EMEA Channel Round-Up – October 2026

Security and services M&A dominated the month, led by Proofpoint's $6.3bn move for Varonis and a run of UK partner deals.

At a glance

• Proofpoint agreed to buy Varonis for $6.3bn, with Hornetsecurity giving it an MSP route Varonis lacked.
• CBRE agreed to buy London datacentre integrator Onnec for £460m plus up to £300m earnout.
• Bytes made its first acquisition in nine years, buying MSSP CyberOne.
• GTIA launched a vendor-neutral Managed Intelligence Alliance for partners delivering AI to SMEs.
• Omdia forecast that up to 30% of today's EMEA partners won't exist in their current form by 2030.

M&A and consolidation

Proofpoint to buy Varonis for $6.3bn (17 Oct). Closing is expected in H1 2027. Futurum's Fernando Montenegro noted Proofpoint's Hornetsecurity business gives it an MSP channel Varonis never built, a possible route to smaller customers.

CBRE to buy Onnec (20 Oct). London-based datacentre infrastructure integrator; £460m cash plus up to £300m earnout. Onnec reported £193m revenue for 2025. Closing expected around end-2026.

Bytes Technology Group buys CyberOne (13 Oct). An 80-person Microsoft Security Elite Partner and MSSP; BTG's first acquisition in nine years. Price undisclosed.

Utilize buys tn4 Solutions (19 Oct). The Essex MSP adds 150+ Sage 200 customers, almost doubling its Sage base; its sixth acquisition.

Distribution

Elovade plans its own marketplace (15 Oct). The German MSP software distributor (€122.5m revenue in 2025) will launch in DACH later this year, then the UK and other countries over six to eight months. CEO Philip Weber said it doesn't want to become a Pax8.

Partner programmes and vendor strategy

GTIA launches the Managed Intelligence Alliance (20 Oct). A vendor-neutral group to set standards and an accreditation for partners delivering AI to SMEs. Members include Pax8 (chair), Microsoft, CrowdStrike, NinjaOne and Lyra.

Panasonic Connect pushes Toughbook growth through the channel (1 Oct). Its EMEA channel head said most sales are already two-tier and the channel is the next growth lever, with the Elevate programme covering resellers, ISVs and distributors.

Softcat FY26 results (14 Oct). Gross invoiced income up 30.5% to £4.72bn. CEO Graham Charlton expects AI-driven memory and hardware shortages to last through 2027.

Analyst view

Omdia at the Canalys EMEA Forum (7 Oct). Chief analyst Alistair Edwards said up to 30% of the existing EMEA partner base won't exist in its current form by 2030, through consolidation, exits and new AI-native and consultancy entrants.

Worth watching

• Elovade's DACH marketplace launch, a new mid-sized alternative to Pax8 for European MSPs.
• Proofpoint–Varonis and CBRE–Onnec approvals, with Onnec expected to close around end-2026.