While the ConnectWise ScreenConnect vulnerabilities and post exploitations reported by security professionals have dominated the industry news this week, there were some other happenings around the channel.
Partner Programs
Sophos Launches Dedicated Partner Care Offering
Cybersecurity company Sophos added a new offering to its global partner program. The new Sophos Partner Care provides a single point of contact, 24/7, for quoting, navigating the partner portal, addressing licensing queries, not for resale (NFR) requests, and more.
“Sophos’ sales team previously provided this support to partners,” said Kendra Krause, senior vice president of global channels and small business sales at Sophos, in an email interview with MSP Success. “With a dedicated new Partner Care team of specialists, we can now streamline operations and speed up response times and overall time-to-task resolution.”
While Krause says the partner portal is easy to navigate, “we’re always looking for ways to improve usability. Partners sometimes benefit with additional support on administrative tasks—transferring a license or changing a customer name, for example. Partners now have a dedicated team of specialists available to them if they need that extra support.”
In addition to Partner Care, other enhancements to the global partner program include an additional 5% reward on top of a deal registration discount for partners selling Sophos Managed Detection and Response (MDR). This expires March 31, 2024. In addition, said Krause, “We have expanded and enhanced our spiff program as well as added a few other promotions this quarter.”
Sophos also recently added Veeam integration to its MDR and XDR solutions. “Recognizing the need for always-on security operations and secure backups as critical security layers, it was a natural fit for Sophos and Veeam to team up and jointly help MSPs and partners better protect end user organizations with integrated solutions.”
She added, “New integration of the Veeam Data Platform with Sophos MDR advances the security of critical backups against ransomware attackers that attempt to change or delete a customer’s backups in an effort to pressure them to pay the ransom. The new integration provides MSPs—and their customers—peace of mind that backups are protected.”
The Sophos Partner Care and additional partner enhancements are available now.
Workspot Expands Channel Program With Its VDI Platform Engineered for MSPs
Workspot has extended its virtual desktop integration (VDI) platform to support MSPs, allowing the resale of Workspot software platform licenses and the integration of Workspot’s platform into their own managed services.
“At Workspot, we recognize the unique challenges channel partners and MSPs face, which is why we’re offering partners access to a platform purpose-built by [a] former MSP, for MSPs,” said Jim Garrity, channel chief at Workspot, in a press statement. “With the inclusion of our MSP model, we’re equipping our partners with a diverse array of solutions suited to adapt and overcome the uncertainties of today’s VDI market.”
“Workspot was built from the ground up with MSPs in mind,” said Brad Tompkins, president and COO at Workspot. “Our platform’s inherent elasticity, multitenancy, and intelligent automation redefine what’s possible for MSPs.”
According to the company, MSPs can offer 99.99% reliability and availability using Workspot hybrid multicloud, multi-region design with global desktop. Workspot Control, Watch, and Trends enable single console management, real-time monitoring and alerts, and historical insight for proactive protection and intelligent planning, respectively.
Products
GoTo Introduces AI Assistant for GoTo Resolve
GoTo, a unified communcations and IT management and support provider, rolled out the GoPilot AI assistant for GoTo Resolve. GoPilot can provide a comprehensive view of endpoints, automate diagnostics, guide users through resolutions, and learn as it goes, according to the company. GoPilot utilizes OpenAI’s API platform and a GoTo-owned AI stack.
GoPilot capabilities include: automated collection and analysis of data across all network devices, including resource utilization and update status; live AI-powered translations of languages displayed on the end-user screen; automatic screenshot capturing and analysis in the background of support sessions; and automatic identification of missing updates with a link to the appropriate solution page with flagged devices and updates preselected.
The company says agents will also soon have the ability to create additional automation capabilities with GoPilot to automatically scan for, detect, and resolve issues.
People
Syncro’s CEO, President and Board Member Emily Glass Departs
Syncro’s Emily Glass posted on LinkedIn that she is leaving the company three years after she was appointed CEO. She wrote: “I am grateful for some time to reflect, refresh, and refocus before taking on my next adventure.”
