Monday Morning Impact – January 31

Kaspersky Issues Report on Cybersecurity Budgets, Insurance and Expectations

According to new research released by security vendor Kaspersky, 86% of IT decision makers surveyed in North America said their organization intends to set aside budget for cybersecurity, with 85% saying their budget would increase anywhere up to 50% in the next 12 months.

Understanding that yearly planning often happens in advance, Kaspersky commissioned a survey in October 2021 targeting 600 employees based in the U.S. and Canada who are key decision makers for the cybersecurity sector within their company.

In addition to uncovering overall budgeting for cybersecurity, the survey offers insight into how much budget is allocated specifically for cyber insurance. Accordingly, 28% of respondents said their company annually invests anywhere from $25K-$50k per year and added that the top three criteria they would be willing to meet in order to obtain cyber insurance includes security controls (70%), compliance (52%) and education (44%).

While investing in cyber insurance is a growing proactive trend, the survey also analyzed how businesses respond when reactively dealing with a cyberattack. When it comes to whom business employees hold most responsible for allowing a cyberattack to happen, vendors were the top choice (25%) with the internal IT team as a close second (23%). However, should a cyberattack occur, 41% of respondents said they would ask their cybersecurity vendor for more recommendations on what their organization could/should do to avoid future attacks.

“As cybersecurity continues to garner more attention for the volume and complexities of attacks, it is important for vendors to have a directional understanding of how businesses plan ahead for their cybersecurity needs,” said Rob Cataldo, managing director of Kaspersky North America. “Armed with this research, vendors will now be more informed when approaching potential clients and can speak more relevantly to their cybersecurity priorities in the year ahead.”

Channel Impact^®
The data underscore a huge opportunity for channel partners and other industry constituents in the months and years ahead.

Paul Bay Named Ingram Micro CEO; Alain Monié Becomes Executive Chairman

Ingram Micro Inc. has promoted Paul Bay to Chief Executive Officer, transitioning outgoing CEO Alain Monié to the role of Executive Chairman. Bay previously held the position of executive vice president and president, Global Technology Solutions.

“It is with a profound sense of pride that after ten years as Ingram Micro’s CEO, I am transitioning the role to a leader in Paul who clearly has the credentials and trust of his peers to continue to build on our industry leadership with a partner-first mentality,” said Monié. Over the past eleven years, Paul and his teams have dedicated themselves to our company and the industries we serve, demonstrating an unparalleled commitment to our people, our customers, our partners and our shareholders.”

Meanwhile, Kirk Robinson is promoted to executive vice president and president, North America. Robinson remains head of the company’s U.S. business, and takes on additional responsibility for Ingram Micro Canada, teaming up with senior vice president and Chief Country Executive Bill Brandel. Luis Férez is promoted to senior vice president and president, Latin America, adding oversight across the company’s businesses in Latin America, while also maintaining his responsibilities as Chief Country Executive of Mexico and head of Ingram Micro Colombia and Peru. Separately, Nimesh Davé, executive vice president and president, Global Cloud, has decided to pursue interests outside of Ingram Micro and will transition over the coming months. As a result, the Cloud executive team is now under Bay’s leadership.

“I’m honored to be CEO of such a phenomenal team and build further on our strategic imperatives to transform and modernize the way we do business, remove complexity for our partners, and be an indispensable business behind the many brands we serve,” said Bay.

As Executive Chairman, Monié will focus his time on working alongside Bay and Ingram Micro owner, Platinum Equity, to continue to generate growth and maximize value for the company’s customers, partners, and shareholders.

Channel Impact^®
All the executives who are part of this announcement are well-known professionals with close ties to the IT channel.

TD Synnex and AWS Forge New Alliance

TD Synnex has announced a new strategic collaboration agreement with Amazon Web Services, Inc. The agreement provides investment in resources to help small and medium-sized businesses and public sector organizations expand their digital business offerings by leveraging an enhanced range of AWS Cloud services.

Aspects include personnel commitments to aid businesses in implementing cloud technology to enhance partnerships, including additional resources for marketing, sales, technical, and project management; AWS-specific enablement resources; and reinforcement of existing AWS services and solutions.

“Over the last 18 months, we have seen a significant rise in demand and adoption of cloud solutions as businesses look to expand their digital offerings,” said Ruba Borno, vice president of Worldwide Channels & Alliances at AWS. “We are very excited to expand our relationship with TD Synnex and help businesses expand their customer base and bring new products to market.”

The agreement covers the North America, Latin America, and Caribbean regions, building off the momentum and success of a similar agreement that was executed in Europe in 2020.

Channel Impact^®
Building upon the existing relationship between the two companies, the agreement is expected to provide a significant expansion of cloud solutions for independent software vendors (ISV) and partners throughout the channel, enabling them to expand their offerings to reach larger markets.