5 Companies That Came To Win This Week

For the week ending Nov. 11, CRN takes a look at the companies that brought their ‘A’ game to the channel, including AMD, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Snowflake.

The Week Ending Nov. 11

Topping this week’s Came to Win list is chipmaker AMD for rolling out its much-anticipated fourth-generation EPYC processors for high-performance computing.

Also making the list are data cloud giant Snowflake for expanding the application development opportunities for its growing base of ISV and “Powered by Snowflake” partners; Hewlett-Packard Enterprise for expanding its alliance with VMware to integrate VMware Cloud with the HPE GreenLake pay-per-use service; and identity and access management security tech developer Okta for its plans to launch a revamped partner program in 2023 with expanded resources for partners. And videoconferencing provider Zoom Video Communications unleashed a series of new products and enhancements this week at the company’s Zoomtopia 2022 event.

AMD Fouth-Gen EPYC Genoa Rollout ‘Delivers Leadership’ For The Data Center

AMD this week officially launched the highly anticipated fourth-generation EPYC processors for high-

performance computing (HPC) in the data center—an area long dominated by rival Intel.

The new EPYC Genoa processors promise to bring the highest performance core ever offered by AMD to the data center while increasing energy efficiency for critical workloads across cloud, enterprise and HPC needs, according to the company.

“I’m proud to say that fourth-gen EPYC delivers leadership on every single dimension,” AMD Chair, President and CEO Lisa Su said during the EPYC launch event this week.

Boasting 96 cores, the new processors are based on a 5-nanometer manufacturing process and run on AMD’s latest Zen 4 computing architecture.

Snowflake Doubles Down On Data Application Development, ISV Partners

Data cloud giant Snowflake earns applause this week for its continued focus on expanding the development capabilities of its platform and providing more opportunities for ISVs and other partners to build analytical and data-intensive applications.

This week Snowflake said its Snowpark for Python development toolkit is now generally available and the company unveiled alliances with Anaconda, a provider of Python-related libraries and services, and dbt Labs, a developer of data transformation and analytics engineering technology.

Snowflake also unveiled native support for the Streamlit open-source application framework for Python on the Snowflake platform. Snowflake acquired Streamlit in March.

Snowflake also reported significant momentum for its Powered by Snowflake program for ISV and developer partners. Channel chief Colleen Kapase said the number of partners in the “Powered by Snowflake” initiative has grown six-fold since its launch last year and now numbers around 600.

HPE, VMware Launch Game-Changing ‘Fully Integrated’ GreenLake For VMware

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and VMware are taking their long-standing alliance to a new level by fully integrating VMware Cloud with the HPE GreenLake pay-per-use on-premises cloud service. The new HPE GreenLake for VMware, unveiled this week at VMware’s Explore 2022 conference in Barcelona, will be available in the first half of 2023.

Under the technology alliance, VMware Cloud can be fully integrated with a single consumption and licensing model with HPE GreenLake. That includes VMware Cloud for HPE GreenLake for Private Cloud Enterprise.

The ability to deliver a full private cloud on-demand with VMware Cloud and GreenLake is expected to create opportunities for channel partners whose customers are increasingly asking for consumption-based solutions. Partners can take the entire VMware suite and apply it to the pay-per-use model with GreenLake.

HPE and VMware have more than 200,000 mutual customers, creating a significant market opportunity for the channel.

Okta Plans Improved Partner Program In 2023

Identity and access management security tech developer Okta is preparing an enhanced partner program for launch in 2023, with plans to offer new incentives, rebates and market development funds, partner enablement capabilities, and other resources and tools.

The planned expanded offerings, outlined to CRN this week by CEO Todd McKinnon and channel chief Bill Hustad, are intended to fuel Okta’s growth in the channel.

Hustad’s plans for the program include a new badging or points system for ascending tiers and the creation of partner advisory groups to elicit feedback.

Hustad said the company has seen about 10 percent growth in partner contribution over the past several years. The company today has about 1,200 partners worldwide. McKinnon said Okta today offers opportunities for MSPs and systems integrators and for services-led solution providers.

Zoom Unleashes New And Enhanced Products At Zoomtopia 2022

Zoom Video Communications unleashed a series of new products and enhancements this week at the company’s Zoomtopia 2022 event, looking to build on the momentum the company enjoyed during the COVID-19 pandemic as a go-to company for videoconferencing. As the new hybrid work model sets in, businesses today are looking for new means of collaborating and communicating and Zoom’s announcements followed that theme.

Zoom Spots, for example, is a new video-enabled persistent space integrated with the Zoom platform that’s designed to foster Inclusive discussions and keep colleagues connected. New Zoom Mail and Calendar Clients eliminate the need to leave the Zoom platform to access Microsoft Outlook and Google Gmail. And the new Zoom Virtual Agent, a conversational AI and chatbot solution, uses natural language processing and machine learning for contact center applications.

The Zoom One all-in-one communications and collaboration platform has a number of new enhancements and integrations to keep work flowing. And Zoom’s developer platform offers new capabilities that make it easier to develop and manage applications that work with Zoom.