Channel catch-up: News in brief

Schneider Electric

The power specialist is on the hunt for partners to join its Zeigo Activate Marketplace.

The platform connects solution providers, electrical contractors, system integrators, panel builders and design firms with SMEs that are looking to improve energy efficiency, reduce energy bills and achieve their sustainability goals.

Partners who join will be able to offer Zeigo Activate, an intuitive decarbonisation solution from Schneider that collects and analyses energy data, enabling businesses to establish a carbon emissions baseline, set measurable decarbonisation targets, calculate ongoing Scope 1 and 2 emissions, and connect with solution providers who can help them with their roadmap to meet both sustainability and efficiency goals. 

“Everyone has a role to play in our journey towards net-zero and businesses of all sizes are under pressure to decarbonise their operations,” said David Williams, Schneider Electric’s vice-president of transactional businesses, UK&I.

“We are looking for partners who understand the evolving energy landscape and are committed to delivering innovative solutions to drive energy efficiency and decarbonisation for their customers. By joining Zeigo Activate Marketplace, partners will benefit from the growing demand for energy efficiency solutions, but will also contribute to a more sustainable future.”

OVHcloud

The firm has cut the ribbon on a “local zone” in Dublin, using technology from gridscale, an OVHcloud company. The zone offers services including compute, object storage, block storage and networking.

 “The opening of our new Local Zone in Dublin is the next step in our plan to bring better support to Irish businesses of all kinds,” said Emma Dennard, vice-president of Northern Europe at OVHcloud.

“Although we’ve been working with companies in the region for some time, we’re very happy to have a physical footprint in the city of Dublin itself,” she added.

Westcon-Comstor

The distributor has unveiled a unified leadership structure across its European business after promoting Rene Klein to the role of executive vice-president for the region. He was previously head of Westcon Europe, and in his expanded role will now also take charge of the firm’s Comstor arm across the territory.

“My vision is to leverage the unparalleled expertise within both Westcon and Comstor to deliver consistent and world-class experiences, creating a future-ready and connected organisation with a shared culture and mindset rooted in a relentless focus on driving partner and vendor success,” he said.

David Grant, CEO at Westcon-Comstor, said that Klein had demonstrated leadership skills in his role running Westcon Europe. “By bringing our European organisation together under his unified leadership, we are creating a simplified structure that provides consistency in partner and vendor experience while ensuring Westcon and Comstor maintain a distinct identity and offering,” he said.

SonicWall and Sophos talk MDR

Those in the security channel offering MDR services have something fresh to look at from SonicWall and should also find Sophos reports of financial benefits from using the technology a fresh spin to add to the sales pitch.

Both vendors work extensively with the channel, and SonicWall has indicated its latest offering will appeal to managed services providers.

The SonicSentry MXDR – a managed solution that can be sold by MSPs – covers protection across a wide attack surface, and includes the CrowdStrike Falcon platform.

“SonicWall has always been committed to delivering cost-effective, enterprise-level security solutions to small businesses, which are increasingly targeted by sophisticated cyberattacks,” said SonicWall president and CEO Bob VanKirk.

Meanwhile, at Sophos, the emphasis is on the financial benefits of MDR, with the firm sharing research that indicated those using the technology experience 97.5% lower cyber insurance claims.