Solution providers and vendors gathered at XChange Solution Provider 2018 this week to discuss the latest trends, issues and product opportunities affecting the IT industry.

Microcode patches are now available for Intel's Ivy Bridge and Sandy Bridge processor families.

"We're building out the tools they need so they can present the product and have more difficult conversations with customers about what they need rather than just about the sale," said channel VP Eric Pinto.

For the week ending March 9, CRN takes a look at the companies that brought their 'A' game to the channel.

'Global enterprise evaluation criteria are placing less emphasis on larger providers, network scale and the availability of large numbers of provider staff to deliver customized capabilities to address site- or application-specific requirements,' the research firm notes.

Google Cloud, now a $1 billion per quarter business, is landing larger deals with the help of its channel partners. Its strengths in AI and machine learning is setting the cloud provider up for more growth as it goes head-to-head with industry behemoths AWS and Azure.

New 'Fusion' data management software automates the process of collecting and prepping data from multiple sales and marketing cloud applications for analysis.

Microsoft unveils plans to update the Surface Hub in coming months, while also revealing upcoming updates to Windows 10 and Azure.

If everything works as planned, Perspecta in May will be the name of a huge multibillion U.S. government solution provider formed by the merger of DXC Technology's government business with Vencore and KeyPoint.

"What we're getting louder about is our software capabilities, and our monitoring and management strategy, and taking that to the cloud, and taking that to channel partners," said APC channel executive Katie Boeh.

The longtime IT distribution leader provided his perspective on the industry's latest shifts and how Tech Data will look to position its business in the coming months.

"We need to get [storage] going and growing in the right direction," said Dell Vice Chairman Jeff Clarke, during the company's fourth quarter earnings call on Thursday.

VMware and Amazon Web Services are taking the next step to advance the capabilities and reach of VMware Cloud on AWS. Here's what solution providers need to know.

Tech Data CEO Robert Dutkowsky, speaking with CRN following the distributor's fourth-quarter earnings call, says the company is considering upping sales volume, reallocating vendor support resources, and investing in additional vendor programs.

Noting that it is a 'complex calculation,' Dell Technologies CFO Tom Sweet said the company generated a net benefit of $316 million from federal tax reform during its fourth fiscal quarter 2018.

E-commerce giant Amazon is growing by leaps and bounds, but that growth isn't relegated to the retail and cloud services industries any longer. CRN rounds up five industries the company may be ready to disrupt.

Internet of Things and cybersecurity companies were among the startups that hauled in venture capital rounds in February.

Future Tech CEO tells us why HP's Jet Fusion 3-D 4210 is redefining production.

'You're dealing with people, not servers,' says Jayson Street, vice president of infosec for consultancy SphereNY. 'Servers don't get their feelings hurt when they're compromised.'

Tasked with rearchitecting a customer's sprawling server network, Treysta Technology Management works with D&H to develop a cohesive solution using an Aruba back end and HPE servers.