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Channel catch-up: News in brief
Developments this week at Axians UK, TD Synnex, Commvault, N-able, Beyond Now, NTT Data and Scality
The theme of the week is artificial intelligence (AI), with firms making moves to ensure they can deliver agents and services to customers looking for the channels support. There was also time for partner programmes updates, as well as innovations to the as-a-service model.
Axians UK
The services provider launched its enterprise architecture-as-a-service (EAaaS) offering, which can help reduce siloes and generate more wide-ranging thinking to help technicians drive growth.
Ian Parker, enterprise architect at Axians UK, stated: “Without a professional architect, every technical solution looks different. It’s like building a street where every house uses different foundations and materials; eventually, it becomes impossible to manage or maintain. Our service introduces a standardised design. Whether your network is in London, New York or Singapore, the architecture remains consistent, scalable and easy to manage.”
TD Synnex
As is often the case, it’s been another busy week at the distributor. It announced strong Q2 results, with a 31% in revenues to $19.6bn, with non-GAAP gross billings improving by 33.4% to of $28.9bn.
“We delivered a record quarter with broad-based strength across Distribution and Hyve, building on the momentum we have carried out of recent quarters,” said Patrick Zammit, CEO of TD Synnex. “Our results reflect consistent execution against our strategy.”
The distie also cut the ribbon on a Cisco Secure AI Factory with Nvidia innovation hub at its office in Paris. The facility offers partners and their customers the chance to explore and develop AI use cases.
Craig Smith, vice-president of data, AI and applications for Europe at TD Synnex, said: “As the only Cisco distributor in EMEA offering this Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA capability, TD Synnex is uniquely positioned to help partners accelerate AI adoption. By bringing together Cisco and Nvidia technologies in a collaborative environment, we turn innovation into tangible business outcomes.”
Commvault
The data resilience player has struck a strategic partnership with Microsoft that will offer the firm’s AI and cyber resilience technologies as a native ISV service on Microsoft Azure.
“For over 25 years, we’ve partnered with Microsoft and now we’re taking that collaboration to the next level,” said Sanjay Mirchandani, president and CEO of Commvault. “Many of our customers rely on Microsoft Azure to scale their business in the cloud, use AI, optimise operations and bring ideas to life. With this joint commitment, we can also make best-in-class resilience plug-and-play for Microsoft customers.”
N-able
The security player will be looking to partners to start selling its Shadow AI Visibility tool that works with its Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) solutions, N central and N sight, and its security operations platform Adlumin. The timely release taps into a growing user concerns around keeping control of their network estates.
“Organisations are embracing AI at an unprecedented pace, but many IT and security teams are struggling to answer a basic question: what AI tools are actually being used across their environment?” said Nicole Reineke, chief AI officer at N-able.
“Shadow AI Visibility helps to close that gap by providing actionable transparency into AI usage across endpoints and networks. Before organisations can govern AI, they need to understand where it’s being used. This capability gives customers the foundation they need to make informed decisions around security, compliance and responsible AI adoption.”
Beyond Now
The ecosystem orchestration and digital platform player has integrated with Microsoft’s AI Foundry to help CSPs move from pilots to full-blown AI implementations.
“AI agents will only create meaningful value for CSPs if they can be connected to real business processes, customer journeys and monetisation models,” said Angus Ward, CEO of Beyond Now. “Microsoft brings a powerful AI ecosystem which – combined with Beyond Now’s Agentic Hub, marketplace, billing and orchestration capabilities – helps CSPs turn agentic AI into services they can launch, sell and scale.”
NTT Data
The firm has launched an AI agent service that has been designed to help food, beverage and consumer good specialists with their planning. The offering will be launched next month and will help with early-stage planning, including making sure ideas are on the right side of compliance regulations.
“Product teams are under growing pressure to identify and capitalise on emerging consumer trends faster than current planning cycles typically allow,” said Mizuho Mitake, head of CPG, retail and process manufacturing for Japan at NTT Data. “Our new AI agent service is designed to give those teams the speed and structure needed to deliver the products customers want without sacrificing the rigor that real-world product development demands.”
Scality
The storage player has introduced the enhanced Scality Partner Programme that has been given a fresh lick of paint to provide greater value and better economics for its channel base. The key to the programme is to reward expertise, not simply volume, and to recognise and work with those partners that invest in the firm and its software offerings.
“The Scality partner programme is designed to reward what truly generates long-term success: technical excellence, solution expertise and proactive market engagement – not just signed contracts,” said Eric LeBlanc, Artesca general manager and channel chief at Scality. “Partners who build pipelines, educate their customers and develop the Scality footprint are those who capture the most value in this programme. And in the sovereign and AI markets, across EMEA, the Americas and APAC, it is precisely this type of partner that makes the difference.”
