Channel Leaders
Google Cloud Establishes $750 Million AI Fund to Empower Partner Ecosystem
On Wednesday at the Google Cloud Next 2026 conference in Las Vegas, Google Cloud announced a $750 million investment for AI training and deployment across its 120,000-member partner ecosystem. The funds will be used to incentivize and support global consulting firms, system integrators, software developers, and channel partners, and to help some companies build practices around the Gemini Enterprise agentic AI platform.
Technical Advisors Collaborate: Leveraging Scale and Complementary Strengths Without Equity Ties
Facing increasingly diverse technical needs from clients, more technical advisors (TAs) are choosing to form partner networks, serving clients together by sharing opportunities and complementing expertise, rather than relying solely on internal expansion or equity acquisitions. This collaborative model is accelerating with the support of commission-sharing mechanisms from distributors (TSDs) and third-party industry organizations.
Channel Leaders Confront AI's 'Trilemma': The Intersection of Infrastructure, Cost, and Virtualization Strategy
At the annual Channel Partners Conference & Expo in Las Vegas last week, AI anecdotes were everywhere. Behind narratives of coding heroism, productivity breakthroughs, and recurring revenue streams, partners are struggling with persistent IT readiness gaps that undermine adoption efforts. Expedient CEO Bryan Smith summarized this challenge as a 'trilemma': 80% of companies need to redo hardware and infrastructure, 70% seek to cut hyperscaler cloud spending, and nearly 100% are reassessing virtualization strategies.
Wipro acquires Alpha Net customer contracts for $70.8 million, boosting AI consulting business
Wipro will acquire certain customer contracts of California-based Alpha Net Group for $70.8 million, aiming to expand its AI business. The transaction is expected to close on June 30, and the contracts involved have contributed nearly $100 million in revenue over the past three years.
AI and Automation Restart MSP Growth Engine: Kaseya Report Reveals Key to Industry Transformation
Kaseya's latest 2026 MSP industry report indicates that managed service providers (MSPs) are facing multiple pressures, including difficulties in customer acquisition, shrinking contract sizes, and talent shortages. Nearly three-quarters of respondents believe winning new customers is the biggest obstacle, while AI and automation have surpassed security and backup to become the most demanded services by customers. The report emphasizes that in a mature market, success depends on simplifying technology stacks, intelligent automation, and converting high-demand needs into profitable service models.
Salesforce invests $50 million to incentivize partners to build AI agents
Salesforce on Tuesday launched its integrated AgentExchange marketplace, merging AppExchange and Slack marketplace with the AI agent marketplace, and announced a $50 million investment for partner incentives and technical support. This move aims to drive enterprise adoption of AI agents and address investor concerns about the software industry's outlook.