5 Companies That Came To Win This Week

For the week ending June 12, CRN takes a look at the companies that brought their 'A' game to the channel.

The Week Ending June 12

Topping this week’s Came to Win list is Intel for the launch of its next-generation processors for foldable and dual-screen PCs.

Also making the list are Apple for unveiling a new $100-million racial and justice initiative, Hewlett Packard Enterprise for creating a council to lead the company’s inclusion and diversity efforts, Aruba for expanding its MSP partner program offerings, and Centrify for its revamped partner program that focuses on incumbent solution providers for customer deal renewals.

Intel Launches Lakefield Hybrid CPUs For Foldable, Dual-Screen PCs

Intel showed off its innovation chops this week when it debuted new Intel Core processors for foldable and dual-screen PCs, as well as other ultra-light form factors, the first to use the company’s Foveros 3D packaging technology and a hybrid CPU architecture.

Intel pitched the new 7-watt, dime-sized processors – Intel Core processors with Intel Hybrid Technology – as potentially game changing for the PC market.

The first devices expected to use the devices include the Samsung Galaxy Book S, available in some markets later this month, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold, due later this year, and the Microsoft dual-screen Surface Neo that remains under development.

HPE Establishes Global Inclusion And Diversity Council

Hewlett Packard Enterprise has established a global HPE Inclusion and Diversity Council to develop a detailed plan to ensure equal opportunities for all HPE employees.

The council, announced by CEO Antonio Neri during a company meeting for HPE’s 60,000 employees this week, will oversee the development of a detailed plan to ensure inclusion and diversity within the company. The council also will review diversity goals HPE has had in place since fiscal 2019 and make recommendations on how to expand them.

The council will include employees from across all HPE businesses and functions.

The company is also expected to release shortly a “Living Progress Report” with diversity representation figures.

Apple Commits $100M To Racial And Justice Initiative

Apple CEO Tim Cook this week announced that the tech giant is committing $100 million toward a new effort, the Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, amid widespread protests of mistreatment and systemic racism against members of the black community.

Cook, announcing the initiative, said that the “unfinished work of racial justice and equality call us all to account.”

The effort will “challenge the systemic barriers to opportunity and dignity” for communities of color with a particular focus on education, economic equality and criminal justice reform. Cook, on Twitter, said the initiative builds on Apple’s previous work with historically black colleges and universities, community colleges, STEM education and underserved students and teachers, and will forge new partnerships with organizations such as the Equal Justice Initiative.

Apple also announced a new developer entrepreneurial camp for members of the black community in advance of the company’s upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference.

Aruba Channel Leaders Push MSP Model With Partner Program Updates

Continuing to nudge its partners toward a cloud-first model, Aruba this week unveiled a number of enhancements to its Aruba Partner Ready for MSP program, including making discounting easier for partners selling Aruba products and services.

Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, is also taking advantage of the parent company’s financial resources – specifically HPE Financial Services – to provide Aruba customers with flexible financing and OPEX payment options.

The MSP partner program announcements come on the heels of Aruba’s debut of the Aruba Edge Services Platform, a new cloud-based edge networking platform that helps businesses identify and resolve problems at the edge of a corporate network.

The Aruba MSP program, launched 18 months ago, complements the company’s Aruba Partner Ready for Networking and GreenLake for Aruba channel programs. The multiple initiatives recognize that partners utilize different business models, depending on their product and service offerings and customers.

New Centrify Partner Program Enhances Deal Registration, Certifications

Security tech developer Centrify wins kudos this week for revamping its partner program to make it easier for solution providers to win their own customer deal renewals and get certified around service opportunities.

Centrify, a provider of privileged access management software, said the upgraded Centrify Reliance Partner Program will register customers to a specific partner, making it easier for partners to build an annuity of Centrify bookings.

Registered partners will now typically have a 20 percent margin advantage over unregistered partners when pursuing a renewal, according to the company. Giving preferential treatment to incumbents in renewals will make it easier for solution providers to optimize customer satisfaction and expand their footprint within existing accounts.

The revamped certification program allows partners to get credentialed as a full-on consultant by verifying their ability to provision implementation and integration services as well as regularly scheduled health checks. Previously, certifications were primarily focused around sales and pre-sales engineering.

In addition to the current full-on sales certification, Centrify is offering a new on-demand certification for sales people who are just learning about the company and that’s easier to obtain.