The content team at Channel Partners tracks stories of interest to the technology advisor and wider channel communities. Anyone selling communication and connectivity solutions will want to stay abreast of these developing stories or catch up on ones they have missed. All links are valid as of April 22.
A look at Tim Cook's Legacy as Apple CEO
After 15 years at the helm, Tim Cook is stepping down as CEO of Apple and handing over the reins to the company’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, John Ternus. Cook joined Apple in 1998, succeeded Steve Jobs in 2011, and went on to transform Apple into a powerhouse worth $4 trillion. TechCrunch looked at Cook’s tenure as the leader of one of the most influential companies in the world. Read the TechCrunch timeline.
Vibe Coding Explodes in Tech Advisor Market
TAs are throwing their hats into the developer ring, building apps tailored to their unique business model. It’s a skillset for most TAs, which, according to Informa TechTarget research, are typically smaller than 15 people and lack a full-time developer. Claude Code and its ilk have dramatically reduced the barrier to entry for app development. Read the Channel Dive story.
Starlink and Amazon Satellite Clash Won't Affect Most Earthlings
The idea that Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Amazon are launching satellites to challenge terrestrial comms providers has gained traction. But they aren't making significant inroads yet into a global telecom market worth more than $2 trillion in annual service revenues. Light Reading has the data.
The Math CFOs Use to Dismiss Tech Advisors Doesn’t Add Up
Vendors are dismissing the agency sales model based on bad math, according to a new report. Trade association Technology Channel Sales Professionals last month published a study by JSG Channel Consulting comparing the costs of selling through TAs versus direct salespeople. The study, based on interviews with more than 100 partners and analysis of data from the vendors JSG consults, found that TAs provide a 25% lower enterprise customer acquisition cost than direct sellers. Read about it on Channel Dive.
Meta Trains New Fiber Workforce for Data Center Boom
The fiber industry is booming. Between broadband builds and data center projects, demand has never been higher. But networks don’t build themselves, and there’s a massive shortage of skilled workers to get all that glass in the ground. Meta is looking to secure its human supply chain with the rollout of LevelUp, a new program that promises to train new fiber technicians in four weeks, for free. Read the Fierce Network story.
AST SpaceMobile's Satellite Fail Risks D2D Delays for Mobile Operators
For the mobile operators that avoided Starlink Mobile and teamed with AST SpaceMobile for direct-to-device services, the wait for the startup's constellation just got longer after its newest satellite was lost in space on Sunday. AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird 7, the second of its next-generation cellular broadband fleet, was launched from Cape Canaveral on the third mission of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket on Sunday morning. The mission was going fine – until it wasn’t. Read the Light Reading story.
Why Amazon is Investing $25B Into Anthropic in AI Deal
Amazon is investing up to $25 billion in Anthropic as the AI startup seeks to spend more than $100 billion on Amazon Web Services (AWS) over the next 10 years on Amazon’s cloud technologies. The money Amazon has agreed to pour into Anthropic is on top of the $8 billion it has already invested, the technology giant said. Both companies have already been working together since 2023 to accelerate GenAI adoption across industries to make it easier for customers to build, deploy and scale the technology. Read the Capacity Global story.