MSPmentor

Even banks and financial services firms are discovering the power of managed services. A case in point: Square 1 Bank, which works closely with venture capital firms, has embraced managed services from Hosted Solutions. Under terms of the relationship, Hosted Solutions’ Raleigh, N.C., data center will host Square 1’s core applications. The deal also calls for Hosted Solutions to offer dedicated servers, managed back ups, SAN storage, monitoring, managed security, internet services, and network connectivity.

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I ran into Hailey Lynne McKeefry, a freelance writer, at the MSP Alliance conference earlier this week. She was busy doing a series of interviews at the event, so I knew she was prepping a story on managed services. But what specific piece of the managed services puzzle was she investigating? I finally have my answer. Hailey has posted this story on MSP pay scales over at TechTarget.

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Can you really become a managed service provider (MSP) in 30 days or less? Frankly, I doubt it. There are too many challenges in terms of sales, marketing, technology, customer education, etc. However, small business consultant Karl Palachuk is writing a series of blog entries to show solutions providers how to become MSPs in 30 days. I’m looking forward to reading Karl’s updates. Here’s his first piece on the topic.

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Autotask made an intriguing move this week with its product branding. Solutions providers and software companies should take note. As Autotask prepared to launch an entry-level MSP solution, the company must have been tempted to call it “Autotask Lite.” In my humble opinion that would have been a mistake. Here’s why.

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If cost is the biggest hurdle standing between you and a managed services practice, consider this: Autotask has launched a new, low-cost managed services platform called Autotask Go! The hosted MSP platform has a fixed fee of $99 and no start-up costs. And the user interface resembles intuitive, consumer-oriented designs (a la Quicken or Google Analytics).

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I just got off the phone with Autotask CEO Bob Godgart. He’s out at the SMB Nation conference in Seattle to share his managed services vision and make a few strategic announcements.

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Okay, I was a little bit off with my dates. Last week, I suggested that a few low-cost managed service provider solutions would debut this week at the MSP Alliance conference in San Jose. I was half-right.

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I lifted the headline for this blog entry from a presentation David Strom delivered this morning at the MSP Alliance conference in San Jose. So, what were the five disruptive technologies? Three of them were obvious, but David caught my ear with his analysis of the other two — and some timely perspective on Microsoft Small Business Server.

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The buzz is loud here at the MSP Alliance conference in San Jose. Up-and-coming MSP platform providers are inking partnerships with each other, and networking with more than 200 VARs and integrators. Clearly, the MSP ecosystem is maturing rapidly. Still, big vendors like Cisco Systems and Symantec are noticeably absent from this small but growing event. Looking ahead, those big players would be wise to follow the leads of Dell and Intel into the MSP market.

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Third Brigade, a security software company led by former Entrust Technologies executives, is opening its arms to managed service providers. During the MSP Alliance conference in San Jose, Third Brigade announced that it has expanded its partner program to support service providers. I’ve got to admit: Third Brigade wasn’t on my radar until I spotted them at the conference. But they’ve got my attention now. Here’s why.

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