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CompTIA Breakaway: Here Comes Dell
Posted July 31st, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Anybody else notice that Dell is a silver sponsor for the big CompTIA Breakaway show in Orlando (August 4-7)? CompTIA Breakaway typically attracts more than 1,000 attendees, with a heavy emphasis on VARs and managed service providers.
25 Best Business Books
Posted July 31st, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
I am traveling quite a bit over the next few weeks, which means I’ll have ample time to catch up on some reading during flights (and flight delays…). With that in mind, I noticed this list of the top 25 best business books ever. Is the list perfect? Perhaps not. But you may find a few gems in the list to help you along with your managed services practices.
Roaring Penguin, Level Platforms Partner Up
Posted July 31st, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Roaring Penguin Software Inc., which specializes in anti-spam solutions, has inked a managed services partnership with LPI Level Platforms Inc. Next up, Roaring Penguin will be at CompTIA Breakaway seeking to recruit more managed service providers and resellers into its channel program.
RightNow’s Earnings: Good News for SaaS?
Posted July 31st, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
RightNow, a member of our SaaS 20 Stock Index, has released quarterly results that reveal accelerating software as a service (SaaS) sales. You never know how investors are going to react — especially as oil prices fluctuate by the hour. But RightNow’s optimistic financial outlook could be reassuring to the SaaS industry. Here are some of the financial figures RightNow released July 30.
The MSPmentor 250, Part IV of Our Managed Services Expert List
Posted July 31st, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Welcome to Part IV of our MSPmentor 250 — which identifies the top executives, entrepreneurs and experts across the global managed services market. We’ve now revealed 200 of the 250 names on the list.
Hardware as a Service Meets Linux
Posted July 30th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Should managed service providers start adding Linux-type devices to their hardware as a service (HaaS) strategy? Before you answer, consider a conversation I had with Canonical (developer of Ubuntu Linux) at last week’s OSCON (Open Source Convention). Here’s the scoop.
SaaS Reality Check: RightNow Earnings Today
Posted July 30th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
RightNow, one of the leading publicly held software as a service (SaaS) companies, is scheduled to announce earnings later today (July 30). We’ll provide some perspective once we see the numbers.
Can You Fire Your Worst Customers?
Posted July 30th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
During a tight economy, it’s sometimes difficult for you to turn down a questionable business engagement — even if you know the customer is going to be a nightmare, and the margins aren’t going to be so great.
The MSPmentor 250, Part III of Our Managed Services Expert List
Posted July 30th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Welcome to Part III of our MSPmentor 250 — which identifies the top executives, entrepreneurs and experts across the global managed services market. We’ve now revealed 150 of the 250 names on the list.
Opportunity: MSP Engineers On Demand
Posted July 29th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
You already know about remote managed services. But during the F5 Networks Partner Summit today, I heard another twist on the managed services market — called “Engineers on Demand.” It’s a simple concept that may generate incremental revenue for managed service providers. Here’s the scoop.
The MSPmentor 250, Part II of Our Managed Services Expert List
Posted July 29th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Welcome to Part II of our MSPmentor 250 — which identifies the top executives, entrepreneurs and experts across the global managed services market. We’ve now revealed 100 of the 250 names on the list.
Preview: Managed Services At CompTIA Breakaway
Posted July 28th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
When CompTIA’s Breakaway conference opens August 5 in Orlando, I’ll be mingling with attendees to see how their managed services strategies are coming together. This year’s Breakaway arrives at key moment in the managed services market. Here’s why.
Meet the World’s Top Managed Services Experts: The MSPmentor 250
Posted July 27th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
After five months of work, this week we’re unveiling the MSPmentor 250 — a list of the top executives, entrepreneurs and experts from across the global managed services ecosystem. The list also has a healthy helping of Software as a Service (SaaS) experts. Take a look.
Amazon.com Lifts SaaS 20 Stock Index for Week Ended July 25
Posted July 26th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
A strong financial report from Amazon.com lifted the SaaS 20 Stock index a tiny 0.20% gain for the week ended July 25. The index has now climbed almost four percent since early July. Are software as a service (SaaS) stocks ready to continue a rally? We’ll find out on July 30, when RightNow (RNOW) is scheduled to announce 2Q results after the market closes.
Should I Have Used Telepresence?
Posted July 25th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
I’ve been traveling all week with my fellow blogger, The VAR Guy. It was a great week for meetings, terrible week for travel. I was supposed to head home late Wednesday night. Fast forward to Friday morning, and I’m still continuing my long journey home due to multiple flight problems. Should I have used TelePresence, the next generation video conferencing technology, instead of going on the road?
Coming July 28: The MSPmentor 250
Posted July 25th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Be sure to visit MSPmentor on Monday, July 28. That’s when we’ll unveil the first portion of our MSPmentor 250 — the ultimate Rolodex to the managed services industry — with additional content debuting throughout the week.
Whose Brand Are You Building?
Posted July 25th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Are you repeating the same business branding mistakes you made in the 1990s? Here’s why I ask: When we launched our company (Nine Lives Media Inc.) we made a couple of branding mistakes without realizing it. But we took corrective action quickly.
Apple’s MobileMe Managed Service Misses Mark
Posted July 24th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Does Apple want to be a managed service provider? In some ways, yes. But so far those efforts aren’t going too well. The company’s MobileMe service — a cloud-based system designed to manage your contacts and calendars across a range of devices — is taking a beating from critics. Even The Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg, typically an Apple advocate, is telling readers that MobileMe is filled with problems.
Vembu Attracts 900 Managed Storage Providers
Posted July 24th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
More than 70 percent of successful managed service providers offer some form of managed storage, according to our MSPmentor 100 survey. Despite that lofty figure, the online storage market continues to enjoy strong growth.
Kaseya Employees Dial the iPhone 3G
Posted July 24th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Still skeptical about Apple’s iPhone for business users? I’m not. And neither is Kaseya, the managed services platform provider. After extensive testing, Kaseya’s IT department has added the iPhone to its list of supported smart phones.
SnapLogic Builds Bridges Between SaaS Islands
Posted July 24th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Software as a service (SaaS) sounds so simple. But the SaaS model gets complicated when businesses depend on multiple SaaS applications from multiple companies. The big challenge: How can an organization — or a managed service provider — coordinate data between multiple SaaS clouds? SnapLogic, an open source startup, is working to address that issue.
Nimsoft Confirms Speculation: Another Record Quarter
Posted July 24th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Nimsoft CEO Gary Read back on July 7 hinted that the managed service platform provider had just completed another record quarter. Apparently, Read wasn’t exaggerating the situation.
What Is Managed Services 3.0?
Posted July 23rd, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Cisco Systems Senior Director Al Safarikas, Autotask CEO Bob Godgart and THINKstrategies Managing Director Jeff Kaplan each work for vastly different organizations — massive, midsize and small companies. Still, they have something in common: They are evangelizing the move to next-generation Managed Services.
