5 Companies That Came To Win This Week
The Week Ending Feb. 1
Topping this week's roundup of companies that came to win include Dell, CrowdStrike and SecureWorks for their alliance to make it easier for channel partners to secure Dell laptops and desktop PCs.
Also making the list this week are Cisco, AttackIQ, AMD and Intel.
Not everyone in the IT industry was making smart moves this week, of course. For a rundown of companies that were unfortunate, unsuccessful or just didn't make good decisions, check out this week's Five Companies That Had A Rough Week roundup.
Dell, CrowdStrike, SecureWorks Forge Alliance To Secure Endpoints
Dell this week teamed up with CrowdStrike and SecureWorks to create a joint offering that provides endpoint protection, managed security and incident response around Dell laptops and desktop PCs.
The new joint security offering is targeted toward mid-market customers, state and local governments, and educational institutions that lack their own SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) platform and Security Operations Center.
The partnership is focused on licensing and go-to-market efforts that allow cybersecurity to be bundled with the initial device purchase. Customers can receive support around the CrowdStrike and SecureWorks products from a single contact at Dell.
The new offering will be sold by Dell’s sales force and Dell partners.
Cisco To Acquire Singularity Networks
Networking giant Cisco Systems announced a deal for a savvy acquisition this week that will expand the company’s network analytics offerings for its solution provider and MSP partners.
Cisco is acquiring Singularity Networks, a developer of software for real-time network infrastructure and traffic analytics across cloud and premises-based environments.
Adding Singularity Networks’ network analytics software into Cisco’s network automation portfolio will allow service provider and MSP partners to extract and manage large volumes of data and analyze it to identify potential threats and avoid system downtime and outages.
Cybersecurity Startup AttackIQ Launches Partner Program With Guaranteed Margins
AttackIQ wins kudos this week for debuting its first-ever partner program, pledging guaranteed margins for all opportunities and promising to transact 100 percent of its business through the channel.
The developer of continuous security validation technology said the new Accelerate Channel Partner Program could nearly double the margins solution providers can earn from AttackIQ.
The margins will hinge on the role partners play in landing new business with different margin structures for partner-transacted business, partner-influenced business and partner-registered deals.
AttackIQ is also providing additional market development fund incentives for authorized partners that register and close deals. And the company is developing a partner sales enablement program.
The company currently has 20 partners and plans to double that by the end of 2019.
AMD Escapes Shareholder Scrutiny As It Gains CPU Market Share
Like Intel, AMD is forecasting slower growth in 2019, but the company ultimately impressed Wall Street with its fourth-quarter earnings on the strength of its processors gaining market share in client computers and data centers.
AMD CEO Lisa Su said roughly 65 percent of its $1.42 billion in Q4 revenue came from new products, including AMD’s Ryzen client and EPYC server CPUs, as well as its data center GPUs. She said Ryzen gained market share for the fifth straight quarter while AMD reached its goal of market share in the mid-single digits for EPYC.
While the company is forecasting slower growth in the first half of the year, Su said she expects business to ramp up with the company’s mid-2019 launches of 7-nanometer Ryzen and EPYC processors. The company is also launching a 7nm Radeon GPU in February.
Intel Names Interim Leader Bob Swan As CEO
After a seven-month search for Intel’s next CEO, the company decided to appoint its interim leader and CFO, Bob Swan, to a permanent leadership position.
Swan, who joined Intel as CFO in 2016, had previously said that he wasn’t interested in the permanent CEO role, but he apparently came around to the idea.
“When the board approached me to take on the role permanently, I jumped at the chance to lead this special company,” he said in a statement.
Intel partners applauded Swan’s appointment as the company’s seventh CEO in its 50-year history but said it’s important that he puts a greater focus on the channel.