Monday Morning Impact – August 31

Masergy Report: Continued Growth for SD-WAN

Masergy, a Dallas-based SD-WAN and cloud company, has announced the results of its 2020 SD-WAN Market Trends Report. For the third year, the study shows that SD-WAN adoption continues to grow with an ever-increasing interest in managed and co-managed offerings to navigate through the complexities of integrated network and security solutions. The timing of the survey during the global pandemic uncovered the challenges posed in a work-from-home environment with security and business continuity rising as top priorities.

The study analyzes responses from IT decision makers in global enterprises across a variety of industries. Findings reveal that security and network infrastructure are the top two areas of focus to ensure business continuity and enable remote work.

According to the report, enablement of remote work and collaboration tools are now top IT investments with 44 percent of respondents prioritizing the support of their homebound workforces.

Nearly two-thirds of survey participants report they are investing more in network infrastructure than they did last quarter, and SD-WAN adoption trends have continued to rise with each study. This year, 56 percent of respondents said they are piloting, installing, or upgrading SD-WAN installations. In 2017, that number was 35 percent.

Security remains an overwhelming focus with 91 percent of survey participants expressing interest in services that converge SD-WAN and security – also known as secure access service edge (SASE) solutions.

Multi-cloud connectivity ranks as the top SD-WAN capability (66 percent) as IT leaders look to address the challenges of cloud application performance and communications continuity.

Enterprises are shifting more toward wanting a managed SD-WAN solution with 45 percent opting for a fully managed approach, and 29 percent opting for co-managed, while just 25 percent prefer a do-it-yourself approach.

Channel Impact^®
SD-WAN is a key enabler for UCaaS, CCaaS, and a host of other modern services. These capabilities have gained additional importance as a result of Coronavirus and the ongoing trend towards WFH business environments.

Dell Extends Payment Flexibility Program

Dell Technologies has announced plans to continue its Payment Flexibility Program (PFP), originally launched in April as a $9 billion financing initiative to help fund critical technology needs. The company has announced plans to continue that program through October 30th, with payment deferrals until 2021.

The program offers zero percent interest rates and deferred payments for Dell Technologies infrastructure solutions, deferring their first payment until 2021. It also extends payments on servers and storage using up to two fixed 12-month extensions for flexibility to return or acquire hardware over five years. It also includes provisions for the expansion of PowerStore performance and capacity at any time in the contract.

Credit is available for channel partners through Dell’s Working Capital Solutions Program extending payments terms up to 90 days, and when combined with a Dell Financial Services (DFS) payment solution, the partner is promised to be paid more quickly.

Channel Impact^®
The program is designed to help customers access to a broad range of financial consumption models to keep their technology infrastructures running while helping to preserve capital and manage cash flow.

Alert Logic Launches MDR Partner Program for Managed Service Providers

Alert Logic, a Houston-based company specializing in SaaS-enabled managed detection and response (MDR), has announced a new tier of its Partner Connect program purpose-built for managed service providers (MSPs).

The new tier features portable licensing that accounts for market volatility, enables scale, and improves predictability; support from a team of designated security analysts providing 24/7 monitoring and management; branded security assessments; managed accounts dashboards; and various forms of marketing support.

“The Partner Connect MSP program is specifically geared to improve unit economics and derived value for Alert Logic’s strategic partners, so they experience a positive impact on both their bottom- and top-line growth,” said Chad Bacher, SVP and General Manager of Global Channels, Alert Logic. “By seamlessly integrating our fit-for-purpose design into the MSP‘s operating model, they are equipped to provide additional protection, insight, and response to their customers, significantly reducing time to cyber threat detection and remediation.”

Channel Impact^®
The new tier is expected to provide flexible pricing, SOC integration, and access to dedicated teams focused on the MSP business model.