Database services within the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), but launched and managed through Azure.

Users can run the Microsoft Power BI analytics tool against the Oracle database through the service. And there will be no charges for moving data between OCI and Azure.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Oracle CTO Larry Ellison appeared together – virtually – at Microsoft’s Inspire 2022 conference to unveil the new offering.

Nadella said the new joint service creates “a great opportunity for our partners to help customers run their most important Oracle apps and databases with Azure as they work to speed their cloud migration journeys.”

ePlus Expands Cybersecurity Reach With Future Com Acquisition

Global solution provider ePlus Technology took a big step this week to expand both its geographical reach and its cybersecurity resources with its acquisition of Future Com, a Grapevine, Texas-based provider of cybersecurity, cloud security and security consulting services.

EPlus already generates a half-billion dollars in annual revenue from security solutions and services, President and CEO Mark Marron told CRN. The Future Com acquisition will provide ePlus with additional service professionals and other resources to double-down on cybersecurity.

The acquisition also gives ePlus the opportunity to sell its own managed services and staffing capabilities to Future Com customers, according to Marron. And the acquisition provides Herndon, Va.-based ePlus with an opportunity to expand its operations in Texas.

Huntress Acquires Security Training Firm Curricula

Staying on the topic of savvy acquisitions, managed security platform and threat intelligence tech vendor Huntress this week acquired Atlanta-based startup Curricula, a provider of story-based security training for employees.

The acquisition, with a $22 million price tag, comes as businesses and organizations wrestle with the human element of cybersecurity, in addition to the technology component.

Curricula provides security training that’s based on behavioral science and uses storytelling and animation to teach employees how to recognize, avoid and thwart phishing and hacking schemes.

Huntress, based in Ellicott City, Md., will incorporate Curricula’s training services into its broader lineup of cybersecurity offerings,

Cisco Launches Webex Wholesale Partner Program With Focus On SMBs

Cisco Systems wins applause this week for its move to offer its Webex collaboration platform as a managed service through a wholesale route to market for channel partners who serve SMB customers.

Webex has become an especially popular offering since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that forced many people to work from home and rely heavily on collaboration and video conferencing services.

The new Managed Services for Webex creates a new market option for service provider and MSP partners. The wholesale model uses a single commercial agreement between Cisco and its partners and provides a self-service platform that partners can use to deliver managed services for Webex.

Partners can also use the platform to create their own co-branded offers.

Google-Mandiant Acquisition Closer To Completion After DOJ Ends Antitrust Review

Google and Mandiant are one step closer this week to completing Google’s $5.4 billion acquisition of the security superstar after the U.S. Department of Justice effectively ended its antitrust review of the planned acquisition with no objections to the deal.

Mandiant disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this week that on July 15 the DOJ granted early termination of the waiting period required under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Act.

Mandiant said in the filing that the early termination of the waiting period satisfies one of the conditions for completing the acquisition. Mandiant said the two companies still expect the deal to close by the end of the year.

Google is buying Mandiant, a leading provider of cybersecurity incident and response technology, to bolster its own security offerings.