5 Companies That Came To Win This Week

The Week Ending Aug. 1

This week's roundup of companies that came to win includes gains by IBM and Microsoft against Amazon Web Services in the cloud computing market, Michael Dell's investment in video surveillance vendor Eagle Eye, Cisco's new partner certifications for SDN and Internet of Things technologies, CDW's solid financial performance, and Webroot's channel program initiatives.

Microsoft and IBM Gaining On AWS In Cloud Arena: Report

Microsoft and IBM significantly grew their shares of the $13 billion cloud market in the second quarter, according to a report this week from market researcher Synergy Research Group. And while Amazon Web Services continues to lead the pack, in time it could lose that lead to Microsoft.

While AWS' share of the cloud market (including Infrastructure-as-a-Service, Platform-as-a-Service, and private and hybrid clouds) grew 49 percent in the quarter, Microsoft's share soared 164 percent and IBM's grew 86 percent, according to Synergy. IBM "now has clear leadership in the private and hybrid infrastructure services segment," Synergy research director John Dinsdale said.

Eagle Eye Wins Investment from Michael Dell

Cloud managed video surveillance vendor Eagle Eye got a major boost this week – both financially and on the visibility front – when it received a multimillion-dollar investment from Dell founder Michael Dell and his family. "The cloud will transform video surveillance just as it has other areas," Dell told CRN in an email.

Eagle Eye has been attracting a lot of attention lately (CRN included the company on its Coolest Emerging Vendors list) and the financial endorsement from Dell should keep that ball rolling. The startup will use the funding to expand the infrastructure supporting its Security Camera Video Management System to meet growing demand.

Cisco Offers SDN, Internet Of Things Partner Certifications

Software-Defined Networking and the Internet of Things are two leading-edge technology areas gaining a lot of attention in the networking arena. Cisco this week took steps to enable its legions of channel partners to get in on SDN and IoT deals.

Cisco unveiled a series of partner certifications that will help partners go to market with the vendor's SDN technologies, including its Application Centric Infrastructure and Application Policy Infrastructure Controller. On the IoT side Cisco introduced the Cisco Industrial Networking Specialist certification that will be a requirement for solution providers to sell Cisco IoT products.

CDW Nearly Doubles Q2 Profit, Reports Strong PC Sales

It's been a good year for CDW since the company went public in June 2013. This week the solution provider (No. 8 on the CRN 2014 Solution Provider 500) reported that net income for its second quarter soared 85.5 percent to $86.6 million. Sales grew nearly 12 percent to $3.1 billion – the first time in the company's history quarterly sales exceeded $3 billion.

What's more, while the PC industry has generally been in a sales slump, CDW reported strong sales of desktop, notebook and tablet computers across all of the company's customer channels.

Webroot Expands Channel Program, Reseller Recruitment Efforts

Antivirus security software developer Webroot is expanding the programs and resources available through its partner program as the company, which has transitioned to a channel sales model over the past year, seeks to grow its base of resellers in North America.

Webroot has already built a global base of 1,200 resellers as it expanded its presence in the small and midsize market. The enhanced channel program, including new marketing, training and support offerings, will help those partners grow their Webroot business and help the vendor recruit additional resellers.