ABI Forecasts Growth for Managed Security Services
Driven by increasing complexity of security requirements, the global managed security services market is forecast to reach $15.4 billion in 2015, and climb to $32.9 billion in 2020, according to new research from ABI Research. More businesses are turning to managed security service providers (MSSPs) that offer expertise and dedicated security personal as they face a lack of internal resources, rising threats and government regulations.
In 2014, there was a 49 percent increase in data breaches and a 78 percent increase in the number of data records stolen or lost compared to 2013, and cyber-criminals are not discriminating between large and small companies, reported ABI Research.
The report also finds that security as a service is gaining in popularity, thanks to its cost and flexibility. Cloud-based security services include Web application security services, identity and access management, and security information and event management.
Arrow to Acquire immixGroup
Arrow Electronics has signed a definitive agreement to acquire immixGroup, a value-added distributor that supports more than 800 value-added resellers, solution providers, service providers, and other public-sector channel partners with specialized resources to accelerate their government sales.
ImmixGroup offers IT solutions from more than 250 leading technology suppliers in addition to services that help IT companies conduct business with the government in the channel. The acquisition will expand Arrow’s Enterprise Computing Solutions’ public-sector IT presence.
Tech Data Launches Mobility Solutions and Retail Division
Tech Data has launched its new Mobility Solutions and Retail division. Tech Data’s Consumer Technology Sales team, formerly part of the company’s Integrated Supply Chain Solutions (ISCS) division, will also move to the new Mobility Solutions and Retail division.
The changes are designed to better serve the IT distributor’s vendor partners, solution providers and retail partners. The division will be led by Patrick Stokes, who has been promoted to senior vice president, Mobility Solutions and Retail.
Ingram Micro Invests in Vertical Market Strategy
Ingram Micro is making investments in key vertical markets, including education, federal, finance, health care, retail, as well as state and local government. The IT distributor also expanded its team to support the company’s growing vertical markets business.
As part of these investments, Ingram Micro plans to unveil a new Healthcare community in the second quarter, as well as launch a series of education tracks and enablement resources that will build expertise and speed up time-to-market for channel partners, said the company.
To support this growth, Ingram Micro named Anthony Vottima as the new executive director and general manager of its Vertical Markets business.
In separate news, Ingram Micro announced that it has acquired ANOVO, a provider of device lifecycle services, which will strengthen its position as a global repairs and regeneration services provider. ANOVO is a European-based provider of repair and regeneration solutions for high-tech products, such as smartphones and set-top boxes for customers in Europe and Latin America.
F5 Unveils Partner Training Program
F5 Networks has launched its Guardian Fast Start partner training program. The new global channel program is focused on technical enablement and services revenue opportunities for its F5 UNITY Partners. The program provides a post-sales technical development roadmap focused on four key elements: training on F5 products and solutions, technical certification, professional shadowing and delivery.
F5 also offers incentives to increase the short-term return on investment for the time spent in training. Partners who complete the program will gain increased services revenue, higher margins, and improved customer satisfaction and engagement through selling F5’s full suite of products and solutions, including post-sale professional services, said the company.
Wind River Expands Its NFV Ecosystem
In a move to accelerate service provider deployments of its network-functions virtualization (NFV) platform, Wind River has added several new members to its Wind River Titanium Cloud ecosystem. Through the Titanium Cloud program, partners validate and preintegrate their hardware and software offerings with Wind River Titanium Server and deliver solutions ready for deployment in live NFV networks, said the company.
Partners also provide solutions at all levels of the end-to-end architecture, including OSS/BSS, orchestration, VNFs and hardware server platforms. The latest members include Check Point Software Technologies, ConteXtream, Cyan, Intel Security, Ixia, Qosmos and Spirent. They join existing partners Artesyn, ASTRI, Brocade, Genband, HP, Kontron, Metaswitch, Nakina and Overture.
Dell Services Inks Deal With ServiceNow
Dell has signed an agreement with ServiceNow to provide its customers with enhanced IT service management (ITSM) platforms to deliver IT services more efficiently. ServiceNow extends Dell’s managed service portfolio with added standardization, automation and predictive analytics. The agreement also will advance Dell’s mature ITSM processes and Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Service Management through greater operational flexibility while focusing on entitlement, mobility and multi-partner environments, said the company.