5 Companies That Came To Win This Week
The Week Ending Oct. 5
Topping this week's roundup of companies that came to win is Computacenter for its bold move to acquire fast-growing solution provider FusionStorm to expand its presence in the U.S.
Also making the list this week are Palo Alto Networks for its RedLock acquisition deal that will expand its cloud security offerings, Hewlett Packard Enterprise for its expanded cloud data protection and management offerings, Igneous for guaranteeing partner margins through its first partner program, and QTS for its new channel-neutral compensation strategy that rewards sales reps for channel sales.
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 5 Companies That Had A Rough Week roundup.
Computacenter Strikes Deal To Acquire FusionStorm
U.K.-based Computacenter made a bold move to grow—and grow its presence in the U.S.—when it struck a blockbuster deal this week to acquire fast-growing solution provider FusionStorm.
The move gives Computacenter a strong foothold in the U.S. market with the addition of the services capabilities of San Francisco-based FusionStorm.
Computacenter is a $5 billion systems integrator behemoth in Europe. FusionStorm is a $600 million powerhouse with significant businesses in hyper-converged and software-defined systems and cloud consulting.
FusionStorm, No. 51 on the CRN Solution Provider 500, has recorded double-digit growth in recent years.
Palo Alto Networks To Buy Cloud Security Startup RedLock For $173 Million
Palo Alto Networks is stepping up its game in the market for cloud system security, striking a deal this week to acquire RedLock in a move the company said will allow it to offer the industry's most comprehensive multi-cloud security line of products.
Palo Alto Networks said the $173 million acquisition of the cloud security startup will expand its product portfolio with capabilities that help security teams replace manual security investigations with automated, real-time remediation.
Palo Alto Networks plans to create a single offering from the technologies of RedLock and Evident, which the company acquired in March for $300 million, providing cloud security analytics, advanced threat detection, continuous security and compliance monitoring.
HPE Signals Major Push Into Hybrid Cloud Data Protection, Data Management
Hewlett Packard Enterprise expanded its hybrid cloud data protection and data management technology offerings this week with the introduction of a new StoreOnce backup appliance and new integrations for its HPE GreenLake Backup-as-a-Service offering.
The company also unveiled a new version of its HPE Recovery Manager Central data protection and copy data management technology and extended its reach to include integration with HPE Nimble Storage.
The expanded product and service lineup are all part of a move to help HPE channel partners capture a bigger part of the fast-growing market for secondary storage, particularly in the cloud.
Igneous Guarantees Partner Margins With Launch Of New Channel Program
Data-management-as-a-service vendor Igneous wins kudos this week for launching its first partner program that aims to provide partners with improved growth prospects, profit margins and simplicity.
The new program incorporates a guaranteed partner margin model, deal registration, joint business planning and other benefits.
The program is designed to formalize the company's relationships with VARs, MSPs and direct market resellers as it tackles the market for unstructured data management technologies. The company has a 100 percent channel go-to-market strategy.
QTS Going All In On Data Center Partners With New Compensation Strategy
Data center specialist Quality Technology Services Realty Trust also gets a high five this week for revamping its channel strategy by shifting its salesforce compensation model in favor of solution providers while also ensuring that customer renewals include a partner.
The provider of software-defined and co-location services has implemented a channel-neutral compensation plan in which QTS sales reps will receive 100 percent of their commissions on deals that involve partners.
QTS will also work to ensure that all customer renewal negotiations in the future will include both QTS and the original partner.
About 52 percent of QTS' total revenue, across all lines of business, came from the channel in 2017. That number could grow to as much as 75 percent over the next 12 to 18 months, thanks to the revamped channel strategy.
Splunk and Cohesity also get shout-outs this week for their partner program expansion plans.