Staying informed is a constant challenge. There’s so much to do, and so little time. But we have you covered. Grab a coffee and take five while you nibble on these news tidbits.
Cisco Partner Summit registration open
Cisco has opened registration for its Partner Summit, to be held virtually on November 9 in the Americas from 9 am – noon Pacific time (noon – 3 pm Eastern), and on November 10 elsewhere in the world. The full agenda has not been announced, but the company says it will include announcements of technology innovations, market insights, and a chance to learn together.
Kyrio announces testing as a service
Networking equipment testing and software services vendor Kyrio has announced its first testing as a service offering, FlexTest, which offers an automated, remote, and flexible way to test devices in real network environments. Customers ship a device to Kyrio, who hooks it up to a test bench and provides access to the customer via a web portal. The customer selects and runs the tests, viewing results in real-time, and has the option to leave the device with Kyrio for future testing of software updates.
Blancco joins AWS ISV Accelerate program
Data erasure and mobility lifecycle solution vendor Blancco Technology Group has joined the Amazon Web Services (AWS) ISV Accelerate program, an exclusive co-sell program for AWS partners who provide software solutions that run on or integrate with AWS. It provides co-sell support and benefits to connect with AWS field sellers globally, as well as reduced listing fees in the AWS Marketplace and discounts for AWS Data Exchange.
Blancco says that a key factor in its appointment was the global push for sustainability, which is causing companies to reassess their device lifecycle approaches. Sustainability will be a theme of this year’s AWS re:Invent conference.
FlexITy acquires managed IT business services division of Rally Enterprises
Richmond Hill, Ontario-headquartered technology integrator FlexITy has acquired the Managed IT Business Services Division of Toronto-based national network provider Rally. The companies said in a press release that they will work together to ensure a seamless transition for Rally customers and employees. Details of the deal were not disclosed.
“We’ve seen substantial growth with our residential telecom services,” said Paul G. Smith, chairman and chief executive officer of Rally, in the press release. “This divestment allows the Rally team to focus on better serving our residential customers and further growing our specialized healthcare services, while our managed services customers will benefit from the additional resources, solutions and specialists that FlexITy brings.”
Older Microsoft Outlook versions to be blocked November 1
Microsoft is reminding customers that as of November 1, only Outlook 2013 Service Pack 1 (with the October 2017 update) or later will be able to connect to Microsoft 365 services. The reasons are twofold: support for basic authentication is ending, and Microsoft is adding support for HTTP/2, a full duplex protocol, to Microsoft 365. Note that basic authentication will only be turned off starting November 1 for customers who are not currently using it, according to the Exchange Team blog. In early 2022, it will start disabling basic authentication for selected tenants for 12 – 48 hours, and then re-enabling it.
Basic authentication will be permanently turned off for everyone beginning October 1, 2022.
The company is providing more information and upgrade guidance to customers to assist them with their migration.
