5 Companies That Came To Win This Week
For the week ending June 2, CRN takes a look at the companies that brought their ‘A’ game to the channel including Microsoft, Accenture, PTP, D&H Distributing, and CrowdStrike and Pax8.
The Week Ending June 2
Topping this week’s Came to Win list is Microsoft for a reported multibillion-dollar deal with cloud infrastructure startup CoreWeave that could give Microsoft a major boost against competitors in the highly competitive AI arena.
Also making this week’s list are Accenture for a savvy acquisition in the sustainability IT space, consulting and managed services provider (and AWS partner) PTP for a significant funding round that has it thinking about acquisitions and geographical expansion, and Pax8 and CrowdStrike for a deal to bring CrowdStrike’s cybersecurity platform to MSPs through the Pax8 Marketplace.
And D&H Distributing, celebrating its 105th anniversary, makes the list for an eye-popping credit offer for its partners.
Microsoft Looks To Gain Competitive AI Edge With CoreWeave Deal
Microsoft made a major move in the AI arms race this week by reportedly signing a deal with CoreWeave, a startup developing GPU-based cloud infrastructure technology that can power AI systems.
With the alliance, which reportedly includes Microsoft spending potentially billions of dollars over several years on CoreWeave’s cloud infrastructure, Microsoft is looking to take the lead against rivals Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services in AI and generative AI.
AI and generative AI workloads and use cases require huge amounts of compute power and CoreWeave is seen as providing the next-generation cloud infrastructure that makes that possible. This week CoreWeave said it raised $200 million in a continuation of its Series B funding round – which now totals $421 million – including $100 million from GPU developer Nvidia.
Microsoft, which backs ChatGPT developer OpenAI, is seen as looking to use CoreWeave’s cloud infrastructure and, specifically, its access to Nvidia’s GPUs, to power AI systems such as OpenAI’s GPT large language models.
D&H Ups Partner Credit Lines To Commemorate Its 105th Anniversary
D&H Distributing wins applause this week for helping put more cash in partners’ pockets by increasing to 105 percent the credit lines for solution provider customers.
The distributor is also providing an additional $350 million in monthly credit extensions to partners.
The additional credit terms impact more than 10,000 commercial partners even as the channel is seeing the impact of tightening economic conditions and higher interest rates.
The financing assistance comes as D&H is celebrating its 105th anniversary this year. The company is also making a significant investment in a new AIM (assess, implement, manage) framework to help partners migrate to an MSP recurring revenue services model.
Accenture Completes Busy Acquisition Month With Green Domus Purchase
IT services and systems integration giant Accenture this week said it had acquired Green Domus, a leading Brazil-based sustainability consultant that specializes in helping clients design and implement sustainability services with a focus on measurable decarbonization strategies.
Green Domus will add to Accenture’s solutions for embedding carbon data and insights into decision-making processes through deep knowledge of sustainability frameworks including its Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), voluntary carbon credits and emerging regulations such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) that recently launched in the European Union.
The Green Domus deal comes on the heels of Accenture’s acquisition last week of Norway-based Einr AS in a move that boosts Accenture’s SAP service and solutions portfolio. And in early May the company completed its acquisition of Objectivity, a digital engineering specialist focused on cloud and platform development services.
AWS Partner PTP Eyeing Acquisitions, Boosting AI And ML After 424 Capital Investment
PTP, a cloud consulting and managed services company, received a “significant investment” from private equity firm 424 Capital this week – funding that PTP plans to use to extend its AI technology capabilities and expand its geographical reach – possibly through acquisitions.
PTP focuses on the life sciences industry, providing strategic consulting and IT managed services to biotechnology companies. The Norwood, Mass.-based company is an Amazon Web Services Advanced Consulting channel partner with AWS’ Life Sciences and Managed Security Services competencies.
PTP plans to devote the 424 Capital investment to developing AI and ML capabilities and solutions that the company’s customers are asking for. Some of the new funding will also go toward geographically expanding PTP’s operations – both organically and possibly through acquisitions in such areas as California, Texas and New York.
Pax8, CrowdStrike Team Up To Provide MSPs With Bundled Cybersecurity Services
Cloud distributor Pax8 and cybersecurity provider CrowdStrike established a strategic alliance this week through which the two will provide managed service providers (MSPs) with access to CrowdStrike’s XDR products through the Pax8 Marketplace.
The partnership expands CrowdStrike’s footprint in the MSP market and brings the company’s Falcon platform products to a wider audience, including small and mid-size businesses. Pax8 said the deal is a milestone in its own efforts to grow its global market presence and expand its cybersecurity offerings.
The CrowdStrike technology is expected to be available through the Pax8 Marketplace later this year.