Partner Trends #007
Your weekly source for news in the world of channel partners, strategic alliances, and partnerships.
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Around the Industry
Thoma Bravo, a private equity firm, has agreed to acquire RealPage, a leading global software and data analytics provider to the real estate industry, for $10.2 billion. In RealPage, Thoma Bravo is getting a full-service property management platform currently used by more than 12,000 customers.
Knoema, the premier data platform that makes the world’s data discoverable and usable, announced an agreement to be acquired by Eldridge, a holding company with unique finance, technology, real estate, and entertainment network businesses. Knoema currently holds one of the world’s largest data repositories, comprising 3.8 billion KPIs sourced from over 56,000 data sets.
Cisco announced the intent to acquire Dashbase, a software startup that providers data analytics technology for logs and events. Cisco plans to integrate Dashbase’s technology into its Cisco AppDynamics platform to enable customers to accelerate their digital transformation by providing greater insights into the case investigation and issue resolution process with support for metrics, events, logs, and traces.
RingCentral announced that it had acquired DeepAffects, a startup that provides conversational intelligence technology using AI. The DeepAffects platform already natively supported many popular communication platforms such as Zoom, WebEx, GoToMeeting, and RingCentral. The acquisition will allow RingCentral to deliver powerful AI capabilities to enhance pre-meeting, in-meeting, and post-meeting experiences for customers.
IBM announced an agreement to acquire Nordcloud, a cloud implementation leader, application transformation, and managed services. This acquisition further advances IBM’s hybrid cloud platform growth strategy to offer cloud migration and transformation capabilities by expanding its breadth and depth in managing complex integrations.
Bigtincan, a sales enablement automation leader, announced that it would acquire ClearSlide, a sales engagement platform leader. The acquisition will expand Bigtincan’s end-to-end stack to include access to buyer engagement analytics, email timing, and personalized video communication.
Partner Program Announcements
ColorTokens, a leading innovator in Zero Trust-based cybersecurity solutions, announced the ColorTokens Partner Program and Partner Portal launch. The partner program will provide distributors, resellers, and other technology service providers with resources such as access to training specialists, sales and marketing support, deal registration, and executive sponsorship to get started in the enterprise information security market.
Sage, the market leader for cloud business management solutions, announced the Sage Partner Cloud Program's launch for the U.S. and Canada. The Sage Partner Cloud allows partners to deploy Sage 100 and Sage 300 more quickly on the Microsoft Azure cloud. This will enable partners to fully tailor their deployment and manage ISV add-ons to meet their customer's unique needs at a pace that suits them and their business.
Knoema announced a partnership with Snowflake as a data provider in the Snowflake Data Marketplace. This partnership gives Snowflake customers access to thousands of data sets that will allow them to simplify the complex workflow of turning data into actionable insights.
Product Updates
Windstream Enterprise, a managed communications services provider, announced that it had integrated its Secure Remote Access user management capabilities to its WE Connect customer portal. WE Connect gives businesses real-time access to all the information about their communications services in one place. The enhancement will give customers visibility and control over remote worker access, cloud-based next-generation firewalls, and SD-WAN capabilities.
Galvanize, the global leader in SaaS governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) software, today announced a strategic partnership with Compliance.ai, the leading AI-driven regulatory compliance technology, to increase the regulatory content available in Galvanize’s HighBond platform. The partnership will enable Galvanize customers access to relevant regulatory updates instantly to stay ahead of complex changes.
Stack8, a provider of unified communications solutions, announced a partnership with RingCentral. This partnership will expand Stack8’s unified communications platform's capabilities for customers with operations across multiple countries that require cloud-based communications solutions to their remote workforce.
4 Partner Trends to Look For in 2021
Increased opportunity for vertical SaaS solutions - As the shift to the cloud continues, businesses are looking for solutions that target pain points within their industries. This opens up opportunities for SaaS companies to build and look for partnerships to develop purpose-built solutions for specific sectors. According to Flexera’s 2020 State of the Cloud Report, 20% of enterprises reported annual cloud spend that exceeded $12 million, and 74% reported a cloud spend of $1.2 million. Both are up year over year. 50% of SMBs reported their cloud usage would be higher than they initially planned.
Next-Gen wireless networks user new partner opportunities - As next-generation wireless networks continue to get deployed, the promise of IoT (Internet of Things) is starting to materialize. For example, as many companies weigh in returning workers to the office, the need for a healthier environment becomes paramount. All of this data will be collected and turned into actionable insights. For delivery, implementation, and support to be seamless, a robust ecosystem of partners will have to step up.
Remote working will continue to influence acquisition decisions - Since March, companies have rapidly shifted to a remote work environment that required many looking for better ways to collaborate and manage teams remotely efficiently. Automation solutions and digital tools that help employees work and collaborate globally will continue in 2021. This year, we witnessed software giants like Adobe, Verizon, HPE, Salesforce, and Cisco, making purchases to answer this need by becoming end-to-end service platforms. By becoming the center of these software offerings, existing partner ecosystems now have access to new overlapping customers and segments.
Investments in Partner Programs - With upward of 70% of global revenue coming from third-party channels, it’s not surprising to hear global companies such as Juniper, Cisco, and Amazon reinvest into their partner programs to provide greater coverage to enabling the success of partners in their ecosystems.
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