MSPmentor

Should you race to gain “first-mover advantage” in the software as a service (SaaS) market? Or should you sit back and learn from the early mistakes your rivals make? Before you answer that question, consider the situation at eGain Communications — which is celebrating its tenth year as a SaaS specialist. Read More >

(Update 6/26/08: If you missed this event on June 25, the archive will be available on June 30 in the MSPmentor Events Center.)

Last call: There’s still time to register and join us today (June 25) for our MSPmentor Live: CEO Exchange Webcast, which starts at 2pm eastern.The webcast — “Escape Commodity Pricing Through Business Automation” — will feature a fast-moving dialog, where you get to ask top MSP CEOs your most pressing questions. So register now.

Here’s what we’ll cover: Read More >

If you’re a managed service provider mulling your VoIP options, keep this in mind: A growing number of customers — especially in Europe — are embracing IP phone systems that leverage open source and Asterisk. In fact, the European market for open source VoIP is growing 70 percent annually, according to one market researcher. Here’s the scoop. Read More >

Demand for managed services is rising worldwide. We’ve already blogged quite a bit about growth in the US, Europe and Australia. And now, a new report suggests that Asia Pacific organizations will spend more than $10.25 billion on hosted and managed services by 2010, up from $6.47 billion in 2007, according to Frost & Sullivan. Read More >

I spent some time with Erick Simpson, VP and CIO of MSP University, during the Kaseya User Conference in Las Vegas last month. Even before we met, I knew Erick had written some best-selling books on managed services. But I wanted to learn a bit more about where MSP University had been … and where it’s going.

Here are some key points from our discussions.

Read More >

Whether you’re an established or aspiring managed service provider, time is running out to register for this Wednesday’s MSPmentor Live: CEO Exchange Webcast.

The webcast — “Escape Commodity Pricing Through Business Automation” — starts at 2pm eastern on June 25. It will be a fast-moving dialog, where you get to ask top MSP CEOs your most pressing questions. So register now.

Here’s what we’ll cover: Read More >

As part of its ongoing managed services push, Dell hopes to launch a Master MSP strategy in late 2008 or early 2009, MSPmentor has learned. The move has potential implications for anyone involved in managed services. Here are some of the preliminary details, based on a conversation I had with Greg Davis, vice president and general manager of Dell’s Americas Channel Group.

Read More >

MSPmentor’s SaaS 20 Stock Index, which tracks the software as a service industry, slid 1.75 percent for the week ended June 20, 2008. But that’s not so bad, considering the Dow slipped 4 percent on the week and hit a 3-month low.

Of our 20 index members, only Amazon.com (AMZN, up 2.44%) and Taleo Corp. (TLEO, up 6.07%) posted sharp gains on the week. The index’s biggest weekly losers were Constant Contact (CTCT, down 6.85%) and Salary.com (SLRY, down 10.92%). The overall index (containing these 20 companies) currently stands at 859.98, down 14% from a starting value of 1,000.00 on January 1, 2008.

Here’s more about our weekly winners and losers.

Read More >