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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You’ve got to specialize, specialize, specialize to succeed as a managed service provider. That’s been the key message from vendors for more than a year now. But the vendors are wrong, according to Ziff Davis Enterprise Editorial Director Mike Vizard. Instead, MSPs need to offer a broader range of services. Confused? Don’t be. I worked a bit with Mike back at Ziff Davis, and there’s sound logic behind his thought process.

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This just in: Do IT Smarter has selected LPI Level Platforms’ Collaborative Ecosystem MSP Platform to “drive the growth of their full service offering for solution providers,” according to press release that just hit the wires. The move reinforces several points raised by Do IT Smarter at today’s MSP Alliance conference in San Jose.

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As a general rule, our team holds a lot of business meetings at Starbucks. But today the business chatter started in Kinkos — when I bumped into Todd McKendrick, VP of sales at Do IT Smarter. McKendrick shared several pieces of news about the company, which is working closely with Xerox, MXLogic, SonicWall, Silverback and other MSP platform providers.

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I’m in San Jose for the MSP Alliance Fall Managed Services Conference. It’s my first time at an MSP Alliance event. And frankly, I’m not sure what to see. But I do expect to hear about five key trends at the event. Here’s the rundown.

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Will Dell be your friend or foe in the managed services market? Instead of asking me, you can ask Dell representatives directly during the MSP Alliance summit in San Jose on Sept. 24-25. Dell acquired Silverback Technologies (an MSP platform provider) in July. Silverback’s Web site now carries both a Dell and VARBusiness logo. How’s that for Ironic. This event marks one of the first appearances of Silverback since the Dell deal was announced.

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The week of September 24 could represent a tipping point for MSP platform prices. As you know, many VARs and integrators balk when they hear they have to spend tens of thousands of dollars on an MSP platform before they can begin generating recurring monthly revenue.

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Sometimes I just can’t let go of a hunch. For a few weeks now, I’ve been asking MSP platform providers if they would ever open source their software. The open source approach, as you likely know, would allow customers and VARs to add incremental value to MSP software components.

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Are managed services more than hype? I’ve spoken with quite a few VARs and solutions providers who have successfully moved into managed services. Still skeptical? Maybe you should book a trip to the MSP Alliance Fall Managed Services Conference. More than a dozen MSP platform providers are sponsoring the event. And scores of VARs will attend in a quest to better understand how managed services may bolster their businesses.

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MSP platform providers can breathe a collective sigh of relief. Cisco Systems Inc. does not — I repeat, does not — plan to introduce a managed services platform. Instead, the company is preparing new pricing models for its products, so that managed service providers can more easily formulate their own pricing models for customers.

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In early August, The VAR Guy”s daily blog hinted that Kaseya was prepping a new initiative to help VARs offer 24×7 managed services. (See item 9 on this list.) That prediction came true today as part of Kaseya’s new emPower Program.

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What many VARs and solutions providers need now is a a reality check to show them the highs — and lows — they’ll experience when they strive to become MSPs. Here’s a great reality check from Addicted to IT, a blog that caught my attention earlier today.

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