The content team at the MSP Summit site tracks stories of interest to the managed services provider community. Anyone selling managed services or partnering with MSPs will want to know about these developing stories or catch up on stories they have missed. With the help of ChatGPT, Claude and AI tools our parent Informa has developed, we're tracking top stories based on web traffic, mentions, impressions, reposts, and social media engagement. All links are current as of Dec. 8.
AWS re:Invent Goes Heavy on AI
AWS unleashed a deluge of product news during re:Invent last week with AI not surprisingly at the forefront. AWS upgrades included many for giving customers greater control to customize AI agents, including one that AWS claims can learn from you and then work independently for days. The conference started with a keynote from AWS CEO Matt Garman, who leaned into the idea that AI agents can unlock the “true value” of AI. Amazon CTO Werner Vogels closed the show with a keynote aimed at lifting up developers and assuaging any fears that AI is coming for engineering jobs. TechCrunch has all the news on its re:Invent landing site.
AWS Collaborates with Google on Multi-Cloud Service
AWS re:Invent wasn’t 100% about AI. AWS also teamed up with hyperscaler rival Google Cloud to launch a multi-cloud networking service designed to make it easier and faster for companies to move data between their platforms. The jointly engineered system is designed to deliver private, high-speed connections that can be activated in minutes rather than weeks. Read the TechRepublic story.
Techaisle’s Top 10 Channel and Ecosystem Predictions
Techailse analyst Anurag Agrawal makes his channel predictions for 2026 and beyond. His predictions are part of three interconnected "mega-trends" that define the new ecosystem: the rise of the AI-Native Partner, the shift to a new IP and Service Economy, and the creation of a new Ecosystem Operating Model. Read his predictions on the Techaisle blog.
Another Cloudflare Outage: Here's What Happened
Cloudflare experienced yet another outage, just weeks after a global outage affected services such as ChatGPT and X. This latest outage was much shorter than the previous incident, but still saw platforms including Substack, Canva, and X (formerly Twitter) affected. Read the SDxCentral story.
Broadcom Underscores VMware Channel Changes
Changes in VMware’s partner program under Broadcom were accompanied by major shifts in the VMware product line, as Broadcom replaced perpetual licenses with a subscription-based model for bundled offerings that eliminated thousands of individual SKUs. These changes are part of a broader private cloud platform push. Broadcom will prioritize partners that achieve certifications in the VCF 9.0 private cloud bundle rolled out earlier this year. Partners have until the end of April to meet certification requirements before the next evaluation period. Read about it on Channel Dive.
RapidScale Appeals to Displaced VMware MSPs
After joining an exclusive group of VMware Cloud Service Provider program partners, RapidScale is offering an on-ramp to smaller IT services providers that lost their contracts after Broadcom acquired the virtualization software company two years ago. RapidScale’s new Accelerated VMware Adoption Program for former partners still interested in maintaining their practice is geared toward VMware Cloud Foundation platform providers and their customers. As of the Nov. 1 launch of the new VCSP program, uninvited partners may no longer sell VMware, although they can serve existing customers for another year. Read the Channel Dive story.
HPE Sees Weaker Revenue on AI Server Sales Delay
HPE forecasted first-quarter quarter revenue below Wall Street estimates last week, expecting a drop in AI server income due to customers shifting their orders to the second half of the year. HPE expects AI server demand to remain uneven as some of its larger customers are placing orders with extended lead times. HPE expects revenue in the range of $9 billion to $9.4 billion for the first quarter, compared with analysts' average estimate of $9.9 billion. For last quarter, HPE's server revenue fell 5% year-over-year to $4.5 billion, impacted by the timing of AI service shipments and lower-than-expected U.S. federal spending. HPE’s hybrid cloud revenue fell 12% to $1.41 billion. HPE’s overall revenue rose 14% year-over-year to $9.68 billion, with much of the increase coming from its Juniper Networks acquisition. Read the Reuters story.
MSPs Use AI to Improve Customer Service
UK MSP platform vendor POPX’s State of the MSP industry report found a clear link between AI and operational efficiencies. POPX found 62% of MSPs recorded improvements such as revenue growth from AI-enabled services and higher rates of customer satisfaction, along with cost savings. More than half (51%) of those surveyed were tracking the impact of AI on the business in real time. When it came to customer satisfaction, 98% of MSPs reported AI having a positive impact, with the technology accelerating response times and improving communication. Computer Weekly has the story.