CRN Online Spotlight
JUNE 2025
Report: Activist Investor Elliott Is Pushing For HPE CEO Antonio Neri’s Removal, Partners Plead Don’t Ignore HPE Transformation
'I am not surprised that Elliott would do this,' says Advizex CEO C.R. Howdyshell. 'However they could be underestimating the impact of removing Antonio. He has had a big positive effect on HPE internally and on customers and the channel.'
20 Coolest New Cybersecurity Products At RSAC 2025
At the RSA Conference 2025, vendors showcased new tools utilizing AI for powering security operations and protecting networks, email and cloud environments.
4 More Changes Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan Made To His Executive Team
CRN details four previously unreported changes Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan made to his executive team, which includes giving new responsibilities to CFO David Zinsner, naming longtime company engineer Pushkar Ranade as Tan’s chief of staff as well as making Intel’s chief communications officer and Intel Capital’s leader direct reports.
ServiceNow CEO McDermott: ‘We’re Running The Table In CRM’
‘Now with ServiceNow you can do the whole order management, fulfilling and servicing on one AI-driven platform instead of some bespoke AI agent talking with a disconnected silo somewhere in the world. When there’s probably 200 or 300 other silos in any given company, it doesn’t do anything but make things worse. So we’re straightening out the mess,’ ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott tells CRN.
APRIL 2025
Google Confirms Acquisition Of Wiz For $32B; Google Cloud Has Bold Plans
‘Wiz and Google Cloud share a vision to improve security by making it easier and faster for organizations of all types and sizes to protect themselves, end-to-end, across all major clouds,’ said Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian in a blog post.
F5 CEO: We’ve Flipped ‘Several Hundred’ Citrix Netscaler Customers
‘We have only scratched the surface, frankly, of the installed business of Citrix,’ F5 CEO Francois Locoh-Donou tells CRN in an exclusive interview.
Arrow Hikes US Prices In Response To Tariffs
‘Although the situation remains fluid, we want to keep you informed of potential impacts on pricing and order management,’ wrote Ben Klay, president of North America for Arrow ECS, in a letter to solution providers. ‘If tariffs are added as a line item on a quote or if a supplier adjusts its pricing to account for increased costs due to a tariff, our quotes will be updated accordingly.’
ConnectWise CEO: We’re ‘Ready To Compete Aggressively’ Against Kaseya
‘It’s all about how do we continue to innovate and help the MSPs progress, transform their business and become more efficient and profitable,’ ConnectWise CEO Manny Rivelo tells CRN. ‘We need to keep our heads down, constantly measuring every element of the business that drives success. Strategy without execution is just hallucination.’
FEBRUARY 2025
Microsoft VP Of Silicon Engineering Jumps To Google Cloud To Head Chip Technology And Manufacturing
One of Microsoft’s top silicon engineering executives—who helped launch its new Azure Cobalt processors and Azure Maia AI accelerators—has joined rival Google Cloud to lead its silicon chip technology innovation.
Intel Slugs AMD, Qualcomm With Core Ultra 200V Chips For Commercial Laptops
At CES 2025, Intel fights with AMD and Qualcomm in the AI PC arena with the launch of the Core Ultra 200V series for commercial thin-and-light laptops as well as four other chip lines due for commercial systems in different form factors.
10 Cybersecurity Startups To Watch In 2025
These up-and-coming companies are offering new approaches to key categories including security operations, email security and protecting the usage of GenAI.
MSP Shocker: Kaseya CEO Fred Voccola Steps Aside, Search For New Leader Underway
‘He was the face and the voice of Kaseya. When he was speaking, the company was speaking,’ says Mark Essayian, president of Kaseya partner KME Systems.
DECEMBER 2024
Microsoft Licensing, Billing Changes Hit Copilot, Enterprise Agreements
‘We wanted to make sure that it’s very clear to our partners that we’re making clear bets with them to help them deliver on customer expectations,’ says Microsoft Chief Partner Officer Nicole Dezen.
Cisco COO Jumps To AWS As VP Of Global Sales Operations
Pilar Schenk, a former Dell EMC, McAfee and Cisco top sales and operations veteran, is now Amazon Web Services’ new vice president of global sales. Here’s what her roles were at her former companies.
NetApp CEO Says Don’t Call NetApp A Storage Company
‘Storage is a part of intelligent data infrastructure, which combines unified data storage, intelligent services for data and workload optimization, and solutions that integrate those foundational capabilities with the big ecosystems that make it better for customers,’ says NetApp CEO George Kurian.
Cognizant CEO On ‘Becoming The First Partner’ In ServiceNow’s ‘Ground-Breaking Workflow Data Fabric’
‘The combination of all this coming together—the in-memory database with real-time data sitting with AI agents which are actually embedded into the workflow—will make this one of the most fascinating opportunities in enterprises,’ Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar S tells CRN.
OCTOBER 2024
5 Things To Know About ServiceNow Data Leak Discovery
A researcher from security vendor AppOmni uncovered more than 1,000 ServiceNow instances that have been exposing Knowledge Base data.
Dell Reorganizes To Capture $2.1 Trillion IT Spend: 6 Things To Know
'We are starting from a position of strength: We have leading end-to-end solutions, a world-class supply chain, unmatched Global Services, and unparalleled customer reach with the largest GTM [go-to-market] engine in the industry — giving us unstoppable differentiation in the marketplace,' Dell’s Bill Scannell and John Byrne told employees in a memo.
10 Huge AWS Exits And Hires From Google, OpenAI And Nvidia
Google has hired two top AWS and Microsoft former vice presidents who will lead the company’s newly formed Cloud AI business unit.
AWS, Google Partner Thoughtworks To Go Private In $1.7B Deal
Consultancy specialist Thoughtworks is being taken private for $1.7 billion, as its new restructuring plan now will “impact” hundreds of employees.
AUGUST 2024
The 10 Coolest Open-Source Software Tools Of 2024 (So Far)
Here’s a look at 10 open-source software tools – many for building AI applications or managing huge volumes of data – that are either already widely used or are gaining in popularity.
Microsoft Exec Althoff: VMware Pricing Gave ‘The World The Greatest Gift Of All’
'Everyone wants to get off of VMware and get into the cloud,' Microsoft Chief Commercial Officer Judson Althoff says.
Google Cloud Nabs AWS, Microsoft Copilot Execs To Lead AI
Google has hired two top AWS and Microsoft former vice presidents who will lead the company’s newly formed Cloud AI business unit.
How Nvidia Is Taking ‘This AI Revolution By Storm:’ WWT CEO
“What they have had in place today—the technology, the chips, the platforms, the software, the integrated platform—and what they’re building, is quite impressive to say the least. That’s creating an incredible opportunity for Nvidia, but also Nvidia partners,” says WWT CEO Jim Kavanaugh.
JUNE 2024
20 Coolest Cybersecurity Products At RSAC 2024
At RSA Conference 2024, vendors are showcasing new products in categories including SASE, security operations and application security — with many touting newly released, GenAI-powered cybersecurity capabilities.
AWS’ New CEO Garman Will ‘Crush It’; Partners Shocked At Selipsky’s Exit
In a blockbuster move, AWS CEO Adam Selipsky unveiled he is leaving the company on June 3, being replaced by longtime AWS executive Matt Garman.
Ascension: 'Systems Are Being Restored' After Cyberattack
'While we expect this process will take time to complete, we are making progress and systems are being restored in a coordinated manner at each of our care sites,’ Ascension said in an update.
Broadcom Tells Partner Negotiating For Charity ‘VMware Is Not For Everybody’
“The statement that came back to me from Broadcom was, ‘We appreciate that with these changes VMware is not for everybody,’” says Tom Smyth, head of technical solutions as Misco, a U.K.-based solution provider. “Everyone else can use it. Broadcom is not going to gear its decisions towards them anymore. … I can appreciate that. I can respect their decisions. It’s not something I would do personally.”
CRN's CJ Fairfield talks about regime change at Pax8 and how the company wants to bring solution providers into the next chapter of IT distribution.
Juniper Networks' CEO Rami Rahim talks about the sizable AI opportunity that exists for partners right now and shares advice for the channel on where to start.
APRIL 2024
The 21 Hottest Products At Nvidia GTC 2024
Nvidia over the years has built a huge ecosystem of the IT industry’s top hardware and software manufacturers who build cutting-edge products based on its GPU and other technologies. This week, the Nvidia GTC event provided a forum for showcasing some of those new hardware and software products.
Fortinet Discloses Two ‘Critical’ Vulnerabilities, Three High-Severity Flaws
The five newly disclosed vulnerabilities prompted CISA to release an advisory warning.
10 MSP Execs On How They’re Using AI Tools In 2024
The executives tell CRN that AI-powered tools are making an impact on their day-to-day management of IT for customers.
‘AI Is Google’s Birthright’: Google Cloud’s Partner Leader Explains AI Gameplan
Channel superstar Colleen Kapase recently left Snowflake to lead Google Cloud’s partner programs. Here is her plan to drive and enable AI for partners, as well as why Kapase believes Google will win the AI arms race.
Tiffany Ricks, HacWare CEO discusses doubling down on expansion in 2024 with a big move in partnering with Pax8 and joining the distributor's cloud marketplace to better serve MSPs' cybersecurity needs.
Coming to you from the XChange 2024, CRN's Steven Burke and Wade Millward spotlight the hottest topic at the show: AI and how solution providers are preparing to capitalize on it.
FEBRUARY 2024
Cohesity CEO On Plan To Buy Veritas Unit: ‘We Now Have The Scale And Speed’ To Meet Enterprise Data Needs
‘The focus of Cohesity has been enterprise, and as we put the companies together we want to keep the focus on enterprise. We’ll get to midmarket later. If you take on more than you can digest, it’s a distraction. So from our enterprise focus, [Vertitas] NetBackup and Aptare and Alta are enterprise products. So that was the focus in the combination,’ Cohesity President and CEO Sanjay Poonen tells CRN.
AWS-Backed Kubernetes Company Weaveworks Closes; CEO Blames Failed M&A
'We needed a partner or investor for long term growth. Finally a very promising M&A process with a larger company fell through at the 11the hour,’ says CEO Alexis Richardson.
NWN Carousel Acquired By American Securities, Takes Aim At $100B AI Flexible Workspaces Market
'With the size, scale, experience and just great reputation of American Securities we have the opportunity to triple the company once again to $3 billion in the next four years,’ says NWN Carousel President and CEO Jim Sullivan.
New Incentives For Dell Apex, PC and Storage: Five Changes To Dell’s 2024 Partner Program
Dell Technologies has a new channel leader in Denise Millard and a new channel program with plans to kick off the year by growing and modernizing its core business through partners.