This week in the IT Channel...

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

In this week's news...

Jamf hires channel leader and a CISO for its Apple services

Apple business management services specialist Jamf has hired Marc Botham as global vice president of channel and alliances, and Andrew Smeaton as its chief information security officer.

Botham brings over 25 years of experience in the channel, most recently as the head of the EMEA channel at Docusign. He will be responsible for developing and implementing partner strategies on a global scale, and designing channel programmes that enable Jamf to establish “substantive growth markets” aligned to its strategic partner ecosystem, the firm said.

“Jamf is on the cusp of some incredible growth in the channel, and I’m honoured to be joining at such an exciting time in its channel journey. I look forward to continuing to serve Jamf’s existing partnerships, as well as helping it continue to expand globally within the channel,” said Botham.

Smeaton comes to Jamf after serving as CISO at Afiniti, and having previously held CISO roles at DataRobot, MIB Group, and The Saudi Investment Bank.

John Strosahl, CEO of Jamf, said: “Bringing their individual experiences into Jamf will undoubtedly continue to propel us forward as the only company to offer a complete management and security solution in the Apple-first environment.”

DigitalEx extends FinOps to the rapidly high spending on AI

Mavvrik (formerly DigitalEx) , a FinOps platform that, up to now, has focused on managing multi-cloud and private cloud costs, has unveiled a service for enterprises and system integrators that enables them to manage AI costs, specifically those associated with large language models (LLMs).

As businesses increasingly integrate AI into their core operations, DigitalEx’s latest offering allows them to understand, control, and optimise LLM-related expenses.

The technology is designed to go beyond enhancing cost visibility, with its centralised view of LLM costs from multiple vendors. There is insight into costs per team and AI application, for instance, especially important in complex environments using multiple LLMs.

It can also identify inefficiencies and optimise spending, “bringing runaway costs under control”, said the provider, while the platform can enable teams to justify AI investments by providing clear visibility into cost drivers and usage patterns.

Management are provided insights into ROI, allowing for better resource allocation and a focus on high-performing projects. DigitalEx provides a single UI, data model, and optimisation engine to view and manage both public and private cloud costs.

“In today’s AI-driven landscape, effectively managing LLM costs is no longer just a financial consideration, it’s a strategic imperative,” said Sundeep Goel, CEO of DigitalEx. “Our latest release empowers businesses to harness the full potential of AI technologies while maintaining financial control and maximising return on investment. We’re not just offering a tool, we’re providing a strategic advantage in the AI race.”

Managed Services Summit Nordics to boost MSP growth

Now in its fifth year, the Managed Services Summit Manchester builds on the successes of previous years as well as its sister events London and Benelux, which are firmly established as the leading managed services events for the UK and European IT channel.

Featuring conference session presentations by major industry speakers, the Summit will also provide opportune networking breaks for delegates to meet with potential business partners.

The unique mix of high-level presentations plus the ability to explore and debate the most pressing business issues with sponsors and peers across the industry makes this a must-attend event for any senior decision-maker in the IT channel.

To register to attend, please visit: https://manchester.managedservicessummit.com/register

Logpoint acquires Muninn to flesh out AI security offer to partners

Cyber security services firm Logpoint has enhanced its offering by acquiring Denmark’s Muninn, an AI-driven network detection and response provider.

The acquisition bolsters Logpoint’s security information and event management (SIEM)-based Cyber Defense Platform with AI detection capabilities.

“Geopolitical unrest, shortage of cyber security talent, and commoditisation of malware have made the security landscape more complex. Organisations and MSSPs need a multi-layered approach to cyber security to detect and respond effectively to threats. With Muninn, we can enhance our offering,” said Mikkel Drucker , Logpoint CEO.

“Together, we add more value to our customers and MSSP partners by drastically improving their chances of preventing cyber attacks through the beneficial combination of AI-driven NDR, SIEM, and automation. We accelerate the innovation of AI-enabled products to advance security posture and minimise cyber risk, and we unite complementary competencies from our respective teams,” added Drucker.

Analyst house Gartner says organisations that integrate SIEM, NDR, and endpoint detection and response (EDR) respond to incidents 50% faster.

The entire Muninn team, including Muninn CEO and founder Andreas Wehowsky, have now joined Logpoint.

Azul targets more partners for its Oracle Java service alternatives

Java services firm Azul has announced rapid channel expansion, and is looking for more partners.

It is expanding its global channel programme in response to year-over-year growth in partner engagement and revenue contribution. The growth is due in large part to the demand for licensing and pricing expertise aligned to IT asset management services, and specific migration advisory engagements, as customers seek alternatives to Oracle Java.

Azul’s channel partners contributed 44% of the company’s new and upsell bookings for the first half of its fiscal year 2025, and were responsible for a 50% increase in inbound opportunities.

In the last year, Azul’s channel expansion gained traction globally with 15 new strategic partnerships, including “key” distributors in Australia, the Middle East, South Africa and India, said the firm. Azul also expanded its own presence in Paris to oversee partnerships in France, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain.

This past year, said the provider, has been “pivotal” in the Java licensing market, due to a surge in businesses seeking “cost-effective and flexible” alternatives to Oracle Java SE. “Customers have turned to independent channel partners” to provide Oracle Java discovery and inventory services, license analysis and recommendations for “alternatives”, it added, such as Azul Platform Core.

“The shift away from Oracle Java is driven by escalating licensing fees, unpredictable cost structures and greater demand for open-source solutions,” maintained Azul. Enterprises across industries are prioritising cost containment, vendor independence and long-term support, making OpenJDK-based offerings a “compelling choice”, it added.

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