In The Know: Top 5 Must-Read Cloud Stories, April 2

Talkin’ Cloud at the end of each day pulls out five must-read cloud computing stories from the news cycle for its readers to review in the morning. Today’s column features CenturyLink (CTL), ShoreTel (SHOR) and Metalogix.

Some of these stories have been gathered from Talkin’ Cloud’s article database, while others have been collected from elsewhere. If we missed something, feel free to leave a comment below. We might just add it into the mix.

Here’s today’s list of must-read cloud computing stories.

No, I Don’t Want To Talk To IT. It happens all the time. You ask to speak to the CEO, the gatekeeper asks what your call is regarding, and then you hear those five little words we all dread: “I’ll transfer you to IT.”

Top 10 Talkin’ Cloud 100 Honorees On This Year’s MSPmentor 501. Which Talkin’ Cloud 100 honorees topped this year’s MSPmentor 501 list? Here’s a closer look at the top 10 Talkin’ Cloud 100 companies on the MSPmentor 501.

The Cloud As A Distribution Channel. With the emergence of public cloud computing services it’s becoming increasingly clear that public cloud computing services are emerging as a new type of distribution channel. Case in point is CenturyLink, which Dave Shacochis, vice president of cloud platform for CenturyLink, said will shortly open its own online store through which organizations can automatically deploy a variety of software on top of servers running inside CenturyLink data centers.

ShoreTel Network Services Now Available For ShoreTel Sky Customers. ShoreTel this week expanded its Network Services Portfolio to ShoreTel Sky customers. With this portfolio addition, businesses can now leverage the ShoreTel Sky cloud phone system and unified communications (UC) solution with ShoreTel’s Network Services Portfolio to ensure their IP networks are designed and configured for optimum performance, according to ShoreTel.

Metalogix Acquires MetaVis Technologies: Here’s What You Need to Know. Metalogix today announced it has acquired MetaVis Technologies, an Exton, Pennsylvania-based company that offers a unified cloud collaboration service management platform. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Follow CJ Arlotta on Twitter @cjarlotta and Google+ for further updates on the story above — or if you just want to say hello.