The preliminary analysis shows that in the Bob Scott's Top 100 VARs for 2015 that 55 of those listed carry cloud products. That's a jump from 44 last year. We'll get into the final numbers later (allowing for last-minute checks for publication next Friday). But the cloud has yet to penetrate the Top 20 firms significantly. Out of that 55, only six are in that biggest group and this seems attributable to the fact that many Dynamics resellers are staying loyal to Microsoft. Twenty-eight members of this year's class carry only Dynamics products and that includes 10 of the Top 20.

Technically, Xero's customer base has grown more rapidly than Intuit's. Xero ended its year on March 31 with 475,000 subscribers, up 67 percent over a year earlier. Intuit ended its third quarter on April 30 with 965,000 QuickBooks Online subscribers, 54.6 percent higher than on the same date in 2014. Intuit is a far larger company than Xero and you would expect it not to grow nearly as fast. In the meantime, during this year's webcast of earnings, Intuit CEO Brad Smith was asked for a figure I have not heard before—QBO retention.

Sage's chief revenue officer Rich Spring spent time in a channel briefing call this week apologizing. According to participants, he promised an open-door policy. As reported by an attendee, Spring said, "There is not a version of a successful future that does not include Sage working with partners/VARs in a positive way." There are a lot of things that need to be recovered from. Some of these steps, one source said, were a change in channel policies and was "almost certainly a big clue why Joe Langner isn't here any longer."

SWK Technologies has purchased ProductiveTech, a managed service provider based in Westfield, N.J. While terms were not disclosed, SWK's parent, SilverSun Technologies, said the acquired company would add $1.7 million in annualized revenue, $930,000 of that recurring subscription revenue. The deal is expected to close in the current quarter. Founded in 1984, by president John McPoyle, PTI serves Southern New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania, and Northern Delaware.