In other top stories, IBM buys consulting group Bluewolf. Also, Intel and Microsoft team up to launch a new incentive program.

Microsoft, which acquired mobile app development startup Xamarin last month, is now making its technology available for free to developers in the Visual Studio toolkit.

Lead changes and tight races were the hallmark of the quarterfinal round of the CRN Channel Madness Tournament of Chiefs. Those left standing move on to the Field of Four.

While the boost in performance from the new Intel processors is important, the addition of new tools for easing server management and deploying software-defined storage are just as key, Dell says.

HP's latest Gen9 ProLiant DL360 and ProLiant DL380 servers will include HPE's new persistent memory technology, which turns memory into a high-performance storage tier.

Intel says its new solid state drives, unveiled at the Intel Solutions Summit Thursday, are optimized for the channel so partners can better monetize the explosion of data.

The new program, debuted at the Intel Solutions Summit, provides marketing materials, branding, and training incentives to help partners differentiate themselves and drive sales.

IBM is continuing its services acquisition spree, saying Thursday that it plans to acquire Salesforce.com solution provider superstar Bluewolf for an undisclosed amount.

The rising tide of the emerging Internet of Things market is having a major impact on the channel. Here are eight IoT initiatives to keep an eye on this year.

The Los Angeles startup offers partners of all stripes a cloud commerce platform for sales cycle management, operations, billing and marketing.

Calling the channel 'fast and nimble,' Product Marketing Director John Deatherage says Intel will keep delivering innovative building blocks such as the NUC and Compute Stick.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella unveils new tools that developers can use to build new types of apps, called bots, that users speak with to perform all kinds of business and personal tasks.

With Round 3 of voting in the 2016 CRN Channel Madness Tournament of Chiefs closing tomorrow at noon ET, let's look at how the Enterprise 8 are faring.

RMM, SPA and remote tool platform developer Atera is gaining attention from managed service providers with a unique pricing model and new, born-in-the-cloud technology.

In an effort to bolster its recently introduced Managed Security Services portfolio, telecommunications provider CenturyLink has acquired security firm netAura. The move is expected to give partners access to lucrative recurring revenue opportunities around security.

Simplivity CEO Doron Kempel tells CRN that large legacy hardware vendors entering the white-hot hyper-converged infrastructure market lends legitimacy to the space.

During Intel's Solutions Summit this week, execs said the company is relying on its Technology Provider base to drive small form factor PC sales in the commercial segment.

Intel's North America channel director, Todd Garrigues, talked to CRN at this week's Intel Solutions Summit in Orlando about the state of Intel's Technology Provider base, and his goals for the coming year.

Cisco partners are already seeing major revenue opportunities around Cisco's new hyper-converged HyperFlex System, which was unveiled just this month.

The 20 percent of solution providers in North America that meet the minimum strategic service provider criteria boast more than $1 million in annual revenue and nearly double the percentage of cloud and managed services sales than those that have not moved to the new business model.