Monday Morning Impact – September 3

Impartner Acquires Amplifinity

Impartner, a Salt Lake City-based Partner Relationship Management (PRM) vendor, has acquired Amplifinity, which comes to the table with referral partner management software to help formalize management of emerging “shadow channel” partners. According to Impartner, the shadow channel of non-traditional partners has emerged because business unit buyers increasingly turn to disparate groups such as industry-based consultants, service providers and independent software vendors to help implement technology, given their role as trusted advisors.

“The shift in today’s partner landscape is tectonic,” said Impartner CEO Joe Wang. “With factors such as changing business models due to SaaS companies and the shift to business unit buyers from IT, an increasingly omni-channel environment has emerged to serve the customer no matter how they reach out.”

“This acquisition underscores that emerging partner groups have moved into the main stream mix for corporations everywhere and need to be managed as such,” said Amplifinity CEO Bill Weissman. “Traditional and non-traditional partners are the new normal for corporations everywhere, and by bringing our technology together with Impartner’s, customers now have a complete tool set to maximize their business relationship with every type of partner and accelerate revenue for everyone.”

The acquisition is built around Amplifinity’s referral marketing software, which automates and formalizes the referral process for lead generation and includes its incentive management technology and integrations to a suite of payment fulfillment providers to support this new generation of partners.

Amplifinity’s team will remain in the company’s Ann Arbor, MI, offices, adding a Midwest team of developers to Impartner’s global Channel Innovation Labs, made up of engineers, data scientists, UX and UI professionals and channel strategists.

Channel Impact^®
It’s widely anticipated that vendors will need to develop strategies for handling the emergence of the “shadow channel,” if they have not already done so. This acquisition positions Impartner to better address this part of the market.

Synnex Expands its Cybersecurity Portfolio via Sophos

Synnex, a Greenville South Carolina-based distributor, announced that it has expanded its cybersecurity portfolio with the addition of Oxford, UK-based Sophos, a network and endpoint security vendor.

“Adding Sophos is another important step in the continued evolution of our cybersecurity business and delivers exciting new opportunities for resellers,” said Reyna Thompson, Senior Vice President of North American Product Management at Synnex. “By pairing Sophos’ leading products with our dedicated internal resources, we are able to deliver innovative solutions to help customers address this critical market segment.”

Sophos claims a customer base of nearly 400,000 organizations in more than 150 countries through a network of more than 47,000 partners and Managed Service Providers (MSPs).

The Sophos security portfolio is designed to address a wide variety of security functions pertaining to endpoints (laptops, mobile devices and servers), networks, and web/email traffic. All of its produces are managed through a central cloud-based platform. Additionally, Sophos’ security products leverage “Synchronized Security,” which shares threat information in real-time to respond automatically to incidents.

“Sophos is committed to helping partners and their customers protect against cybersecurity threats with the industry’s most innovative next-generation security solutions,” said Erin Malone, Vice President of North American Channel Sales. “SYNNEX’ deep cybersecurity expertise and strong track record in helping resellers implement solutions naturally complement Sophos’ channel-first, channel-best programs.”

A Fortune 200 corporation, Synnex provides distribution, logistics and integration services for the technology industry plus a variety of outsourced services.

Channel Impact^®
The agreement enhances the overall Synnex cybersecurity offering while providing partners with security management tools in an era of rapidly increasing and evolving cyberthreats.

Exclusive Networks Forges Aerohive Networks Alliance for Cloud Network Management

Exclusive Networks, a San Jose, California-based company specializing in cyber security and cloud transformation, has announced a U.S. and Canadian partnership with Aerohive Networks, which focuses on cloud-managed networking. The joint goal of this collaborative effort is to expand Exclusive Networks’ delivery of services and help customers benefit from Aerohive’s network offerings, including Cloud-Managed Wireless, Switching, Routing, and Security technologies.

Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Milpitas, California, Aerohive Networks made its mark in the IT services industry offering networking products that embraced the rise of Cloud Management, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. Known best for its Controller-Less Wi-Fi and Cloud-Managed Networking, Aerohive’s latest lineup includes the company’s 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) Access Points, its cloud-agnostic A3 Network Access Control enterprise-grade solution, and the AI-Driven HiveManager Network Management System.

Exclusive Networks is a global specialist VAD for cybersecurity and cloud solutions, providing access to various vendor portfolios plus pre- and post-sales technical support, leasing, training, professional services and global project management.

Channel Impact^®
As is the case with most distribution agreements, the new alliance is likely to open new markets for Aerohive Networks while simultaneously augmenting the Exclusive Networks portfolio.