5 Companies That Came To Win This Week

The Week Ending May 27

Topping this week's roundup of companies that came to win are Hewlett Packard Enterprise and CSC for their move to merge HPE's Enterprise Services business with CSC to create a new solution provider/systems integration powerhouse.

Also making the list were Intel for its latest acquisition in the Internet of Things space, Trifacta and LightCyber for launching new channel partner programs, Malwarebytes and RapidFire for debuting innovative additions to their security product lineups, and Citrix CEO Kirill Tatarinov for his vision for putting Citrix on a new footing.

Not everyone in the IT industry was making smart moves this week, of course. For a rundown of companies that were unfortunate, unsuccessful or just didn't make good decisions, check out this week's Five Companies That Had A Rough Week roundup.

CSC, HPE Enterprise Services Merging To Create $26B Giant

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and CSC stunned the industry this week when they unveiled a deal for HPE to spin off its struggling Enterprise Services operation and merge it with CSC, creating a new solution provider/systems integration entity that will have $26 billion in annual revenue.

It's a bold gamble. For HPE, it eliminates the distraction of trying to turn around the IT outsourcing business and frees up the company to focus on its systems and software-defined infrastructure business.

For CSC, it's a chance to become a global IT services powerhouse – assuming it can effectively meld its own operations with those of the HPE spinoff.

Intel Expands Its Internet Of Things Roadmap With Itseez Acquisition

Intel has been aggressively positioning itself to be a major player in the potentially lucrative market for Internet of Things technology. This week it took another step toward that goal by acquiring Itseez, a Russian developer of computer vision algorithms and implementations for embedded and specialized hardware.

Itseez's computer vision technology provides ways to acquire, process and analyze images from the real world and take automated actions in response. The savvy acquisition will position Intel to offer products for such applications as automotive and industrial inspection, autonomous driving, and digital security and surveillance.

Trifacta, LightCyber Launch New Channel Programs

Big data startup Trifacta and security technology company LightCyber both win applause this week for launching new channel programs that are expected to provide partners of both companies with more opportunities.

LightCyber is expanding its channel ecosystem with the Technology Alliance Program through which security technology partners can integrate their own complementary security solutions. The program, which runs alongside the LightCyber Channel Alliance Program, is expected to increase sales and service opportunities for partners.

Trifacta's new Wrangler Partner Program, the startup's first formal channel program, provides the vendor's reseller, consulting and technology partners with rules of engagement and structured incentives. While 46 percent of Trifacta's deals today involve a partner in some way, the company wants to boost the percentage of sales that are sourced and supported to more than 50 percent.

Backup and recovery specialist Zerto also wins applause for its upcoming Partner Alliance 2.0 channel program upgrade.

RapidFire Tools And Malwarebytes Launch Innovative Extensions To Their Security Lineups

Security technology developers RapidFire and Malwarebytes debuted additions to their security product lines this week that will benefit their channel and MSP partners.

Malwarebytes expanded its endpoint detection and remediation software to Mac environments in a move the company said would help partners increase their sales and services opportunities. The company said the new Malwarebytes Breach Remediation for Mac fills a gap in the market for Mac security software.

RapidFire, meanwhile, debuted its Detector software appliance that helps managed service providers more easily identify internal threats to their clients' networks. Such threats, the company believes, account for more than half of all security breaches.

Citrix CEO Offers Partners And Customers His Vision For The Company

Few IT vendors have had it tougher in the last year than Citrix, which has seen a steady stream of executives heading for the exits, pressure from an activist investor, restructuring and layoffs, and the departure of longtime leader Mark Templeton.

So kudos for Kirill Tatarinov (pictured), who took over as CEO in January, for delivering a badly needed pep talk to partners and customers at the company's Synergy conference in Las Vegas this week. Tatarinov outlined plans for increased cloud delivery for the company's legacy products and for expanding its long-standing partnership with Microsoft. He also spoke about planned updates for the company's core Xen, ShareFile and NetScaler product lines.

Words alone, of course, aren't enough to turn around a troubled company. But you have to start somewhere and by laying out his vision for Citrix's direction, Tatarinov has given the company a chance at a fresh start.