Comments on: Managed Services: Two Views On the Economy

By: StuFinancesTech

StuFinancesTech — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:33:09 +0000

Great comments. I have recently seen a spike in my SMB clients finally deciding they’ve waited long enough (no more “I want to see if I can last another _______ with the stuff I have”). They are starting to pull the trigger even though they still have the same fear they did in the spring but most are financing since they have less cash on hand than before and most are dealing with independents like me thanks to Dell Financial Services guilty verdict in NY court.

By: bradley

bradley — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 02:57:11 +0000

I think that the current economic situtation creates more of a value proposition for managed services regardless of the size of the business. Let’s face it, client expecations do not go down (again regardless of the size of the business. Managed services provides can offer more services at a cost effective rate if they can operate and manage their customer base efficiently. Reduced travel costs, proactive responses vs. reactive fixes, 24×7 monitoring and support are just some ways a MSP can offer a higher level of service and still provide a solid ROI for the client.

By: Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 19:04:01 +0000

I believe large corporate IT is looking around and CIOs from one vertical (say, transportation) are speaking to CIOs in other industries (say, manufacturing in Detroit or financial services in New York) and sharing concerns about energy costs, housing, spending slowdowns, etc.

I am not suggesting that corporate IT spending will collapse. But the concern in large enterprises has increased significantly in just the past 4 to 6 weeks, from what I’ve seen.

My views on small business IT spending are biased, however, because I write so much about the managed services market. Overall, platform providers and MSPs sound cautiously optimistic about the rest of 2008.

By: StuFinancesTech

StuFinancesTech — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 18:53:29 +0000

so you believe that enterprises lead in the trend of IT spending over SMBs rather than lag behind them?

By: Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 18:35:55 +0000

Confirmed: The San Francisco event was focused more on corporate IT across midsize and large enterprises. It was a private gathering with about 80 IT executives across multiple verticals. The feedback from attendees was anecdotal, but lots of private discussions about IT budget cuts for later this year.

So, what does this mean — if anything — to the MSP space? Don’t forget that some MSP platform providers also serve enterprise IT. Kaseya and Nimsoft both fit that description, though my sources at both companies seem upbeat about sales.

Also, I continue to hear that MSP sales cycles are stretching a bit. Deals that used to take 60 days to close now take 90 days or more.

I don’t want to “sound and alarm” or “press a panic button.” Things seem relatively good in the MSP space. But I also think it’s important for MSPs to plan and spend responsibly, while keeping a close eye on the enterprise space for hints of a spending slowdown.

By: StuFinancesTech

StuFinancesTech — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 18:13:54 +0000

Joe, so was the SF conference mostly about enterprise companies as opposed to the markets Kaseya covers (which seem to be more SMB but I may be mistaken)? or what was the big difference in outlook in your view?