Monday Morning Impact – December 13

8×8 to Acquire Fuze

8×8, Inc., a Campbell, California based unified communications (UCaaS) vendor, has announced an agreement to acquire Fuze, a Boston-based cloud communications company, in a deal worth approximately $250 million in stock and cash.

Fuze has global operations dedicated to unified communications and contact center capabilities.

“The migration to cloud-based communications and engagement is accelerating as organizations worldwide shift to hybrid work models, creating a multi-billion dollar opportunity,” said Dave Sipes, CEO at 8×8. “The acquisition of Fuze expands our operational scale and extends our global presence as we meet enterprise demand for our XCaaS integrated UCaaS and CCaaS solution.”

“Enterprise customers recognize the importance of an integrated UCaaS and CCaaS solution,” said Brian Day, CEO of Fuze. “Combining resources and expertise with 8×8 is a natural fit, bringing with it needed scale and accelerating the pace of product innovation with differentiated solutions that capitalize on this massive opportunity, all of which will serve to benefit our enterprise customer base.”

The acquisition is expected to accelerate R&D; expand 8×8’s global presence, particularly in Europe; and provide new cross-sale capabilities.

The transaction is expected to close during 8×8’s fourth fiscal quarter, subject to the satisfaction of regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Channel Impact^®
The move will likely strengthen the value proposition for channel partners seeking to compete against many of the key players in the UCaaS/CCaaS space.

Juniper Networks Rolls Out Elite Partner Tier

Juniper Networks, a Sunnyvale, California-based networking company, has announced new enhancements to its Juniper Partner Advantage Program (JPA). Starting January, a new top-tier level of the partner program will be introduced. The vendor’s most successful and closely aligned partners will be able to leverage the Elite Plus level for superior support, investment, and rewards, along with dedicated business development and demand generation resources.

Juniper has also expanded the Champions program, adding role-based training journeys for both technical and sales teams, as well as access to collaborative workspaces, communities, demo platforms and events. New virtual sales pods create a shared workspace for partners and Juniper staff to communicate in real-time on account plans. A new Learning Academy platform has also been introduced.

JPA 2022 builds on the investments made in recent years with the acquisition of Mist Technologies, 128 Technology, Apstra and Netrounds.

“We believe our acquisition strategy and innovations have created the most compelling portfolio of networking solutions available today,” said Gordon Mackintosh, Vice President of Global Channel & Virtual Sales at Juniper Networks. “By bringing that spirit of innovation into the partner program, with a new elite tier and enhanced community, we plan to see rapid growth and expansion next year and beyond.”

Channel Impact^®
The enhancements are designed to reward loyal and successful partners while also improving interaction between Juniper and its partners.

Presidio, CrowdStrike and AWS Collaborate on Ransomware Toolkit

Presidio, Inc. has rolled out a new platform that defends against ransomware and sophisticated cyberattacks through a service combining the security capabilities of the New York-based solution provider with those of CrowdStrike, and CloudEndure, an Amazon Web Services (AWS) company.

The cloud-based “Ransomware Mitigation Kit” is designed to provide comprehensive visibility and breach protection across all digital assets. Capabilities include detection prevention, and mitigation while also preventing lateral spread of ransomware to other devices within or outside of the organization. Backup recovery features allow an organization to reclaim and restore lost or compromised data and applications. Leveraging AI and automation, the kit reduces manual effort.

“Tens of thousands of cybersecurity events occur on a daily basis that have the potential to cripple an organization for weeks or months at a time,” said David Trader, Field CISO at Presidio. “It’s not a matter of if your organization will experience a crippling cyber event, it’s a matter of when. Preparation is critical. Our new solution can stop ransomware in its tracks, saving immeasurable time, resources and money.”

The Presidio cybersecurity team has conducted thousands of engagements across all major industry segments.

Channel Impact^®
The Ransomware Mitigation Kit is intended to provide an end-to-end white glove service to identify and protect against cyber threats, detect, and respond to risks as they occur and recover all critical data and applications prior to the breach.