This week in the IT Channel...

Every Friday morning, IT Europa compiles a summary of the week's most significant news from the channel.

In this week's news...

Westcon expands distribution deal with Palo Alto Networks

Westcon expands distribution deal with Palo Alto Networks

Distributor Westcon-Comstor has extended its distribution agreement with cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks to Finland and the Baltics.?

Partners in these regions will now have access to Palo Alto Networks-certified services including support, education, professional, and financial services.?

Arno Beker (pictured), MD Westcon Northern Europe at Westcon-Comstor, said: “With our focus on solution selling and expertise across the Palo Alto Networks portfolio, we see this as an opportunity to drive growth with new and existing partners by offering cybersecurity solutions and distribution services to them and their customers.”?

Westcon will also help Palo Alto Networks target the SMB market and onboard partners to its?NextWave Partner Programme, offering discounts, incentives, rebates, and free training.

This expansion builds on a decade-long collaboration across 23 countries in EMEA and APAC.

Orca Security goes all-in with channel partners to generate growth

Orca Security has gone partner-first with its cloud security portfolio, and is investing further into its partners' efforts to boost sales.

New resources for the company’s partner ecosystem, including a new partner portal and tech enablement boot camps, have already contributed to more than 270% growth in deal registrations this year, said the vendor.

The increased focus on channel-driven growth is led by the company’s new VP for EMEA, Scott Walker , a former sales, business and technical leader at companies including Illumio , BeyondTrust and Bomgar Corporation .

Orca says it has already seen “strong growth” in the UK, France and Germany, and it has started to see increasing demand in the Benelux region, Italy, and the Nordics too. This has led to a 50% increase in the number of partners closing business with Orca in the region.

“As cloud adoption accelerates across different geographies, organisations are quickly recognising that it creates gaps in their existing security strategies. They’re turning to trusted resellers and service providers for the best solutions to close those gaps,” said Scott Walker.

“We’re helping partners field those conversations so they can show their customers what proper cloud security looks like. This environment is driving our strategy to put significant investment behind education and enablement for existing and new partners across the region.”

The new partner portal adds features to streamline deal registration and price protection for partners worldwide. In EMEA specifically, the company is supplementing this new resource with tech enablement boot camps to help educate partners about the intricacies of cloud security, the challenges organisations face, and how they can work with Orca to solve them.

With its increased support and boot camps, Orca says it has already completed dozens of new technical certifications among its partners in the region this year.

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ConnectWise names ex-Virgin Pulse exec as CFO

ConnectWise , a Tampa-based MSP software vendor, has appointed Rik Thorbecke as its new CFO to drive its financial strategy.?

Assuming his role on May 13, Thorbecke (pictured)?brings extensive experience from previous leadership positions as CFO, COO, and advisory board member at various firms.

In addition to serving on boards, he most recently served as CFO for tech companies Virgin Pulse and Jitterbit.

He will report directly to Jason Magee , who said: “Rik's track record in driving financial stability and growth will play a pivotal role in propelling ConnectWise forward, further strengthening our financial health.”

ThoughtSpot names new VP of EMEA

Cloud analytics vendor ThoughtSpot has named James Smith as its VP of EMEA.

Smith (pictured), formerly the GM at Tableau UK&I, will oversee the region's operations, helping companies enhance their data investments and transition from traditional BI systems to advanced GenAI technologies.

Jeff Depa , CRO at ThoughtSpot, said: “As we continue our growth journey, James’ experience and leadership will help our customers across EMEA break free from the shackles of legacy BI, maximise the value of data investments, and spark their Data Renaissance.”

Smith added: “I aim to help customers across EMEA tenfold data’s impact in their organisations.”

CLA acquires Engine B to bolster AI professional services

CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen) , one of the largest accounting firms in the US, has acquired Engine B in the UK to advance its AI-driven accountancy professional services.

Engine B delivers generative AI solutions for the professional services industry, providing deeper insights and opportunities for their clients.

This is CLA's first global acquisition, and it says it underscores its commitment to enhance client services and enable CLA professionals to focus more on client engagement, pursue new business opportunities, and deliver value-added services.

Jen Leary , CEO of CLA, said: "With the addition of Engine B, CLA is becoming a force for positively disrupting the profession, creating a path for our professionals to spend more time directly with clients, leaning into our promise to know and help them.

“Engine B's generative AI-powered technology aligns closely with our vision of leveraging digital solutions to drive operational excellence and deliver greater value to our clients."

Engine B was founded in 2019, and quickly garnered recognition by revolutionising how firms access quality, standardised client data, and has most recently been developing leading edge AI tools. CLA will welcome the entire Engine B team, integrating its professionals and technology.

Shamus Rae , a founding partner of Engine B, said: "Our technology will seamlessly integrate into CLA's existing systems and give us all a head-start in ingesting client information and extracting clear data sets to provide strategic client initiatives. For both firms, this is a strategic step toward growing revenue while further investing in our professionals."

The acquisition, the value of which has not been disclosed, is part of CLA's $500m investment in digital technology and artificial intelligence.

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