Ho, Ho Ho, and Happy Holidays, VAR Guy readers! This week we convinced Santa to make a special stop to hand out some IT distributor news straight from the North Pole. Before you check out of the office for the long holiday weekend, here’s the latest and greatest from Lifeboat Distribution, Tech Data (TECD) and Ingram Micro (IM).

Lifeboat: Lifeboat recently signed an agreement with Privileged Account Management solution provider Thycotic to distribute the company’s full line of enterprise security solutions to its resellers in North and South America.

Some of the available Thycotic solutions available to Lifeboat’s resellers include the company’s Secret Server privileged account management solution, Password Reset Server and Group Management Server, according to the announcement.

“Thycotic's scalable enterprise solutions are a valuable addition to our security portfolio, as our partners can now offer cost-effective, smart, reliable, and easy-to-use IT security solutions that ensure protection from cyber-attacks and insider threats," said William R. Botti, executive vice president at Lifeboat Distribution, in a statement. “With Thycotic's solutions for managing password resets, privileged account management and AD group management, their customers will now be able to significantly streamline and speed security processes, while ensuring tight control and access to privileged accounts."

Tech Data: Tech Data is now offering warranty attach services for HP Inc. (HP) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) authorized reseller partners, according to a recent announcement.

Beginning immediately, the Tech Data Warranty Attach Plus services will help solution providers to locate and select the warranty that best fits their hardware purchases by incorporating real-time activation of HP and HPE Care Packs, the distributor said. Products can also be shipped directly from Tech Data to the end user with the attached protection plan.

“HP is focused on increasing speed and simplicity to drive growth and profitability for partners,” said Thomas Jensen, vice president of Worldwide Channel Sales and Strategy at HP. “With only a few clicks on their website, Tech Data has streamlined the Care Pack selection process to supplement warranties, enabling partners to develop long-term relationships with our mutual customers while protecting their IT investments.”

Ingram Micro: Ingram Micro Mobility Canada signed a partnership with Phobio, a retail mobile device trade-in provider, which is expected to improve the distributor’s mobile device buyback capabilities and trade-in services in Canada.

The partnership is expected to give Ingram Micro Mobility greater visibility within the cellular industry so it can provide customers with a wider range of device lifecycle services, according to the announcement.

“Our new partnership with Ingram Micro Mobility Canada elevates our expertise and will further allow us to streamline our device recycling efforts, improve resale value and stay ahead of demand,” said Stephen Wakeling, CEO of Phobio. “Continuing working with leading wireless service providers and retailers will give us the opportunity to expand our services to international distributors and provide more value to our partners.”

That’s all for now, folks. We hope you enjoy some hot cocoa with family and friends and get a chance to take a nice break from work before we ring in the new year. Until next time folks, keep on distributing.