Partner Trends #013
Your weekly source for news in the world of channel partners, strategic alliances, and partnerships.
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Around the Industry
WPVIP, the leading provider of enterprise WordPress and part of Automattic’s suite of brands, announced that it had acquired Parsel.y, a top analytics solution provider. By incorporating Parsel.y’s capabilities for real-time content analytics and personalized recommendations engine, WPVIP customers will gain access to improved real-time content performance and its impact on web traffic to make informed decisions that will have the most significant influence on their business.
SentinelOne, an autonomous cybersecurity platform company, announced that it had acquired Scalyr, a cloud-based data analytics platform, for $155 million. The acquisition of Scalyr adds real-time data analytics that gives SentinelOne’s partners access to a more extensive suite of solutions for customers looking for ways to analyze and query massive amounts of machine and application data with unparalleled speed and cost-effectiveness.
DoorDash has announced that it has acquired Chowbotics, an automated food preparation company. Chowbotics is best known for Sally, a robot that resembles a vending machine that can create customized salads, bowls, cereals, and snacks. Chowbotics has currently deployed Sally to hundreds of locations, including hospitals, universities, and grocery stores. The acquisition gives DoorDash news ways to expand its offerings to restaurants that use its platform today and potentially into new brick-and-mortar businesses outside its traditional customer type.
Match Group has announced that it has acquired Hyperconnect, a leading social networking company, for $1.725 billion. Hyperconnect is based in Seoul, South Korea, and currently operates Azar and Hakuna Live. Azar is the highest-grossing global 1-on-1 live video and audio chat app with over 540 million downloads since its launch in 2014. Hakuna Live is an interactive social streaming app downloaded more than 23 million times since its launch in 2019. The acquisition will give Match Group the ability to offer its customers a richer experience thru live video and audio engagement.
Partner Program Announcements
Recruiter.com announced the launch of a new partner program for its hiring platform. More than 27,000 small and independent recruiters utilize its video technology as part of their hiring processes. The new program will offer partners incentives and access to an automated onboarding interface to host all necessary marketing assets and affiliate collateral.
Acronis has unveiled new updates to its CyberFit Partner Program. The existing program updates emphasize supporting partner development and rewarding service providers and resellers for their expertise, commitment, and growth with Acronis. Enhancements to the program include financial incentives based on program levels, additional sales and marketing support, sales and technical training, and faster technical support. Acronis will also launch a new partner portal in March to improve management and communication with partners.
Leading subscription commerce platform, AppDirect, has launched a new partner program for system integrators. The System Integrator Partner Program provides SIs with tools to help accelerate time to market with new technical and sales training, documentation, referral fees, platform sandboxes, and access to co-marketing materials.
Nexus, an AP automation leader for real estate companies, has launched a new reseller and referral partner program. The program will allow companies to expand their current offerings and benefits, such as access to product training, sales enablement, and other support to ensure success. Nexus software is currently used by 1 in 5 of the top real estate companies and now has more than 50,000 users.
Partnership Announcements
Following the recent acquisition of Uber Advanced Technologies Group, Aurora has reached a deal to partner with Toyota and Denso to develop and test vehicles equipped with its self-driving technology. According to Aurora, the joint development work will lay the foundation for mass production and launch of Toyota-built vehicles on ride-hailing networks such as Uber. Aurora will also explore the mass production of autonomous driving components with Denso and create a services platform with Toyota to manage financing, insurance, and maintenance.
IBM and Palantir Technologies announced a new partnership to simplify how businesses build and deploy AI applications with IBM Watson. The new partnership will help users access, analyze, and take action on large amounts of data across hybrid cloud environments without the need for extensive technical skills. The new product, Palantir for IBM Cloud Pak for Data, is planned for availability in March.
Ford and Google Cloud announced a six-year strategic partnership to reinvent the connected car experience. A new collaborative group, Team Upshift, will leverage both companies' talent and assets to create new personalized experiences for Ford customers and access Google Clouds’ expertise in AI, ML, and data analytics technologies to accelerate Ford’s digital transformation. Starting in 2023, millions of future Ford and Lincoln vehicles will be powered by Android with Google apps and services built-in.
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