MSPmentor

Sorry for being so “Dell-centric” on our Web sites today, but a conversation I had with Dell’s Channel VP Greg Davis has triggered multiple posts. The latest: Davis and Michael Menegay, Global Director of Dell Managed Services, today sent a jointly signed letter to managed service providers. The letter provides MSPs with an update on:

1. Dell’s Managed Services Partner Certification, with more details about plans for the Everdream platform
2. Dell’s own Managed Services for small business plans, with more details on Dell’s intention to test managed services with selected small businesses
3. Future communications. Dell is planning a Web seminar the week of April 21 to continue the conversation with partners.

Here is some analysis, along with a link to let you read the entire letter for yourself. Read More >

Channel conflict. Trust. While some VARs and managed service providers continue to fret over those words, more than 6,200 solutions providers have joined Dell’s channel program since its official launch on December 5, according to Greg Davis, the company’s channel chief.

During an extended phone interview on Friday, Davis described Dell’s progress so far with VARs and MSPs — and also discussed some of the challenges Dell has faced during the company’s foray into the channel.

Read More >

Many VARs get certified for vendor-specific technology (Microsoft, Cisco, etc.). But a new wave of certifications and accreditations — focused on the managed service provider and software as a service (SaaS) markets — is emerging.

Certifications can help customers to find top-notch partners, and it potentially helps to weed weaker service providers out of the market.

But certifications and accreditations also introduce a new challenge: Small VARs and solutions providers that are just getting started in the managed services industry may not be able to afford certification fees. As an industry, we certainly don’t want to create a new digital divide — where deep-pocketed MSPs can afford certification but savvy startups can’t.

So, what’s the solution? Here are some thoughts, and I’d welcome yours as well. Read More >

Web seminars are fantastic for quick, educational tutorials about managed services and business management. Skype and other tools allow us all to connect for free over vast distances.

But as we all consider the economy and our second quarter budgets, one thing just became super-clear to me: We can’t afford to stop traveling to highly targeted industry events. Here’s one example to prove my point. Read More >

You’re a VAR, and you’re nervous about betting your business — and the money in your wallet — on a specific managed services platform. Dan Wilson, president of Waypoint Solutions Group, has some advice for you. Already a successful managed service provider himself, Wilson has 15 tips for choosing an MSP platform. Here they are.

Read More >

Ben Yarbrough has seen it. Bob Walters has seen it. And now, hundreds of managed service providers are starting to see it. What exactly is “it”? The simple answer: The convergence of open source with managed services.

Yarbrough, CEO of Calyptix Security, is seeking 100 managed service providers to embrace his company’s open source-based security appliance this year. Similarly, Bob Walters, CEO of Untangle, has bet his business on an open source network gateway, which is starting to attract strong interest from MSPs. Read More >

Dell is among the companies attending next week’s managed services conference in Atlanta. But I’ll get a jump on some of that Dell discussion by visiting the PC giant on March 28.

I’ll be meeting with Dell Channel Chief Greg Davis, and hope to get an update on the company’s overall managed services strategy. Several readers have asked me to drill down with Davis on how Silverback and Everdream (two of Dell’s 2007 acquisitions) may evolve into an integrated solution for MSPs.

If you have more questions for Davis, I’m all ears. Post them here or send them to joe [at] ninelivesmediainc.com.

A few hundred people will likely pack their bags and head to Atlanta, where a managed services conference kicks off March 31. Some companies “wait” to announce news at events like this. But progressive MSP participants like Waypoint Solutions Group are creating marketing buzz before attendees even arrive for the opening keynote.

Here’s how. Read More >