News in the Channel - issue #19

ALSO CLOUD SUMMIT 24

CONTINUED

training our customers to use tools to their maximum potential. We emphasise utilising our AI Academy and training platforms for users so that no employee is left behind and businesses can make the most out of their AI tool integrations.” Cybersecurity focus Cybersecurity was also a big theme for the day, which also ties in with GenAI. “One message was clear: GenAI presents the biggest security challenges to MSPs and SMBs,” says Steve. “New cyberthreats are rapidly developing as GenAI has become more accessible for cyber actors to exploit. The bar of entry for cyberattacks has been lowered, with ransomware attempts becoming easier to create – as they are no longer limited to those with advanced cyber skills to enact them. This has meant that 300,000 new malware samples have appeared per day on average in 2024, as reported by Acronis. “Security teams also must do more with less, suffering from understaffing due to the ongoing cyber skills shortage and being outpaced by the prolific quantity of alerts and issues. Attackers easily take advantage of weakened teams, aiming to gain access, escalate privileges once inside, and move across organisations to target the most valuable data. With AI bolstering these malicious attacks, cybersecurity needs to be at the forefront of business operations, especially when they choose to integrate their own AI tools.” Positive feedback The Summit was positively received by those who attended. “Our feedback from attendees “At the summit, as well as our lovely merch, we had collateral around our Co-Pilot readiness messaging, with some case studies, including a small brochure on our wider services. This helps partners and customers see real world examples of how others are working with AvePoint to solve critical needs. “The day was a success as we had the chance to connect with many MSPs who were excited to learn more about AvePoint and how we could help them build more services using our products. “Events such as this are important because we are often told we’re the best X company that they’ve never heard of, so

has been that many found the summit informative and insightful for painting a clear picture of the modern-day cloud landscape,” says Mark. “Many found the conversations with our security partner representatives and ALSO Cloud UK team members engaging and the day’s agenda and talk topics interesting and thought provoking. Notably, David’s keynote about how MSPs can get into AI business, supported by solid research and customer feedback, was found to be a great kick-off for the day’s discussion, as each subsequent expert could build on what was said before for a complete picture of the cloud security landscape.” More to come While this was ALSO’s first UK event since the company’s official launch here last year, Mark says more will be forthcoming. “We hope to continue providing similar events for our vendor partners and resellers in the future,” he adds. “It’s important to continue having these conversations, for the sake of sharing knowledge across different security specialists and sectors. By providing a comprehensive look into modern cloud business challenges, the Summit facilitated collaborative insights from different vendors – ultimately, this unified service is reflective of our cloud marketplace offering. “We plan to return with another ALSO Cloud Summit in 2025. But while this event was a success as a first for the UK, we want to continue to expand the industry conversation in the weeks ahead, alongside establishing dominance across the channel and reseller sectors.” visibility, putting our name out there with our messaging is super important to us. “One of the main topics raised by a few people that came and spoke to us was migrations. “This may be surprising to some, but it's still super relevant! Other attendees were interested in our Insights solution, as well as our full suite of Copilot readiness offerings. “Many organisations are ready to use AI but need to put guardrails and governance in place before rolling it out. That's where we can help this sector with AvePoint's Copilot readiness solutions that help to prepare, secure and optimize data for Copilot for M365.”

It’s important to continue having these conversations, for the sake of sharing knowledge across different security specialists and sectors. “ ”

WHAT THE VENDORS SAID

Callum Noad

avepoint.com

362

Powered by