5 Companies That Came To Win This Week

The Week Ending June 23

Topping this week's roundup of companies that came to win is Lenovo, which launched its first comprehensive lineup of data center systems.

Also making the list are Cybereason for raising an eye-popping $100 million in financing; Cisco, for the debut of its Network Intuitive platform that the company said would redefine the network; AMD, for its re-entry into the market for data center processors with its Epyc chips; and three security technology companies for launching new partner programs.

Not everyone in the IT industry was making smart moves this week, of course. For a rundown of companies that were unfortunate, unsuccessful or just didn't make good decisions, check out this week's Five Companies That Had A Rough Week roundup.

Lenovo Takes Aim At Rivals With New Data Center Product Portfolio

Lenovo, which has struggled to compete in the market for data center systems, unleashed its first full-fledged data center product portfolio this week under the ThinkSystems brand.

The new product offensive is aimed squarely at displacing data center rivals Dell EMC, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Cisco. The new product blitz represents the first major revamp of Lenovo's data center product line since its $2.1 billion acquisition of IBM's x86 server business in late 2014.

The new comprehensive product lineup, unveiled at the company's Transform event in New York, includes high-performance servers for mission-critical big data applications, all-flash data center storage and SAN systems, and a complete line of cloud-ready networking switches.

And in a move to double down on its PC business, Lenovo also told CRN that the company is developing a new tier structure for its PC group partner program aimed at pushing products more quickly to larger customers.

Cybereason Lands $100M In Funding, Readies Aggressive Go-To-Market Push

Cybereason, a developer of endpoint detection and response security technology, is gearing up for what the company describes as an aggressive go-to-market offensive. And this week, the company received a major funding infusion that will help make that possible.

Cybereason took in a whopping $100 million in a Series D round of financing by previous investor and customer SoftBank Group. This latest round brings the Boston-based company's total financing to $189 million.

Part of the company's more aggressive market push includes the channel; Cybereason launched its first partner program last week.

Cisco Launches Networking Platform That CEO Robbins Says Will 'Redefine The Network'

Cisco Systems, which has been venturing into a broad range of IT areas in recent years, focused on its core networking business this week by unveiling what CEO Chuck Robbins (pictured) called "the new network:" an intuitive networking system that anticipates actions, stops security threats, and continues to evolve and learn.

Robbins said the new Network Intuitive platform would redefine the network "for the next 30 years."

The new platform is bringing a subscription-based methodology to Cisco's core networking portfolio, the CEO said. The company launched a slew of new products around the Network Intuitive platform, including a new line of Catalyst switches, a revamped IOS operating system for the digital age, and new security and analytics software.

AMD Takes Aim At Intel's Hold On The Server Market With New Epyc Processors

Sticking with the theme of debuting competitive technology, AMD this week launched its new Epyc chip line with which the company hopes to challenge Intel's dominant position in the data center.

The Epyc platform marks AMD's return to the server market after a four-year hiatus. Intel has been investing heavily in its data center business and currently holds a tight grip on the $16.5 billion server chip market with its popular Xeon processors.

The Epyc chip consists of nine 7000 processors that boast a large memory bandwidth and a broad array of input/output lines. The lineup ranges from eight-core, 16-thread pieces up to 32-core, 64-thread CPUs with four eight-core dies.

Demisto, Digital Shadows And Savvius Launch Partner Programs

A trio of security technology companies unveiled plans to double down on the channel and launch new partner programs.

Demisto , a developer of an automated security operations platform, this week launched its first partner program as the market for security automation and orchestration heats up. The new Nucleus Partner Program, led by former Optiv Security executive Bob Kruse, offers deal registration, pre- and post-sales training, incumbency on expansion and renewal sales, and high-margin prices for partners.

Savvius , a developer of network visibility and security performance technology, launched the Savvius PartnerONE program as the company looks to expand its business beyond enterprise-level data centers to small and mid-size businesses. The program has dedicated discounts, deal registration, marketing funds and a partner portal.

And Digital Shadows , a digital security risk management services company, debuted the Channel REV program, its first partner initiative, as part of what the company called a "conscious strategic move" to focus on the channel. Channel REV provides a partner portal with deal registration, opportunity tracking, market development funds, training and other assistance.