We know it’s March Madness time! So while you were filling out your brackets, MSP Success was gathering this week’s channel news that you don’t want to miss. Find out what’s new for Microsoft AI Cloud partners; check out the latest from Keeper Security, N-able, and Redjack; and learn what Proofpoint says is the greatest cause of data loss (hint: careless employees).
Partner Programs
Microsoft Enhances Its AI Cloud Partner Program, Promises Pathway for Partners Serving SMBs
Microsoft this week announced enhancements to the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program, which launched last July. These include the expansion of AI skilling, boot camps, and events; new benefits packages with product enhancements like Microsoft 365 developer, increased Azure credits, and Visual Studio enterprise, to support AI practice growth; and new designations for partners to establish certified AI solutions or ways to differentiate themselves.
According to Microsoft, there are more than 13,000 partners building solutions with Microsoft Azure AI, serving more than 53,000 customers with generative AI capabilities alone. Microsoft says it saw a 250% increase in the number of generative AI-related partners in the past eight months.
Microsoft is also creating a pathway for partners serving SMBs across Azure Data & AI, Digital & App Innovation, Infrastructure, and Security. Later this year, the company will introduce dedicated SMB paths for Solutions Partner designations for Azure and Security, adding to the existing SMB paths for Business Applications and Modern Work.
For details on all the updates Microsoft announced, go here.
Products
Keeper Security Bolsters Visibility and Strengthens Security Measures
Keeper Security, a provider of zero-trust and zero-knowledge cybersecurity software, rolled out updates to its admin console user interface and a new onboarding experience.
This update streamlines information for admins, offering at-a-glance visibility into a range of metrics related to user behavior, security settings, and usage.
Among the updates are: 2FA settings, user transfer policy status, roles and teams now visible directly on user detail views, and shortcuts for copying information and linking between different screens. Additionally, within the “Enforcement Policies” menu, admins will now find the ability to enforce advanced 2FA policies, limit platform usage, define allowed record types, and set granular sharing policies.
New Disaster Recovery Masterclass For MSPs From N-Able
N-able, an IT management platform comprising RMM, data protection as-a-service, and security solutions, announced Cove’s ‘Master of Disaster Recovery’ Class. This free online course is aimed at supporting disaster preparedness for MSPs worldwide. The 60-minute classes will be conducted via GoToWebinar every two weeks on an ongoing basis.
The class also helps MSPs establish a recovery environment in local Hyper-V, VMware ESXi, or in Microsoft Azure. This includes critical recovery prerequisites and cyber-recovery best practices, equipping MSPs with the knowledge to make crucial decisions before a disaster strikes. Additionally, the class covers how to avoid the most common errors and pitfalls that often lead to recovery problems.
“The worst time to learn about disaster recovery is during a disaster, which is why we developed a free course to help MSPs better prepare for and play it smart when disaster strikes, and you have to respond quickly,” said Chris Groot, GM, Cove Data Protection, at N-able, in a press statement. “Cove’s ‘Master of Disaster Recovery’ Class is a live, hands-on, and immersive learning experience designed to equip MSPs with the confidence and expertise they need to implement best practices including how to design and deliver proactive disaster recovery as a service.”
Redjack Unveils AI-Driven Cyber Resilience Platform
Redjack launched its cyber resilience platform, which provides a comprehensive view of assets and dependencies within the context of their business functions. With this visibility, organizations can develop robust plans for information security, business continuity, disaster recovery, digital modernization, and more, and document compliance for regulators, according to Redjack.
The platform leverages sensor technology used by Redjack’s large public and private sector enterprise customers for over a decade. The non-intrusive sensor software captures objective communications data across on-premises, cloud, virtualization, and container environments to discover the complete set of an organization’s assets and connections. The platform incorporates data science and scoring to help organizations map assets to business functions and pinpoint potential risks.
Research
Proofpoint: Research Reveals “Careless Employees” Are The Biggest Data Loss Problem
Proofpoint, a cybersecurity and compliance company, released its inaugural Data Loss Landscape report, which finds that “careless users” are much more likely to cause data loss than compromised or misconfigured systems. Carelessness includes misdirecting emails, visiting phishing sites, installing unauthorized software, and emailing sensitive data to a personal account.
According to the report, 85% of surveyed organizations experienced data loss in the past year. More than nine in 10 of those affected faced a negative outcome such as business disruption and revenue loss (reported by more than 50% of affected organizations) or reputational damage (40%).
The report’s insights were supplemented with data from Proofpoint’s Information Protection platform and Tessian, which Proofpoint acquired last fall.
Misdirected email is one of the simplest and most significant sources of data loss: According to 2023 data from Tessian, about one-third of employees sent one or two emails to the wrong recipient.
About 20% of respondents point to malicious insiders, such as employees or contractors, as the cause of data loss. Departing employees are another cause of data loss, with 87% of anomalous file exfiltration among cloud tenants over a nine-month period caused by departing employees.
Privileged users are a problem too. Sixty-three percent of respondents say employees with access to sensitive data, such as HR and finance professionals, represent the greatest risk of data loss.
The good news/bad news? Proofpoint data shows that just 1% of users are responsible for 88% of data loss events.
Alliances and Partnerships
SugarCRM and Mediafly Partner To Integrate Sales Enablement And Content Management
SugarCRM, a sales automation platform provider, is partnering with sales enablement and content management company Mediafly. Mediafly for Sugar equips customer-facing teams with the content and analytics needed to provide engaging, personalized, and interactive buying experiences.
Mediafly for Sugar provides sales reps with the tools to prepare and discover content, share it with customers, and better understand how customers engage with the information. The solution leverages advanced AI, including machine learning, to optimize content performance, tracking customer meetings, sales content interactions, and sales performance.
The solution enables organizations to manage sales content at scale—consumable through any device, via online and offline channels and supporting all content formats—and syncs content and engagement analytics directly to SugarCRM.
