The content team at Channel Partners Newsletter tracks stories of interest to the technology advisor and agent community. Anyone selling communication and connectivity solutions will want to stay abreast of these developing stories or catch up on ones they have missed. We are tracking—with the help of ChatGPT along with AI tools our parent Informa has developed—a roundup based on story traffic, mentions, impressions, reposts, and social media engagement. You can read a few of the stories of importance to the TA community then head to our web site for a longer list. All links are valid as of Aug. 13.

Why Ericsson Won’t Buy Intel’s Network Business

Ericsson has been mentioned for more than a year as a prospective buyer of Intel’s network and edge (NEX) assets. However, this Light Reading story maintains such a deal is unlikely, partly because of the precedent set by Nvidia’s doomed attempt to buy ARM and because it will be difficult to fully separate NEX technology from Intel. Read the Light Reading story.

What’s the Deal with IBM’s Cloud?

All major cloud services have outages, but IBM’s cloud service has gone down four times in three months. One cloud expert said these problems indicates a “foundational” issue with IBM’s architecture that could diminish client trust. Read the Fierce Network story.

Telarus Partner Summit Coverage

Technology services distributor Telarus provided insights on the state of the market at its annual conference last week. The conference covered the role of consultants, how economic shifts create winners and losers among partners, and, of course, the impact of AI. Channel Futures had blanket coverage, including a photo gallery.

WOW, what a deal!

Operator WideOpenWest! (WOW!) is going private, as private equity firms DigitalBridge and Crestview Partners said they plan to acquire the cable company for $1.5 billion. The deal is expected to close in early 2026. Read the Fierce Network story.

AvePoint Points to New Points System

AvePoint's new Global Partner program is a points-based model that rewards activities that drive success in high-value service engagements rather than revenue alone. The goal is to help partners create clearer pathways to profitability while selling data security, governance, and AI services. Read the ChannelE2E story.

Best of the Best UCaaS Providers

Channel Futures released its 2025 top 20 UCaaS providers list. It includes familiar UCaaS faces Microsoft, Zoom and Cisco. See who else made the list.