Channel company quiz: Recap partner program and alliance news

This month's channel company news quiz features businesses getting together, splitting up and dealing with the aftermath. But the course of product distribution never did run smooth. Here's what to expect as you prep for our latest examination:

Mergers, acquisitions and what comes next:

When suppliers acquire each other, a channel company generally feels some of the effects with respect to new technologies available or changes to partner programs. This month, Datto and Dell EMC made news along those lines.

Emerging technologies:

Channel organizations have no shortage of tech developments to track. IBM and Citrix are among the vendors encouraging partners to adopt and build practices around new offerings.

Cloud challenges:

For all its promise as a mega-market opportunity, cloud computing continues to challenge many a channel company -- along with vendors and customers. Microsoft, Insight and Oracle have some interesting numbers to report on cloud trends.

Rules and regs:

The long arm of government policy affects many channel partners. This month's quiz provides an update on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

Vendor-channel alliances:

Strategic alliances bringing together a channel company and a product vendor are a frequent occurrence. But they don't always endure. Our list of questions includes one involving an alliance that broke up only to re-form a couple of years later.