5 Companies That Came To Win This Week

The Week Ending Dec. 16

Topping this week's roundup of companies that came to win is Google, which through its new Android Things operating system is making a move to expand its presence in the Internet of Things market.

Also making the list is big data startup Databricks, which closed $60 million in funding; Attivo Networks, for launching its inaugural partner program; Aerohive, for positioning itself as a safe harbor for Brocade and Ruckus Wireless partners; and Dell EMC for paying rebates and market development funds to legacy EMC partners during an upcoming "gap month."

Not everyone in the IT industry was making smart moves this week, of course. For a rundown of companies that were unfortunate, unsuccessful or just didn't make good decisions, check out this week's Five Companies That Had A Rough Week roundup.

Google Shows Its IoT Smarts With "Android Things" Launch

Anticipating the potential of the Internet of Things market, Google this week debuted a new IoT operating system called Android Things that will make it easier for developers to build software for IoT devices and products.

Android Things includes a revamped version of Brillo, the software Google initially provided for developing "smart home" applications. Android Things also includes Android developer tools, Google cloud computing services and support for Weave, Google's IoT communication platform.

Android Things, available now as a developer preview, is a savvy move by Google to leverage the legions of Android developers to expand its presence in the nascent IoT arena.

Big Data Startup Databricks Closes $60 Million Funding Round

Databricks, the company founded by the creators of the popular Apache Spark open source processing engine, raised an impressive $60 million in Series C funding this week.

The San Francisco-based startup plans to use the money to continue developing and expanding its product, the Spark-based Just-In-Time Platform, to enhance the scalability of its data science capabilities.

New Enterprise Associates led the funding round with participation by existing investor Andreessen Horowitz.

Attivo Networks Launches Inaugural Partner Program

Looking to further embrace the channel, Attivo Networks launched its first partner program. The company said it would help partners drive revenue growth through new products and services and become trusted advisors to their customers by leveraging the vendor's deception-based threat detection technology.

Worldwide channels vice president John Quinn said the program is built on five pillars: building a bi-directional relationship with partners, strong financial incentives, sales success, marketing and training.

The program, with a single tier for authorized partners, includes sales incentives, training, marketing assistance, deal registration and other services.

Aerohive Attracting Brocade-Ruckus Channel Partners Amid Broadcom Uncertainty

Aerohive is taking advantage of the uncertainty created by Broadcom's plans to acquire Aerohive competitor Brocade Communications Systems and its Ruckus Wireless business.

Last month Broadcom struck a deal to acquire Brocade for $5.9 billion. Broadcom intends to keep Brocade's Fibre Channel SAN switching business and sell off Brocade's IP networking business – including the recently acquired Ruckus Wireless. That has left Brocade and Ruckus Wireless partners unsure about their future.

This week an Aerohive marketing executive told CRN that his company had been contacted by "dozens" of Brocade and Ruckus Wireless channel partners in North America and abroad about either becoming an Aerohive partner or expanding their investment in an existing relationship.

Dell EMC To Pay Rebate And MDF To Legacy EMC Partners For January "Gap Month"

Dell EMC said this week that it would allow legacy EMC partners to bank an extra month's worth of rebates and market development funds for January. The move is designed to tackle differences between the fiscal calendars of Dell and EMC.

Dell completed its $65 billion acquisition of EMC in September. Because EMC's fiscal year ended Dec. 31 and Dell's ends Jan. 31, some EMC partners wondered if they would be compensated for deals they close in January because of the "gap month."

This week Dell EMC global channel chief John Byrne told CRN that legacy EMC partners would earn rebate and MDF dollars in January as they normally would under the EMC Business Partner program.