For the week ending Nov. 1, CRN takes a look at the companies that brought their ‘A’ game to the channel including Cisco Systems, Blue Mantis, Kaseya, ATSG, Evolve IP, and Siemens.

The Week Ending Nov. 1

Topping this week’s Came to Win list is Cisco Systems with the launch of Cisco 360, the company’s new partner program that’s designed to reward partners more for the value they bring to a deal rather than sales transactions.

Also making the list are leading solution provider Blue Mantis for its own savvy acquisition that expands its business intelligence and AI data readiness expertise. Kaseya strengthened its SaaS application cybersecurity offerings with its own acquisition. And Siemens added to its digital design and simulation software portfolio with a key acquisition.

And solution providers ATSG and Evolve IP make this week’s list for their deal to merge and create a new IT and managed services powerhouse with more than $230 million in annual revenue.

Cisco Launches ‘Cisco 360’ Channel Program That Puts AI At The Center

Cisco Systems tops this week’s “Came to Win” list with the launch of Cisco 360, the company’s new partner program that’s designed to attract more MSPs and MSSPs with a focus on the value partners bring to a deal rather than on sales transactions.

Cisco said Cisco 360 marks the biggest partner program refresh in the company’s history. “It’s the first material shift in how we evaluate partners since the original push into the [partner] ecosystem,” Rodney Clarke, senior vice president of partnerships and small and medium business, told CRN in an exclusive interview.

The new program, unveiled at this week’s Cisco Partner Summit 2024, recognizes a new era in which networking services, security and AI are king. The company’s pivot to rewarding partners based on value will open the door to more opportunities for “boutique” security and networking partners, Clark said.

The Cisco 360 program will do away with separate partner programs and incentives such as VIP, Perform Plus, and the Cisco Services Partner Program, or CSPP. These will be folded into a single structure called Cisco Partner Incentive (CPI), which was first discussed during the 2023 Partner Summit. CPI will mirror the overall value index that measures partners across four areas: the foundational, capabilities, performance and engagement, Clark said.

Cisco also announced an $80 million investment toward new initiatives to boost partner skills and provide the tools needed to compete in the market. Of that, $60 million will go toward supporting qualified partners with benefits such as all-access Cisco U. subscriptions for skill development and certification. An additional $20 million will fund Ladder Up, an investment for partners focused on AI, security, observability and networking through self-paced learning, hands-on labs and continuing education credits.

Blue Mantis Acquires SME Solutions Group, Gets A Critical Piece Of AI ‘Puzzle’

Blue Mantis has stepped up its AI solutions sales offensive with this week’s acquisition of SME Solutions Group, a Tampa, Fla.-based boutique business intelligence and AI data readiness provider with a formidable BI-as-a-service offering.

The acquisition provides Blue Mantis, Portsmouth, N.H., with a talented team of data experts – sometimes referred to by SME’s enterprise customers as a BI swat team – with deep expertise in getting data organized for AI projects and initiatives.

SME, a consulting and services company, has won big enterprise deals going up against AI and business intelligence system integrator behemoths and specialty industry integrators, according to Blue Mantis.

“SME has for many years been doing projects that were called data enablement, business insights or data analytics, but today it is called AI,” said Terry Richardson, Blue Mantis CRO, in an interview with CRN. “They bring AI experience, skills and capabilities that we want to provide to our customers and prospective customers.”

Richardson will oversee a new data analytics practice Blue Mantis is forming from the acquisition. “You can’t be successful with AI if you don’t have a good grip on your data. SME brings a much needed and desired capability around data analytics and business insights. AI starts with data.”

Kaseya Acquires Upstart SaaS Alerts, Unveils Kaseya 365 User

Kaseya this week acquired cybersecurity startup SaaS Alerts, which specializes in monitoring and securing software-as-a-service applications.

Kaseya has already integrated SaaS Alerts’ technology into Kaseya 365 User in a move to enhance its offerings around comprehensive, real-time protection for user identity and security across software-as-a-service environments.

The addition of SaaS Alerts’ technology is expected to strengthen MSPs’ ability to protect small businesses and their customers from an escalating number of cyber threats. The acquisition of Allentown, Pa.-based SaaS Alerts includes a team of about 50 employees.

This week at the company’s DattoCon conference in Miami, Kaseya also unveiled Kaseya 365 User, a new offering that gives MSPs the ability to help their customers prevent, respond to and recover from threats to user identity and security.

ATSG And Evolve IP Merge To Create MSP Powerhouse

Solution providers ATSG and Evolve IP this week said they will merge to create an IT services company with more than $230 million of revenue, more than 1,000 employees, and that serves over 950,000 end-users across 1,700 global customers.

ATSG is a leading provider of infrastructure-centric cloud, cybersecurity and IT managed services while Evolve IP is a leader in desktop-as-a-service, unified communications, contact center and other cloud services.

The transaction is expected to significantly expand ATSG’s services and solutions capabilities and further enhance the combined entity’s ability to “solve customers’ increasingly interconnected and complex technology challenges,” according to an ATSG statement. ATSG expects to integrate solutions from both companies into a “broader and stronger managed services portfolio” benefiting mid-size and enterprise customers.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. While the two companies will retain their respective brands, ATSG will hold a controlling majority stake in the newly combined entity.

“Evolve IP offers an innovative, market-leading suite of desktop-as-a-service, cloud-communications, and contact center solutions. Combined with ATSG’s infrastructure-centric managed services, we will strengthen our collective position in the market and provide better outcomes for our combined base of customers,” said Russ Reeder, CEO of ATSG and the go-forward CEO of the combined company, in the statement.

Siemens Expands AI-Powered Design And Simulation Portfolio With $10B Altair Acquisition

Returning to the topic of blockbuster acquisitions, Siemens AG is acquiring Altair, a developer of digital simulation, high-performance computing, data analytics and AI software and cloud services, for $10.6 billion.

Altair’s digital simulation software helps businesses predict how their products will work in the real world. Siemens said the addition of Altair’s technology to Siemens’ Xcelerator cloud-based digital business platform will help customers accelerate their digital transformation initiatives.

“The addition of Altair’s capabilities in simulation, high-performance computing, data science and artificial intelligence, together with Siemens Xcelerator, will create the world’s most complete AI-powered design and simulation portfolio,” said Siemens AG president and CEO Roland Busch.

Busch said acquiring Altair is the “logical next step” for Germany-based Siemens. “We have been building our leadership in industrial software for the last 15 years, most recently democratizing the benefits of data and AI for entire industries,” he said.