Channel Brief: Dell Explains AI Factory, Informatica AI Research, Pinecone Goes Serverless and More

Hi, folks! It’s Wednesday, and we have some great AI-related stuff for you today, including a report from Jessica C. Davis at Dell Technologies World.

Last year, the focus at Dell Technologies World was on multi-cloud, with AI receiving just a mention. But this year, Dell took that nascent AI product roadmap and demonstrated that it has gone all-in. AI is now its unifying theme and the driver behind a key concept in the company’s strategy: The Dell AI Factory. That AI Factory comes in the form of products across the company’s huge portfolio of products and services from the edge to the cloud, together with technologies from strategic partners, too. You can check out the full story here.

In other AI-related news, Horizon3.ai has created two new executive roles and named two new execs to fill them, Informatica has product news, including around its generative AI, CLAIRE GPT and Pinecone’s serverless vector database is now generally available. Hope you’re having a great week!

Are you an MSP that partners with public cloud service providers? It’s time for you to step up and get recognized. ChannelE2E opened its annual Top 250 Public Cloud MSPs survey. This is the survey that we use to create our annual Top 250 Public Cloud MSPs ranked list. Here’s the link to participate.

And don’t forget to submit your idea for a session at the upcoming MSSP Alert Live event! MSSP Alert Live is the premiere cybersecurity event for MSPs and MSSPs. (You can submit your proposal here.) We’re looking for speakers like you who want to share insights and experience and wisdom with peers.

Please check out our industry Mergers and Acquisitions list, updated daily, with an archive that goes all the way back to 2020. Check out the whole thing here. Scroll down for a quick view of upcoming in-person channel and MSP events at the bottom of this post (while we spiff up our industry calendar behind the scenes. It will return!)

And please send your news tips, information, and industry chatter to senior managing editor [email protected].

Today’s Tech, Channel and MSP News

1. Horizon3.ai’s Executive Appointments: Horizon3.ai announced two new executive appointments in newly created roles to address growing demand for the NodeZero autonomous security pentesting platform. First, Erick Dean joins as vice president of product management. Known for being an accomplished product management leader, Dean will put together a high-performance product management and UX design team to further accelerate the capabilities of Horizon3.ai’s flagship product, NodeZero. And Drew Mullen joins as vice president of revenue operations, bringing over 15 years of experience in sales management, operations, enablement, and strategy. These key executive hires underscore the management team Horizon3.ai continues to build, fueling significant growth, the company said.

2. Informatica’s Snowflake, Microsoft and Generative AI Integrations: At Informatica World 2024, Informatica announced new integrations for the Snowflake Data Cloud, enhanced integration with Microsoft Azure and Microsoft Fabric and significant innovations in generative AI with CLAIRE GPT, its generative AI data management assistant. These announcements underscore the firm’s continued commitment to empower partners with the tools and resources needed to utilize clean and trusted data for their enterprises using AI, Informatica said.

3. Rapid7’s 2024 Attack Intelligence Report: Lots of cybersecurity research lately, too, as the second half of the year looms. Rapid7, for example, published its 2024 Attack Intelligence Report, analyzing 1,500+ vulnerability and exploit data points on ransomware incidents, extortion tactics, and activity on the dark web. Based on 210+ vulnerabilities, the report highlights multi-year vulnerability and exploit trends, providing guidance to better understand and anticipate cyber threats as attack vectors evolve. The report found, among other things, that zero-days are rapidly accelerating, that attackers aren’t relying on the spray-and-pray method anymore and that government plays a role in helping solve critical vulnerabilities. You can check out the full report here.

4. Arctic Wolf’s 2024 Cybersecurity Trends Report: Arctic Wolf also recently published its State of Cybersecurity: 2024 Trends Report, which surveyed over 1,000 senior IT and cybersecurity decision makers at director level or above from organizations with 50+ employees from over fifteen different countries. Arctic Wolf’s researchers found that business email compromise is now the top method of attack, breach disclosure regulations are forcing transparency and cyber insurance is now table stakes. You can check out more from this report here.

5. Pinecone’s Serverless Vector Database: We’ll wrap up with a bit more AI-related news; Pinecone, a leading vector database company, today launched Pinecone serverless into general availability. The state-of-the-art vector database is designed to make generative artificial intelligence (AI) accurate, fast, and scalable and is now ready for mission-critical workloads. 

MSSP Alert Live Call for Papers and Top 250 Public Cloud MSPs

MSSP Alert Live CFP: Are you a thought leader in managed services or managed security services, or do you have a unique approach to an important topic that could help other MSPs or MSSPs? We’re looking for speakers like you to be part of our MSSP Alert Live program for 2024. MSSP Alert Live, the premiere cybersecurity event for MSPs and MSSPs, has opened its call for papers. (You can submit yours here.) We’re looking for speakers like you who want to share insights and experience and wisdom with peers.

Time for Cloud MSPs to get recognized: Are you an MSP that works with public cloud providers? It’s time to get recognized for your work. ChannelE2E opened its annual survey for the Top 250 Public Cloud MSPs. If your MSP practice includes working with a public cloud provider, this survey is for you. Participation is free. The survey closes in June. Submit your MSP today here for recognition! Our list will be released this summer.

In-Person MSP and Channel Partner Events