CRN

2024 was yet another year of falling fortunes, sudden changes in channel strategy, and technology and security shortcomings in the high-stakes technology market. The biggest fallout was the drama that left partners scrambling to pick up the pieces from sweeping changes that included a direct sales assault, termination notices and astronomical price increases. In the midst of the chaos, competitors swooped in to fill the channel void. Here are the 10 most controversial companies of 2024:

These are the 10 hottest cybersecurity startups of 2024: - Cyera - Cynomi - Descope - Endor Labs - Island - Legit Security - Reality Defender - Savvy - Upwind Security - Torq Here’s why Kyle Alspach says these channel-friendly startups offering tools for cloud and AI security, data security and security operations are among those that have stood out during the year:

From Nvidia solidifying its throne as the AI world leader to accelerated generative AI cyberthreats, the flood of artificial intelligence news coming from all corners of the IT industry in 2024 was massive. AI and generative AI (GenAI) was the focal point of nearly the entire tech landscape in 2024 as it seemed every IT conference, product launch or anything news-related this year fell under the AI umbrella—from new AI agents to billions of investment dollars being poured into AI startups. These are the 10 biggest AI news stories of 2024:

CRN Magazine’s December issue features the cover story, “AWS CEO Matt Garman: Partners Are Our ‘Co-Inventors’” by Mark Haranas. You can read the digital edition of the issue here: https://okt.to/ZexrfX. It also includes Garman’s take on why partners are choosing Amazon Web Services (AWS) over Microsoft and Google Cloud. Plus, the following annual lists and awards from CRN: - Products of the Year - Stellar Startups - Edge Computing 100 - Channel Women on the Rise - Next-Gen Solution Provider Leaders And Gina Narcisi’s feature on the opportunities edge AI is creating for solution providers and columns by CRN Executive Editor Jennifer Follett and CRN Executive Editor, News, Steven Burke. AWS Partners

Across AI, a startup developing next-generation agentic AI software for improving enterprise workflows, has launched with $5.7 million in seed funding. “The bigger picture is that business workflows haven’t been able to adopt AI very well. This is going to be the first enterprise sales AI, supported by what we call the next-gen agent memory,” Across AI CEO and co-founder Steven Mih said in an interview with CRN, joined by co-founders Chief Product Officer Nilou Salehi and Chief Technology Officer Afshin Mikzad.

We look at 10 of the most important tech layoffs of 2024, with a focus on layoffs in companies whose businesses impact indirect channels:

Leadership is not static, Cass Cooper, MHR, writes in her latest Inclusive Leadership column for CRN. It evolves alongside societal, economic, business, and technological shifts. “This year reminded me that leadership rooted in inclusivity, creativity, resilience, and trust lays the foundation for impactful, future-focused organizations – a message we promote at CRN.” In 2024, we’ve seen how fostering diversity and leveraging creative problem-solving drive success. The year also highlighted the importance of viewing leadership as a skill set requiring empathy and adaptability. Cass encourages us to let these 10 lessons inspire a fresh approach to leadership in 2025:

Here’s a look at the 20 biggest IT executive moves of 2024: - Chris Day, ScalePad - Michael George, Syncro - Hamilton Yu, NexusTek - Mark Clayman, SUCCESS Computer Consulting - Russell P Reeder, ATSG and Evolve IP - Dana Berg, SADA, An Insight company - Chris Schueler, Cyderes - Derrek Hallock, Bluum - Srini Pallia, Wipro - Vishal Rao, Skyhigh Security - Marc van Zadelhoff, Mimecast - Sridhar Ramaswamy, Snowflake - Olivier Blum, Schneider Electric - Nadav Zafrir, Check Point Software - Manny Rivelo, ConnectWise - Rodney Clark, Cisco - Scott Chasin, Pax8 - Patrick Zammit, TD SYNNEX - Pat Gelsinger, Intel - Matt Garman, Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Global print giant Xerox said it has struck a deal to buy rival, partner and supplier Lexmark for $1.5 billion from the company’s Chinese owners in a blockbuster print deal.

These are the 10 hottest big data startups of 2024: - Ariga - DataPelago - Deasy Labs - Diliko - Dymium, Inc - MIND - MotherDuck - Onehouse - Scoop Analytics - unstructured.io Rick Whiting breaks down why they made the cut ↓ Ariel Mashraki Rajan Goyal Reece Griffiths Dave Albano Denzil Wessels Eran Barak Jordan Tigani Vinoth Chandar Apache Hudi Brad Peters Brian S. Raymond