5 Companies That Came To Win This Week

The Week Ending Dec. 18

The birth of a channel program at Bigleaf Networks, an executive shuffle at Apple and a date set for Dell's cybersecurity unit, SecureWorks, to go public top our list of companies that had a stellar week. Also earning Friday cheers is a big $1.2 billion plan by NetApp to gobble up storage firm SolidFire.

Finally, in a CRN exclusive report, storage firm Carbonite earned a "way to go" for bolstering its cloud security through an acquisition of a top-notch security vendor.

For a list of those companies that a rougher time this week, check out CRN's 5 Companies That Had A Rough Week roundup.

Carbonite Expands Its Cloud Data Protection Tech To Midrange With EVault Acquisition

Cloud data protection vendor Carbonite is moving upscale into the midsize business market with an acquisition of the disaster recovery and business continuity business EVault from Seagate.

Boston-based Carbonite, known primarily as a provider of cloud-based data protection services to consumers and small businesses, said Wednesday that it has signed an agreement to purchase most of EVault's operations for $14 million in cash, in a deal expected to close in January.

Partners Give Apple Executive Shuffle Thumbs-Up

Partnered hailed a bevy of Apple executive moves revealed Thursday, describing them as a way for company to ’move faster, smarter and with more focus into the future.’

Apple named Jeff Williams as chief operating officer, a position left vacant since Tim Cook was promoted to CEO in 2011. Williams, who is being promoted from his current position as senior vice president, is a 17-year Apple veteran who previously oversaw Apple’s supply chain and service and support segments of the business.

Apple also made a slew of additional changes to its executive roster including promoting Johny Srouji to Apple’s executive team as senior vice president for hardware technologies. He previously held the position of vice president of hardware technologies. Srouji's background at Apple has included being involved in chip sets, sensor silicon and application processors for products across Apple’s massive product line.

NetApp To Make $1.2 Billion Bid For SolidFire

NetApp is negotiating to buy all-flash storage array vendor SolidFire in a possible $1.2 billion bid that could be announced as soon as this week, CRN has learned.

The acquisition of SolidFire would give NetApp -- which is in the process of rebuilding a storage business that has been declining over the past year or so -- access to one of the pioneering startups in the all-flash storage array business.

Dell Sets Date For SecureWorks IPO

Dell made it official Thursday and set a date for its initial public offering of its SecureWorks cybersecurity business, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SecureWorks will be listed on the Nasdaq exchange under SCWX, though the filing did not say how much the offering was expected to raise or the expected share price. Reports said the valuation could be as much as $2 billion. The SecureWorks business includes managed security services, threat intelligence and incident response.

Partners said the separation provides more validity to the SecureWorks security business as vendor-agnostic and will allow it to invest further in the company, though it would still maintain a close relationship with Dell.

Bigleaf Networks Sets Sights On MSP Partners, Launches Reseller Program

Bigleaf Networks knows different species of channel partners have different needs. So, in an effort to reach a broader cross-section of partners, Bigleaf is rolling out a reseller program for managed service providers, CRN reported exclusively earlier this week.

Portland, Ore.-based Bigleaf offers networking services for the redundancy and optimization of Internet and cloud traffic. The company has always sold its products through indirect channels, with its existing channel program primarily consisting of telecommunications agents.

The new MSP-focused reseller program helps support providers that are more intimately involved with their end customers from an IT consulting and support standpoint. The program will help MSPs offer a help-desk-like solution for customers built on Bigleaf's products.